R.M.S. TITANIC : THE ISIDOR AND IDA STRAUS ARCHIVE:
One of the most important letters written onboard Titanic offered for auction in history, written by First Class Passenger Ida Straus on Titanic stationery with its original envelope bearing the rarest postmark related to Titanic known as the famous “TransAtlantic 7”. This postmark denotes that the letter was postmarked on board Titanic in her post office. It took pride of place in Kenneth Hollister Straus's office at Macy's, the New York philanthropist was the last of the Straus family to be a top executive of R. H. Macy & Company, it reads in full:
On board R.M.S. Titanic , Wednesday 1912
Dear Mrs. Burbridge
You cannot imagine how pleased I was to find your exquisite basket of flowers in our sitting room on the steamer. The roses and carnations are also beautiful in colour and so fresh as though they had just been cut. Thank you so much for your sweet attention, which we both appreciate very much.
But what a ship! So huge and so magnificently appointed. Our rooms are furnished in the best of taste and most luxurious, and they really are rooms.
Size seems to bring its troubles Mr Straus, who was on deck when the start was made said at one time it looked painfully near to the repetitions of the Olympic's experience on her first trip out of harbour, but the danger was soon averted, and we are now well on our course across the channel to Cherbourg.
Again, thanking you and Mr. Burbridge for your lovely attention and good wishes and in the pleasant satisfaction of seeing you with us next summer. I am with cordial greetings in which Mr Straus heartedly joins,
Very Sincerely Yours Ida R. Straus.
The letter is sold via direct descent from Isador and Ida Straus and has, to the best of our knowledge, never been on display prior to its present exhibition in the US. Also included is a letter from Isidor and Ida’s daughter-in-law, Irma Straus, to her sons Jack and Robert from a Hamburg Amerika liner, ironically dated in April.
NB Please note this lot is on exhibition at the world’s largest Titanic museum in Pigeon Forge, TN, USA . Interested parties are invited to view the lot in situ at the museum. We will be happy to liaise with the successful purchaser to arrange collection from the museum.
Isidor and Ida Straus are two of the most iconic people from the Titanic story. They have been depicted in the vast majority of documentaries and movies related to Titanic, since the ship sank . James Cameron’s epic film sees them as the couple who chose to stay together until the bitter end rather than part ways, portrayed holding each other in bed in their stateroom as the water enveloped them. A deleted scene from the movie shows Isidor attempting to persuade Ida to enter a lifeboat, in which she refuses, stating, "We've been together for 40 years, and where you go I go. Don't argue with me, Isidor. You know it does no good".
Isidor co-owned the famous department store Macy’s and he and his wife Ida were one of the few First-Class couples to perish in the sinking.
Born into a Jewish family in Otterberg in Bavaria in 1845, Isidor was the first of five children of Lazarus and Sara Straus immigrating in 1854. Initially moving to Oglethorpe, Georgia,
In 1863 the Straus family relocated to Columbus after a Talbot County grand jury issued a statement chastising Jewish merchants for their disloyalty to the rebellion, specifically blaming them for rising prices. In 1863, Isidor boarded a ship in Charleston bound for Liverpool, which successfully ran the Union blockade as he lay hidden with $1,200 in gold sewn by his mother into his undershirt, plus about $1,500 in bills which he was to collect for his father. After a delay of several months spent with relatives in Otterberg, Isidor settled in England and again proved his financial acumen in deal-making. Within a week-long period in 1864, for example, he shipped back packages to Georgia valued at $130,000
The city of New York was to become one of the most important parts of Isidor’s life, and in 1866, about six months after the family moved to New York City, his father established L. Straus & Son with Isidor as his sole partner. Macy’s was a well-established retailer by 1874 when Nathan Straus approached Rowland H. Macy about installing a Straus china and glassware department in his store.
While Isidor established and strengthened his presence in New York, Ida became a very busy mother of seven. Together, they demonstrated devotion to their children and each other. Mrs. Samuel Bessinger, Isidor’s cousin, once said, “Theirs was the love of husband and wife so beautiful among old couples who have weathered life’s storms together. Two more devoted lovers could scarcely be found.”
Isidor Straus’ business career is entwined with that of his brother Nathan (1848-1931) with whom he was an equal partner in Macy’s, as well as in L. Straus & Sons. 1888 saw not only Isidor’s 43rd birthday but also him epitomising the American Dream and becoming a Partner in Macy’s and then acquiring a 50% stake in 1893.
On January 6, 1912, Isidor and Ida Straus boarded the R.M.S. Caronia . They were going to the Holy Land, where, as the New York Tribune reported, “According to a message from Jerusalem, during their recent stay in that city, Mrs Straus visited the ghetto and later told her husband of the misery and squalor which she had witnessed. She suggested that something be done for the relief of the miserable, whereupon Mr Straus immediately responded, “Establish a soup kitchen at once.” He then sent a letter to the Jewish authorities guaranteeing $10,000 annually for three years to support the kitchen. Since then, between 500 and 600 persons have been fed through his charity daily”
On April 10, 1912, the Straus’s boarded the R.M.S. Titanic in Southampton, returning to New York. Stewardess Violet Jessop remembered: “Next appeared a delightful old couple -old in years and young in character-whom we were always happy to see join us; Mr. and Mrs. Straus had grown old so gracefully and so together. They were, as usual, charmed to see us and with all the arrangements made for their comfort. They gave each of us an individual word of greeting as they made their way to the deck above to wave farewell to friends” The Straus's occupied Staterooms C-55-57 (ticket number PC 17483, £221 15s 7d).
During the night of the sinking, Isidor and Ida made their way to the Boat Deck. Isidor and several other passengers tried to convince Ida to board Lifeboat 8 , which was already filled with about 25 other First-Class passengers and crewmen. When Isidor was offered a seat due to his age, he replied that he would not go before the other men. Ida, refusing to leave her husband, said, “I will not be separated from my husband; as we have lived, so will we die together.”
Isidor’s body was recovered, but Ida’s body was never found. She is memorialised on her husband’s grave in Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York. Today, Straus Park is on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, and there is a plaque at the entrance to Macy’s Department Store honouring Isidor and Ida Straus, which reads "Their lives were beautiful and their deaths glorious.” It is located just inside the Memorial Entrance.
The body of Mr Straus was later recovered by the Mackay-Bennett (#96), and his possessions returned to his beloved eldest son Jesse.