NEW 2025 UPDATE
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NEW 2025 UPDATE -
From the depths of history to today: A second Titanic Deck Chair joins our story
The ‘First’ Chair
acquired by the titanic deck chair company of nantucket in 1998
In 1998, the Titanic Deck Chair Company of Nantucket was founded by Ian McCarthy and Ralph Cook, Jr. with the acquisition of an authentic Titanic deck chair, originally recovered in 1912 by Captain LeMarteleur aboard the Mackay-Bennett. Their mission: to create faithful reproductions and share the legacy of Titanic through its most iconic symbol of luxury.
The original chair went on to make headlines—selling for $44,000 in 2001 and later shattering records at nearly $150,000 in 2015. Today, this historic artifact resides at Titanic Belfast, on display in the Artefacts Gallery for the world to see.
THE ‘FIRST’ CHAIR NOW LIVES IN THE “TITANIC BELFAST” MUSEUM - THE TITANIC EXPERIENCE. SEE THE CHAIR IN THE ARTEFACTS GALLERY AT THE TITANICE EXPERIENCE AT TITANIC BELFAST.
Ralph Cook and Ian McCarthy with the chair at "Titanic-The Exhibition" in Orlando, Florida
The ‘New’ Chair
acquired by the titanic deck chair company of nantucket in 2022
In 2022, the Titanic Deck Chair Company of Nantucket acquired another authentic Titanic deck chair, consigned from Halifax and linked to the recovery ships that returned with both wreckage and passengers lost at sea. Its provenance traces through Reverend George Ambrose and his wife, Almira “Aunt Allie” Balcom, whose family safeguarded it for generations. Marked with the stamp “Kaufmann Liverpool” and nearly identical to the famed LeMarteleur chair, it represents one of the rarest survivors of that fateful voyage.
After years in private hands, the chair is preparing to emerge once again—featured in Finding Titanic: The Secret Mission, a major traveling exhibition opening in 2025.
Follow the chair’s next chapter in a traveling exhibition — find out more here!
The Book
Titanic Deck Chair
By Ian McCarthy
Titanic Deck Chair: The True Story of a Titanic Deck Chair, the Captain who Owned it, & the Amazing Journey 86 Years Later to Uncover the Truth.
a creative non-fiction account of the exciting discovery of a real deck chair from the Titanic 86 years after the liner sunk beneath the icy North Atlantic sea and relives the events around the sinking that lead to the definitive proof being found.
View Our Story With The History Channel HERE.
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