Widener Titanic Exhibit Focuses on Philadelphia Families

(Friday, March 23, 2012) Get your boarding pass for the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic at the Widener University Art Gallery from April 10 to May 12. The exhibit, which will focus on the Philadelphia families touched by the tragedy, will even include a section on the dogs that perished on the Titanic’s maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York on April 14, 1912.

Upon entering the exhibit, visitors will receive a replica boarding pass with the name of a Philadelphia resident who was on the cruise. The last section of the exhibit will include portraits of Philadelphians on the ship, and visitors will find out if the person on their boarding pass perished or were among the lucky survivors.

The exhibit is produced and curated by J. Joseph Edgette, Ph.D., professor emeritus of education and folklorist emeritus at Widener and an authority on the Titanic. Edgette’s research has primarily focused on Philadelphians who were on the cruise, such as the Widener family for whom Widener University is named. However, he said he was touched and intrigued by the dogs that were also on the cruise. He said there were twelve dogs on the Titanic and only three survived.

“There is such a special bond between people and their pets. For many, they are considered to be family members,” Edgette said. “I don’t think any Titanic exhibit has examined that relationship and recognized those loyal family pets that also lost their lives on the cruise.”  The exhibit will also include displays on the impact the Titanic has had on popular culture, the company that built the Titanic, the details about the ship, the Widener family, the recovery efforts following the tragedy, and how families memorialized members who lost their lives.