NEW YORK
John Bailer, of the Bailer Jewelry Mfg. Co., Memphis, Tenn., is in this city and had planned to sail on the return trip of the Titanic for Europe. He intends to visit London, Paris, Berlin, Stutgard, Venice and Switzerland. He is going on a business and pleasure trip and will be away three months.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 17th April 1912
Trev.
The Titanic and the Jewellery/Silverware Industry
Re: The Titanic and the Jewellery/Silverware Industry
Jewelry Trade’s Loss in Sinking of ‘‘ Titanic’”’
Engelhardt C. Ostby Not Among Survivors as Reported in First Dispatches—Miss Helen Ostby and Henry Blank with Passengers of Ill-Fated Steamer Picked Up by “Carpathia” E.G. Lewy Among the Missing.
The story published in the last issue of The Jewelers' Circular telling of the rescue of Henry Blank, a manufacturing jeweler of Newark, and E. C. Ostby, of the Ostby & Barton Co., Providence, and the latter’s daughter: Helen, after the sinking of the White Star steamship Titanic, proved to be only partly true, inasmuch as but Mr. Blank and Miss Ostby were rescued and Mr.. Ostby was not. He is now believed to have gone down with the 1,600 passengers, among whom, as previously noted, was E. G. Lewy, treasurer of Lewy Brothers Co., Chicago. The report that Mr. Ostby was rescued was believed until the arrival of the Carpathia with the survivors, which brought only his daughter. No hope for Mr. Lewy was held out after the first reports of the disaster had been received.
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Providence, R. I., April 23.—Engelhardt C. Ostby, president of the manufacturing jewelry concern of the Ostby & Barton Co., 118 Richmond St., this city, one of the largest manufacturers of rings in this country, was one of the more than 1,600 victims of the ill-fated White Star Line steamship Titanic, which foundered in mid-ocean last Monday morning after ramming an iceberg off New Foundland.
At first it was supposed that Mr. Ostby, who was accompanied by his daughter, Miss Helen R. Ostby, was among those saved, as his name was included in the list of survivors on at least three separate occasions. But when the Cunard liner Carpathia reached its dock in New York on Thursday night he was not on board. Among those waiting at the dock to meet the incoming bearer of the survivors were the three sons of Mr. Ostby—Erling C., Ralph E. and Raymond—who had gone to New York filled with anticipation of the pleasure of a reunion with their father and sister, both of whom they had expected were on the Carpathia.
There was a reunion, but one in which there was more sorrow than joy for them. They met their sister, but alone. The shock which followed when they learned that their father was not with her, as they had been led to believe, and that he had not been seen since parting with his daughter on the Titanic after the accident Sunday night was a terrible one because so unexpected. Their sister’s nervous condition was such as to leave no time for giving way to grief and disappointment. She was hurried to the hotel where arrangements had been made for the reception of father and daughter.
Then, leaving her in the care of a physician and trained nurse who had been engaged in case their services might be needed, the young men, loth to believe that a mistake had been made and not satisfied with their inquiries on the Carpathia, set out to make a round of the hospitals. The greater part of the night was devoted to this quest—a vain one, as it proved. All the published lists of the first cabin passengers who had been saved contained the name of E. C. Ostby, but the list held by the purser of the Carpathia did not contain this name. Certain that the father whom they had so fondly counted on meeting had neither died on the rescue steamer nor been taken to any of the New York hospitals, they next set themselves the task of finding an explanation for the mistake that now had shattered hope and added shock and disappointment to the sorrow that partially dispelled the joy that came with the welcoming of their sister from the sea that had orphaned her and them.
The only plausible explanation they could give was that a mistake had been made in repeating the name. The list of first-class cabin passengers contained the names of E. G. and Miss Crosby. The similarity of these names to E. C. and Miss Ostby is so great that it is, perhaps, not to be wondered at that a mistake was made in sending or receiving under conditions such as those under which the wireless operators worked.
