Piece of Grand Staircase While on the body recovery mission aboard the cable ship Minia, the ship's carpenter, William Parker, was struck by the beautiful carved wood floating on the surface. He collected what he could and made a few items such as checkerboards, document boxes and picture frames. This large section of the staircase is the property of Gary Robinson who graciously allowed us to show this picture. View photograph of Titanic's grand staircase.