Sponsored

Titanic / Image Hive — Titanic collector M. Lamar Jones and the book that started his obsession: “A Night to Remember” by Walter Lord. (Nathan Watson / Bham Now)

Since its sinking over a century ago, the RMS Titanic and its ill-fated voyage have been the subject of countless books, documentaries, award-winning films, conventions and more.

Thanks to the well-documented popularity of the Titanic, it is increasingly rare to discover something new—so when Bham Now discovered that a local collector had digitized extremely rare footage of the Titanic, we had to learn more.

Read on to learn about local Titanic collector M. Lamar Jones and why he trusted Image Hive to digitize his rare Titanic footage.

Meet M. Lamar Jones, Birmingham’s biggest Titanic collector

M. Lamar Jones has been collecting Titanic memorabilia for nearly 60 years.

Originally from Cleveland, Mississippi, Lamar first became interested in the Titanic after reading Walter Lord’s 1955 non-fiction account of the sinking, “A Night to Remember” at the age of 13.

“I didn’t know anything about the Titanic, but the book intrigued me. I started reading other books and encyclopedias to learn everything I could.

In 1976, they came out with the first Titanic model. It took me an entire year to build it—I hand-drilled every porthole so the lights would show and I put carpet in all the staterooms.”
M. Lamar Jones, Titanic collector

Lamar’s Titanic obsession has taken him all over the world—including an official RMS Titanic, Inc. trip to the site of the wreck in the Atlantic in 1996.

“I’ve been fortunate to meet 12 survivors of the Titanic in my life.

They were very young—no more than 12 years old—but their memories of that night were very, very vivid.

They’ve all passed now, but it was very touching to actually meet these people.”
M. Lamar Jones, Titanic collector

Lamar—who teaches Histology at Jefferson State Community College—has also performed research on the “rusticles” of the Titanic—icicle-shaped formations that grow on the wreck caused by microorganisms that feed on the ship’s iron.

“This is one of my treasures—an actual rusticle from the wreck.

In my research, ‘The Anatomy of a Rusticle,’ I have electron photo micrographs, electronic spectral design and microscopic slides to see the rusticle-causing bacteria, Halomonas titanicae.“
M. Lamar Jones, Titanic collector

What’s in Lamar’s Titanic collection?

Over the past 58 years, Lamar has amassed an impressive collection of Titanic memorabilia, replications and artifacts.

His collection ranges from props from James Cameron’s 1997 film to “rusticles” harvested from the wreck itself.

Lamar’s collection includes a wide array of first-edition and memorial-edition books. (Nathan Watson / Bham Now)
A framed photo of Lamar with “The Big Piece,” a large section of the Titanic’s hull raised in 1998. (Nathan Watson / Bham Now)
Photos of the Titanic wreck taken by explorer and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet. Nargeolet was one of the five people killed in the implosion of the Titan submersible in 2023. (Nathan Watson / Bham Now)
Lamar with a portion of his collection. (Nathan Watson / Bham Now)
This faucet was on the Titanic but removed and discarded as it was defective. (Nathan Watson / Bham Now)
A mosaic of the Titanic’s bow section consisting of 108 separate photographs. (Nathan Watson / Bham Now)
A “rusticle” taken from the wreck of the Titanic. (Nathan Watson / Bham Now)
Two memorial napkins—one given to surviving passengers, the other given to surviving crewmembers. (Nathan Watson / Bham Now)
“Letters from Survivors” signed by four Titanic survivors. (Nathan Watson / Bham Now)
Tile made for the Titanic’s Turkish Bath. (Nathan Watson / Bham Now)

Every item in Lamar’s collection has a unique story—not just its connection to the Titanic, but how it ended up in Lamar’s possession.

“In 1976, I contacted the shipyards and asked if they had any photos made of the Titanic when it was being constructed. They sent me 33 black and white, eight-by-ten photographs as well as copies of the blueprints. Each copy is stamped by Harland & Wolff—which makes them pretty authentic!

After Robert Ballard found the Titanic in 1985, so many people reached out to Harland & Wolf that they stopped sending copies.”
M. Lamar Jones, Titanic collector

What’s next for M. Lamar Jones’ collection?

“I don’t collect these items for the sake of collecting; every piece that I have has a story behind it, and I want to preserve them for future generations.

I would love to see these pieces permanently protected in a museum setting where people can see and learn from them.”
M. Lamar Jones, Titanic collector

Digitizing rare Titanic footage with Image Hive

In 1984, Lamar purchased 350 feet of 16mm newsreel footage from the Titanic Historical Society. The original listing read:

TITANIC FILM, in 16mm Black & White, 350 ft., taken from original early silent newsreel. See Captain Smith of the Titanic, rescue ship Carpathia and survivors in New York… $60.

For 40 years, Lamar kept the newsreel footage in a climate-controlled facility—until he found out that Image Hive could digitize the footage.

“I didn’t have a way to watch this film anymore, so I brought it to Image Hive to have it transferred to a digital file.

Image Hive had digitized photos, slides, cassette tapes and more for me in the past and I had been impressed with their quality and speed, so I knew they had the expertise to digitize this newsreel.”
M. Lamar Jones, Titanic collector

Image Hive’s skilled technicians handled Lamar’s newsreel with care, and within a short time, he was sent a link to view the digitized footage for the first time in four decades.

“It was really, really neat to see that footage. Everyone has seen photos and heard stories about the Titanic, but to see a film made in 1912 of a ship that no one thought would disappear on its maiden voyage sends a chill up and down your spine.”
M. Lamar Jones, Titanic collector

You can view the 6-minute 45-second digitized newsreel below.

Contact Image Hive for your digitization needs

Located in Avondale at 212 41st St S, Image Hive’s technicians specialize in a variety of services, including:

Home movie film transfers, including 16mm film, 8mm film and Super 8 film
Audio transfers, including vinyl, cassettes and micro cassettes and reel-to-reel
Video transfers, including VHS/S-VHS, MiniDV, VHS-C / S-VHS-C, VIDEO8 / HI8 / DIGITAL8 and PROFESSIONAL & PAL
Photo digitization, including slides, film negatives, printed photos and more
Archiving, duplications, forensic photo analysis and studio rental