Exhaustive search and investigation by the sons failed to disclose any trace of the missing man, and it became all too evident that his name must be included in the list of those who had “gone down to sea in ships,” never to return.
Mr. Ostby was one of the most progressive men in the manufacturing jewelry industry and was always seeking its uplift and upbuild, not solely in a spirit of commercialism but rather from an artistic standpoint. His naturally aesthetic temperament placed him among the leaders in art circles, and he was always ready to give personal and financial assistance to any movement that would elevate or develop the educational side of the business.
The manufacturing jewelry industry, in its truest sense, he considered was the development and exemplification of the metallic art, and it was always his purpose and ambition to have all the designs of his firm comport with these ideals. It was this great interest in such matters that made him such a staunch friend and advocate of the Rhode Island School of Design, especially the jewelry and silversmithing department. Only recently he had suggested to Huger Elliott, the director, the advisability of erecting a separate building for the uses and purposes of the jewelry and silversmithing department.
Engelhardt C. Ostby was a Norwegian by birth and training, having been born in 847 in Christiania, the capital of Norway, where he received his early education—and a most rigorous one it was, too. To the majority of Americans the Scandinavian Peninsula is an almost unknown land, and but very few of them are aware that it takes high rank in educational, industrial and general arts. At the completion of his preliminary educational career Mr. Ostby served a severe apprenticeship of six years at the goldsmith’s trade in his native city, learning all the details from melting the gold and rolling the ingot down to the engraving and polishing of the finished work. He was also given a thorough training in designing, for which he had a peculiar and natural aptitude. His work was varied and of wide scope, embracing all lines of the industry from the making of silver spoons by hand to the turning of watch cases by a foot lathe,
During his six years’ apprenticeship Mr. Ostby also attended the Royal School of Art and graduated in its highest course. His talent in this direction was so marked that he was urged to go abroad for further study with the view of adopting art as a profession. The death of his father, however, materially altered his plans, and he decided to emigrate to America for the purpose of taking advantages offered in the pursuit of his industrial training combined with his artistic ideals. He arrived in this country in 1869, coming directly to Providence, where he entered the employ of the old-time manufacturing jewelry concern of G. & S. Owen, predecessors of the present Snow & Westcott Co. His abilities at once attracted the attention of the firm, but after a short time he engaged with the well-known makers of gold band rings, Arnold & Webster (now Arnold & Steere), devoting himself to engraving and designing, which branch of the business he had charge of for nine years.
In 1879 Mr. Ostby, formed a co-partnership with his friend and neighbor, Nathan B. Barton, under the firm name of Ostby & Barton, and they began manufacturing gold band rings in a small shop at 25 Potter (now Garnet) St., this city, employing about half a dozen hands. Every man was an expert, however, and the influence of the new firm was felt immediately upon the introduction of its product. The business grew rapidly, and in the Fall of 1880 they had outgrown their original plant and moved into the new building erected by the late John Austin at 80 Clifford St., being the first concern to occupy quarters therein. Here they remained, their business gradually increasing in volume until they occupied the entire upper portion of the building. This great success was due in no small measure to Mr. Ostby’s intimate knowledge of manufacturing, to his true artistic sense, which asserted itself in the attractive designs which made the goods of the firm so desirable, and to his great executive ability.
About 1897 the opportunity presented itself for the firm to purchase the large brick building at the corner of Richmond and Clifford Sts., erected a few years previously by the Ladd Watch Case Co. and which it at once accepted. Its plant was removed thereto and was increased in its scope so that now the firm, which was incorporated as the Ostby & Barton Co. on Aug. 7, 1893, with a capital stock of $750,000, not only occupies the entire building but also an addition erected a few years ago which doubled the capacity of the original Ladd building.
Not only was Mr. Ostby one of the most prominent among the manufacturing jewelers of Providence, being an active member of the New England Manufacturing Jewelers’ and Silversmiths’ Association and the Manufacturing Jewelers Board of Trade, but he was also a member of several of the exclusive social clubs as well as a director in several banks and identified with other enterprises. He was a director in the Citizens’ Savings Bank, being a member of the board of investment; of the High St. Bank and of the Industrial Trust Co. He was a member of the Agawam Hunt, Commercial, Providence Art and Wannamoisett Country clubs, the Squantum Association and the Rhode Island School of Design.
