The Ostby Barton Masonic Ring is a ring with a lot of history. The Ostby & Barton Company was a jewelry company founded by Nathan B. Barton and Engelhart C. Ostby in Providence, Rhode Island.
Engelhart C. Ostby is a goldsmith that came to the United States from Norway and then co-founded the Ostby Barton Company which became the largest producer of gold rings in the USA.
Ostby and his 22-year-old daughter, Helen usually traveled to buy gemstones for the jewelry company and view the latest designs from jewelers in Europe yearly.
In 1912, Ostby and his daughter sailed on the ill-fated Titanic where he died. He and his daughter were about to enter a lifeboat when he returned to his cabin to pick warmer clothing due to the cold weather. His daughter was forced to enter the lifeboat without him. She survived.
On the 15th of April, 1912, The Titanic sank, and Ostby was listed as corpse number 234 on the list.
After his death, three of his children became joint owners of Ostby Barton. But the company stopped producing jewelry in the 1950s, and Helen died in 1978 at the age of 88.
The company is now a division of the Contact Products Group, and they manufactured custom board probes for testing bare and loaded printed circuit boards.
Before it stopped jewelry production, Ostby & Barton made Masonic jewelry, Filigree Rings, Art Deco Rings, Cameo Rings and other Victorian-style rings that were popular at that time and still remain popular today.
The products of the Ostby & Barton jewelry company were desired a lot by antique jewelry collectors for their good artistry.
The Ostby Barton Masonic ring has the trademark O.B initials on the inside of the ring to indicate its manufacturer as Ostby & Barton Company. No one knows the exact date of manufacture of the Ostby Masonic ring. The ring is a minimum of 50 years old, and it is possible that it is over 120 years.
The Ostby Barton Masonic Ring is not for sale.