The Titanic Deck Chair Company of Nantucket was founded in 1998 by friends Ian McCarthy and Ralph Cook, Jr., the owners of the original Titanic Deck Chair which was recovered in 1912 by Captain LeMarteleur while onboard the cable ship "Mackay-Bennett." The mission of the Titanic Deck Chair Company set out by the two was to produce ultra-high-quality deck chairs that are exact reproductions of the original and to share the lessons and legacy of the Titanic and their stories.
The graceful and elegant design is forever lost until this momentous recreation takes one back in time to the First Class decks of the grandest ship of its day- the TITANIC! From the hand-carved star on the headrest to the custom-made solid brass hardware. This chair is like no other steamer chair in its quality and design.
After Ian and Ralph, founders of the Titanic Deck Chair Company of Nantucket, let go of the first Titanic deck chair, it continued to make history of its own. In 2001, the chair drew national attention when it was auctioned for $44,000, an extraordinary figure at the time. Years later, in 2015, the same chair resurfaced at a Henry Aldridge & Son auction in the UK, where it shattered records by selling for just over £100,000 (nearly $150,000). That sale cemented its place not only as one of the rarest surviving relics from the Titanic, but also as one of the most coveted pieces of maritime history.
The 'first' chair was a showpiece at "Titanic-The Exhibition" in Orlando, Florida, USA from 2000-2001. In 2001, the first Titanic deck chair was auctioned, drawing immense attention—not least because it was believed to be one of only two still intact. Early estimates suggested it could fetch between $1,000 and $5,000, but bidding soared to an astonishing $44,000, making it one of the top-selling Titanic artifacts at the time.
Then, in 2015, the chair reappeared at a Henry Aldridge & Son auction, where it sold for more than £100,000—approximately $150,000. It became one of the highest-priced Titanic relics ever auctioned and attracted worldwide media coverage.
Ian recalls the first chair with deep emotion: “That chair wasn’t just an artifact to me—it was a time machine. Every groove in the wood, every imperfection, told the story of those on deck the night the Titanic went down. Letting it go was like closing a chapter of my life.”
“Although I made the difficult decision to let it go, the historical and emotional weight of that chair never left me. The fact that it now sits in Titanic Belfast, where visitors from all over the world can connect with it—that gives me some peace. The first chair sparked something in me that clearly wasn’t finished.”
Today, the 'First' Chair resides at Titanic Belfast, the world’s largest Titanic visitor experience, located in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Visitors can view it in the Artefacts Gallery at the Titanic Experience.