His wife, who died about 12 years ago, was by a singular coincidence a cousin of Rev. Walter G. Webster, of this city, who was drowned in the terrible LaBourgogne disaster off the Newfoundland banks on July 4, 1898. Mr. Ostby leaves four sons—Harold W. Ostby, who is superintendent of the Ostby & Barton Co.; Erling C., who is the sales manager; Ralph G., assistant sales manager, and Raymond E., assistant superintendent—and one daughter, Miss Helen R., who was with her father on his fatal trip. He also leaves one brother, Arthur O. Ostby, who was associated with him in the business.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 24th April 1912
Trev.
Engelhardt C. Ostby Not Among Survivors as Reported in First Dispatches—Miss Helen Ostby and Henry Blank with Passengers of Ill-Fated Steamer Picked Up by “Carpathia” E.G. Lewy Among the Missing.
The story published in the last issue of The Jewelers' Circular telling of the rescue of Henry Blank, a manufacturing jeweler of Newark, and E. C. Ostby, of the Ostby & Barton Co., Providence, and the latter’s daughter: Helen, after the sinking of the White Star steamship Titanic, proved to be only partly true, inasmuch as but Mr. Blank and Miss Ostby were rescued and Mr.. Ostby was not. He is now believed to have gone down with the 1,600 passengers, among whom, as previously noted, was E. G. Lewy, treasurer of Lewy Brothers Co., Chicago. The report that Mr. Ostby was rescued was believed until the arrival of the Carpathia with the survivors, which brought only his daughter. No hope for Mr. Lewy was held out after the first reports of the disaster had been received.
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Providence, R. I., April 23.—Engelhardt C. Ostby, president of the manufacturing jewelry concern of the Ostby & Barton Co., 118 Richmond St., this city, one of the largest manufacturers of rings in this country, was one of the more than 1,600 victims of the ill-fated White Star Line steamship Titanic, which foundered in mid-ocean last Monday morning after ramming an iceberg off New Foundland.
At first it was supposed that Mr. Ostby, who was accompanied by his daughter, Miss Helen R. Ostby, was among those saved, as his name was included in the list of survivors on at least three separate occasions. But when the Cunard liner Carpathia reached its dock in New York on Thursday night he was not on board. Among those waiting at the dock to meet the incoming bearer of the survivors were the three sons of Mr. Ostby—Erling C., Ralph E. and Raymond—who had gone to New York filled with anticipation of the pleasure of a reunion with their father and sister, both of whom they had expected were on the Carpathia.
There was a reunion, but one in which there was more sorrow than joy for them. They met their sister, but alone. The shock which followed when they learned that their father was not with her, as they had been led to believe, and that he had not been seen since parting with his daughter on the Titanic after the accident Sunday night was a terrible one because so unexpected. Their sister’s nervous condition was such as to leave no time for giving way to grief and disappointment. She was hurried to the hotel where arrangements had been made for the reception of father and daughter.
Then, leaving her in the care of a physician and trained nurse who had been engaged in case their services might be needed, the young men, loth to believe that a mistake had been made and not satisfied with their inquiries on the Carpathia, set out to make a round of the hospitals. The greater part of the night was devoted to this quest—a vain one, as it proved. All the published lists of the first cabin passengers who had been saved contained the name of E. C. Ostby, but the list held by the purser of the Carpathia did not contain this name. Certain that the father whom they had so fondly counted on meeting had neither died on the rescue steamer nor been taken to any of the New York hospitals, they next set themselves the task of finding an explanation for the mistake that now had shattered hope and added shock and disappointment to the sorrow that partially dispelled the joy that came with the welcoming of their sister from the sea that had orphaned her and them.
