Born in Ohio in 1879, Edith Louise Rosenbaum, better known as Edith Russell, was a fashion writer.
Beginning in 1910, she presided as chief foreign correspondent to “Women’s Wear Daily,” dispatching weekly fashion reports to New York from the publication’s Paris branch. By 1912 Rosenbaum was operating a successful buying and consulting service based in Paris and designing her own line of clothes.
Miss Edith Louise Rosenbaum, 33, was born to a wealthy family in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Travelling to America, she boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg. In a letter to her secretary, which she posted from Queenstown, now Cobh, she wrote of her “feeling of depression and premonition of trouble” about the journey, signing off: “How I wish it were over!”
On Sunday night, Edith felt a slight jar followed by a much stronger second impact. As she was on the starboard side, she could see the iceberg glide by her window.
Speaking about this moment in 1974, she recalled: “Being a newswoman, I grabbed my purse and ran to have a look. Everyone was on deck playing snowballs with bits broken off the iceberg, towering above us, and nobody dreamed there was any danger.”
A lucky escape
Wherever Edith travelled she carried her “lucky pig”. This mascot was something very special, as she outlined in her interview:
“My mother gave me this pig as a mascot a year earlier. I’d been in tornadoes and fires and floods. I was always in trouble. Then I was in a motoring accident, and was thrown into the tyre on the back of the car. I rolled clear as it crashed into a tree. Everyone else was killed but me.
“My mother brought me this pig and said, ‘Look here, you crazy thing, I’m giving you a mascot. Promise me you’ll have it with you always.’
“Naturally, I intended to keep my promise. And when I rushed up on the deck of the Titanic, that pig was stuck under my arm.”’
Dressed in her lifebelt, Edith stood idle, unsure what to do, when a man seized her arm and cried, “All women should be off the boat!” thrusting her down the passageway to A deck. This man was J Bruce Ismay and Edith maintained strongly that she owed her life to the White Starhead.
However, Edith was hesitant about entering a lifeboat, and figured that staying exactly where she was might be safer. Holding her wrapped up toy pig, Edith struggled with sailors as they tried to get her to go. Suddenly a sailor said: “Well, if you don’t want to be saved, I’ll save your baby.” With that, the sailor took the toy pig from under her arm (thinking it was a wrapped up baby) and sent it down to one of the lifeboats.
Edith later recalled: “When I saw that pig go, I said ‘That does it’ and jumped down after it.”
Maxixe, the hero pig
As Edith sat in Lifeboat 11, she was surrounded by children who were freezing and frightened. Suddenly she hit upon a novel idea to liven their spirits. Before their very eyes she unwrapped her lucky charm. The children got a surprise when Edith wound up the pig’s curly tail.
In part four of our series on heroic animals, Con McGrath shares the story of the woman who was saved from the Titanic – thanks to her lucky pig!
Suddenly the little pig started to sing the maxixe, pronounced “masheesh”, the name for a dance. The children gazed in wonder at this little pig, which was really a music box. It cheered them up until their rescue. That night Maxixe the music pig proved a hero.
In 1953 Edith Russell was invited to attend the New York premiere of the film Titanic. She was interviewed by Life magazine and also met with historian Walter Lord, who included her story in his best-selling book, A Night to Remember.
Edith Russell died in 1975, aged 98, active and outspoken to the end. Every penny she earned from her numerous interviews went to charity. For her TV and radio appearances she generally brought along her legendary musical pig, which she played for audiences.
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Born in Ohio in 1879, Edith Louise Rosenbaum, better known as Edith Russell, was a fashion writer.
Beginning in 1910, she presided as chief foreign correspondent to “Women’s Wear Daily,” dispatching weekly fashion reports to New York from the publication’s Paris branch. By 1912 Rosenbaum was operating a successful buying and consulting service based in Paris and designing her own line of clothes.
Miss Edith Louise Rosenbaum, 33, was born to a wealthy family in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Travelling to America, she boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg. In a letter to her secretary, which she posted from Queenstown, now Cobh, she wrote of her “feeling of depression and premonition of trouble” about the journey, signing off: “How I wish it were over!”
On Sunday night, Edith felt a slight jar followed by a much stronger second impact. As she was on the starboard side, she could see the iceberg glide by her window.
Speaking about this moment in 1974, she recalled: “Being a newswoman, I grabbed my purse and ran to have a look. Everyone was on deck playing snowballs with bits broken off the iceberg, towering above us, and nobody dreamed there was any danger.”
A lucky escape
Wherever Edith travelled she carried her “lucky pig”. This mascot was something very special, as she outlined in her interview:
“My mother gave me this pig as a mascot a year earlier. I’d been in tornadoes and fires and floods. I was always in trouble. Then I was in a motoring accident, and was thrown into the tyre on the back of the car. I rolled clear as it crashed into a tree. Everyone else was killed but me.
“My mother brought me this pig and said, ‘Look here, you crazy thing, I’m giving you a mascot. Promise me you’ll have it with you always.’
“Naturally, I intended to keep my promise. And when I rushed up on the deck of the Titanic, that pig was stuck under my arm.”’
Dressed in her lifebelt, Edith stood idle, unsure what to do, when a man seized her arm and cried, “All women should be off the boat!” thrusting her down the passageway to A deck. This man was J Bruce Ismay and Edith maintained strongly that she owed her life to the White Starhead.
However, Edith was hesitant about entering a lifeboat, and figured that staying exactly where she was might be safer. Holding her wrapped up toy pig, Edith struggled with sailors as they tried to get her to go. Suddenly a sailor said: “Well, if you don’t want to be saved, I’ll save your baby.” With that, the sailor took the toy pig from under her arm (thinking it was a wrapped up baby) and sent it down to one of the lifeboats.
Edith later recalled: “When I saw that pig go, I said ‘That does it’ and jumped down after it.”
Maxixe, the hero pig
As Edith sat in Lifeboat 11, she was surrounded by children who were freezing and frightened. Suddenly she hit upon a novel idea to liven their spirits. Before their very eyes she unwrapped her lucky charm. The children got a surprise when Edith wound up the pig’s curly tail.
In part four of our series on heroic animals, Con McGrath shares the story of the woman who was saved from the Titanic – thanks to her lucky pig!
Suddenly the little pig started to sing the maxixe, pronounced “masheesh”, the name for a dance. The children gazed in wonder at this little pig, which was really a music box. It cheered them up until their rescue. That night Maxixe the music pig proved a hero.
In 1953 Edith Russell was invited to attend the New York premiere of the film Titanic. She was interviewed by Life magazine and also met with historian Walter Lord, who included her story in his best-selling book, A Night to Remember.
Edith Russell died in 1975, aged 98, active and outspoken to the end. Every penny she earned from her numerous interviews went to charity. For her TV and radio appearances she generally brought along her legendary musical pig, which she played for audiences.
Read more
The brave and loyal old Sea Dog of the Norwegian Navy
The reign of King Neptune
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