Locket From Titanic Passenger Found On Ocean Floor, Now On Display

A locket was found among a few other possessions in a suitcase on the ocean floor, determined to have belonged to a couple aboard the Titanic.

LOCKET FOUND FROM TITANIC PASSENGER

The items were retrieved and are currently on display in the Luxor Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas as part of its “The Artifact Exhibition.” April 15 marks the 105th anniversary of the ship sinking.

The locket that was found had the initials C.V. engraved, and thus was determined to belong to Virginia Estelle McDowell Clark, a passenger on the ocean liner. She and her husband Walter Clark were on a belayed honeymoon in Europe when they decided to return early to be home in Los Angeles for their son’s second birthday. “Sadly, Virginia survived and Walter did not,” said Alexandra Klingelhofer, president of collections for Premiere Exhibitions.

Virginia later said that she felt the iceberg hit the ship and fetched her husband from his poker game. She was put on lifeboat four, but her husband was not. “The boat was supposed to lower and gather more passengers, but couldn’t take passengers from the gangway door, so it continued being lowered,” Klingelhofer said. “There was quite a bit of room on the boat, so there would have been a spot for [Mr. Clark] if it had worked out differently.”

The Clark’s story and other items from the Titanic are on display at the Luxor from 10 a.m. – 10 p.m/ daily.