The only plausible explanation they could give was that a mistake had been made in repeating the name. The list of first-class cabin passengers contained the names of E. G. and Miss Crosby. The similarity of these names to E. C. and Miss Ostby is so great that it is, perhaps, not to be wondered at that a mistake was made in sending or receiving under conditions such as those under which the wireless operators worked.
Exhaustive search and investigation by the sons failed to disclose any trace of the missing man, and it became all too evident that his name must be included in the list of those who had “gone down to sea in ships,” never to return.
Mr. Ostby was one of the most progressive men in the manufacturing jewelry industry and was always seeking its uplift and upbuild, not solely in a spirit of commercialism but rather from an artistic standpoint. His naturally aesthetic temperament placed him among the leaders in art circles, and he was always ready to give personal and financial assistance to any movement that would elevate or develop the educational side of the business.
The manufacturing jewelry industry, in its truest sense, he considered was the development and exemplification of the metallic art, and it was always his purpose and ambition to have all the designs of his firm comport with these ideals. It was this great interest in such matters that made him such a staunch friend and advocate of the Rhode Island School of Design, especially the jewelry and silversmithing department. Only recently he had suggested to Huger Elliott, the director, the advisability of erecting a separate building for the uses and purposes of the jewelry and silversmithing department.
Engelhardt C. Ostby was a Norwegian by birth and training, having been born in 847 in Christiania, the capital of Norway, where he received his early education—and a most rigorous one it was, too. To the majority of Americans the Scandinavian Peninsula is an almost unknown land, and but very few of them are aware that it takes high rank in educational, industrial and general arts. At the completion of his preliminary educational career Mr. Ostby served a severe apprenticeship of six years at the goldsmith’s trade in his native city, learning all the details from melting the gold and rolling the ingot down to the engraving and polishing of the finished work. He was also given a thorough training in designing, for which he had a peculiar and natural aptitude. His work was varied and of wide scope, embracing all lines of the industry from the making of silver spoons by hand to the turning of watch cases by a foot lathe,
During his six years’ apprenticeship Mr. Ostby also attended the Royal School of Art and graduated in its highest course. His talent in this direction was so marked that he was urged to go abroad for further study with the view of adopting art as a profession. The death of his father, however, materially altered his plans, and he decided to emigrate to America for the purpose of taking advantages offered in the pursuit of his industrial training combined with his artistic ideals. He arrived in this country in 1869, coming directly to Providence, where he entered the employ of the old-time manufacturing jewelry concern of G. & S. Owen, predecessors of the present Snow & Westcott Co. His abilities at once attracted the attention of the firm, but after a short time he engaged with the well-known makers of gold band rings, Arnold & Webster (now Arnold & Steere), devoting himself to engraving and designing, which branch of the business he had charge of for nine years.
In 1879 Mr. Ostby, formed a co-partnership with his friend and neighbor, Nathan B. Barton, under the firm name of Ostby & Barton, and they began manufacturing gold band rings in a small shop at 25 Potter (now Garnet) St., this city, employing about half a dozen hands. Every man was an expert, however, and the influence of the new firm was felt immediately upon the introduction of its product. The business grew rapidly, and in the Fall of 1880 they had outgrown their original plant and moved into the new building erected by the late John Austin at 80 Clifford St., being the first concern to occupy quarters therein. Here they remained, their business gradually increasing in volume until they occupied the entire upper portion of the building. This great success was due in no small measure to Mr. Ostby’s intimate knowledge of manufacturing, to his true artistic sense, which asserted itself in the attractive designs which made the goods of the firm so desirable, and to his great executive ability.
About 1897 the opportunity presented itself for the firm to purchase the large brick building at the corner of Richmond and Clifford Sts., erected a few years previously by the Ladd Watch Case Co. and which it at once accepted. Its plant was removed thereto and was increased in its scope so that now the firm, which was incorporated as the Ostby & Barton Co. on Aug. 7, 1893, with a capital stock of $750,000, not only occupies the entire building but also an addition erected a few years ago which doubled the capacity of the original Ladd building.
