6. William H. Harbeck and his lost reels
We’re almost done talking about these things that died along with the Titanic, but we can’t end today’s article without discussing the 100 reels that belonged to the great filmmaker William H. Harbeck.
He boarded the Titanic as a second-class passenger, along with a French model named Henriette Yvois, whom he claimed was his wife but was not. His luggage was quite interesting, with 110,000 feet of film, more than 100 reels, multiple cameras, and “a $10,000 contract with the White Star line to take moving pictures of the giant ship on her trip to America.
When he traveled around Europe in early 1912, Harbeck managed to get lots of videos of Alaska, British Columbia, and San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake, as well as of Yellowstone National Park. He didn’t only record scenes in numerous nations but also sold copies of his films.
As the book “Titanic and Silent Cinema” (which you should check out if you’re curious about the accident and the things that died along with the Titanic) says, there’s a possibility that he filmed the ship’s near-miss collision with another ship as it left Southampton. One passenger claimed that he saw an American photographer who was with a woman and filmed the incident as it almost happened.
Some people say that there’s a possibility Harbeck had his camera during the sinking, but we can’t tell for sure. Unfortunately, all of his hard work and long hours of filming became part of the events that ended with the Titanic.
But that’s not even the worst thing that happened, because on that sad night in April, the filmmaker also lost his life. His body and Harbeck’s true wife, Catherine, made a $55,000 claim for the missing footage.
What are your thoughts on these things that died along with the Titanic? Let us know in the comments below! If you want to read something else from Mind-Bending Facts, here’s a good article for you: 12 Shocking Law-Breaking Violations You’re Committing Without Realizing
