Book a berth on the Titanic: Replica cabins and treasures from the wreck at O2 exhibition

A mock-up cargo hold and boiler room also feature in the show which brings to life the story of the ship and her passengers using treasures reclaimed from the Atlantic floor.

China with the logo of the White Star Line, a porthole and samples of the perfumes Manchester salesman Adolphe Saalfeld was taking to New York to help to convey scenes on board before the ship hit an iceberg and sank on April 15, 1912, with the loss of more than 1,500 lives.

A version of the exhibition has been seen by more than 22 million people in America and on the Continent but this is its first time in London.

Fourteen of the 300 objects — including a postcard souvenir of St Paul's Cathedral — have only just been conserved and are on show for the first time. Items kept in leather, whether pouches or suitcases, had a better chance of survival.

A gallery has been devoted to passengers and crew with London connections. They include about 100 crew members such as stewardess Violet Jessop, who grew up in Bedford Park in west London, and society fashion designer Lady Duff Cooper, who escaped in lifeboat number one — known as "the millionaires' boat" — and gave evidence at the disaster inquiry.

The display at the O2 also includes video footage from this summer's expedition to the wreck when scientists began mapping the entire site. There is now a race against time to finish explorations before the wreck disintegrates.

Cheryl Mure, from the show's organiser RMS Titanic, Inc, which was granted exploration rights to the site 16 years ago, said: "When you come to the exhibition you're really transported back in time to 1912 and the maiden voyage. Nothing tells that story more poignantly and dramatically than the artefacts."

Proceeds from ticket sales pay for further exploration work. "She is deteriorating rapidly. She is standing majestically but the rusticles [micro-organisms] are eating her away and one day she will collapse," Ms Mure said.

Titanic — The Artefact Exhibition, opens on Friday and runs until May 1 next year. Tickets start at £9 for children and £13 for adults with discounts available for groups.