Not only was Mr. Ostby one of the most prominent among the manufacturing jewelers of Providence, being an active member of the New England Manufacturing Jewelers’ and Silversmiths’ Association and the Manufacturing Jewelers Board of Trade, but he was also a member of several of the exclusive social clubs as well as a director in several banks and identified with other enterprises. He was a director in the Citizens’ Savings Bank, being a member of the board of investment; of the High St. Bank and of the Industrial Trust Co. He was a member of the Agawam Hunt, Commercial, Providence Art and Wannamoisett Country clubs, the Squantum Association and the Rhode Island School of Design.
His wife, who died about 12 years ago, was by a singular coincidence a cousin of Rev. Walter G. Webster, of this city, who was drowned in the terrible LaBourgogne disaster off the Newfoundland banks on July 4, 1898. Mr. Ostby leaves four sons—Harold W. Ostby, who is superintendent of the Ostby & Barton Co.; Erling C., who is the sales manager; Ralph G., assistant sales manager, and Raymond E., assistant superintendent—and one daughter, Miss Helen R., who was with her father on his fatal trip. He also leaves one brother, Arthur O. Ostby, who was associated with him in the business.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 24th April 1912
Trev.
Re: The Titanic and the Jewellery/Silverware Industry
MISS HELEN OSTBY, ONE OF THE SURVIVORS OF THE “TITANIC” DISASTER
PROVIDENCE, R. I., April 20—Miss Helen R. Ostby, who was rescued from the Titanic, in reciting her experiences to members of her family this afternoon declared that she did not see her father on the deck of the doomed steamer before she was taken off in one of the lifeboats. Miss Ostby says that her father sent her on deck after the crash, telling her he would follow immediately. She went on deck, waited a few moments for her father, and then in turn went below again to ascertain why he had not joined her. Unable to find him, she again went on deck and joined Mr. and Mrs. F. W. Warren, of Portland, Ore., with whom she was acquainted. Just about this time officers of the Titanic urged them into a lifeboat, leading them to believe that all others would be taken in other boats.
Miss Ostby had recovered sufficiently this afternoon to be able to relate to her relatives the details of her thrilling experiences, although denying herself to all interviewers. The shock which she underwent unnerved her greatly, but the quiet of her home had considerably restored her to herself. The boat in which Miss Ostby was placed was one of the first three or four to be launched, and consequently if there was any disorder she was unaware of it. She saw the Titanic sink below the surface, however, and heard the shrieks of the thousand and more victims clearly.
Miss Ostby’s story, related by her brother Raymond G. Ostby, to whom she told it, is as follows: “When the crash came father and I were both in bed. The crash was terrible, and we both got up and stood there near the stateroom for a moment talking things over. We put on a few clothes after a short time, and about that time stewards and others came around telling us there was no danger. Some of the people went back to bed again. Father told me to go up on deck, as I had bundled up warmly. He said he would put on some more clothes and would join me immediately, so I went. As soon as I got on deck I met Mr. and Mrs. Warren, and we remained together for a short time waiting for father.
“Commotion had begun by that time and the escaping steam made it almost impossible to hear the conversation. People all around us were putting on lifebelts, and so we three did the same. I wondered what kept father below, however, and after about 10 minutes on deck went down to try to find him. I guess father must have gone on deck another way about the same time, for I could not find him at the stateroom. Thinking that he had gone up and joined the Warrens, I, too, went back; but he had not been around there. I was waiting for him, looking all the time, when the crew came around and told us to get into one of the boats. We all hung back for a while, as I wanted father to come with us; but the men insisted that we hurry up, so we got in—that is, Mrs. Warren and I got in with some other women and a man or two. Mrs. Warren tried to get her husband to climb in, too, but he said he would come later in another boat.
“There was no confusion, but the escaping steam made an awful noise. Our boat was lowered and it landed on the water at the level of a deck which ordinarily should have been 43 feet out of water. We went off a few yards from the boat and intended hanging around, but some of the women became nervous and wanted us to get farther away. The men rowed away, keeping close to another boat in which there was a green light. That was the only boat with a light. It was a perfect night, and we saw the Titanic clearly settling slowly by the bow. We saw other boats put off, and it seemed to us that everyone on board would be rescued. We did not know then that there were not enough boats. All the lights burned on the big boat even when the waves closed over her, and I heard the band playing something which I could not make out.
“She went down easily, with hardly a splash. Immediately we heard the shrieks of the victims, and then all was quiet. Our boat kept on away from the scene. We must have been a mile away when the Titanic sank.
“About daybreak the Carpathia came. It was then getting light, and we saw hundreds of cakes of ice and icebergs, some of them at least 70 feet in height. We had to row a mile to the Carpathia, and there ropes were put under our arms and we were hauled on board. Our treatment on the Carpathia could not have been better. As soon as we were aboard stewards wrapped blankets about us and led us into the dining room, where steaming hot brandy and water were waiting. This, I think, saved many lives. There were also coffee and tea. After that we went away, some on deck, others to staterooms, and other survivors as they came aboard were tended to and given brandy.
“The Carpathia stayed about where the Titanic sank until about 5 o’clock, I should think, and then two other boats came in sight and we started for New York. That afternoon we sailed along the edge of an ice floe miles in length, and in it now and there was a mountain of ice.”
Miss Ostby was one of the survivors who signed the statement in which they declared that the Titanic did not have enough life-saving apparatus.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 24th April 1912
Trev.
Re: The Titanic and the Jewellery/Silverware Industry
CHICAGO
D. F. Richardson, buyer for the Burley & Tyrrell Co., recently returned from a European trip. It was his good fortune to have missed the Titanic, on which he had reserved passage.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 24th April 1912
Trev.
D. F. Richardson, buyer for the Burley & Tyrrell Co., recently returned from a European trip. It was his good fortune to have missed the Titanic, on which he had reserved passage.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 24th April 1912
Trev.
Re: The Titanic and the Jewellery/Silverware Industry
Newark, N. J., April 22.—Although it must be unpleasant to review the terrible incidents of the awful wreck, Henry Blank, of the manufacturing jewelry concern of Whiteside & Blank, of this city, kindly consented to tell a reporter for The Jewelers' Circular of his experience when seen Sunday at his home, 138 Ridgewood Ave., Glen Ridge, N. J. He said that he sailed from New York Feb. 29 on the Lusitania on his regular trip to Europe.
Upon the return trip aboard the Titanic Mr. Blank was in the smoking room Sunday night when the giant steamer struck the iceberg. From where he was sitting at the time the shock of the collision was in no way startling. He was smoking at the time and went out on deck, but did not see the iceberg. It was very cold and he went to his stateroom for his fur coat and cap and went below to investigate. He said that he was accompanied by another man and that they found about two inches of water on one of the lower decks and noted that the squash court was also flooded.
They returned again and by that time the boats were being loaded, but there was no confusion and there did not seem to be any apprehension on the part of the passengers, as it was the general belief that the boat was unsinkable, many seeming to prefer to remain aboard rather than chance the open sea in the lifeboats.
The ocean was very smooth at the time and although there was no moon the stars were bright. Every woman and child in sight was put aboard boat, and Mr. Blank was told to also get in just before the boat started. He explained that the noise of escaping steam made it impossible to hear plainly and that he could not tell how many boats had been loaded at the time the one he got into was launched.
Once clear of the Titanic the boat in which Mr. Blank was saved was rowed steadily for about 40 minutes. He said that during that time the big steamer was brilliantly illuminated and that the lights did not go out until the time when two explosions occurred. Mr. Blank witnessed the sinking of the ship and described it in the same way that other survivors have, saying that it broke in two parts and sank quickly.
Those in the boat in which the Newark jeweler was saved did not see any other lifeboats for some time, but the cries of those who went down with the big liner could be plainly heard at the distance to which his boat proceeded. It was very cold on the water and the men gave up their coats for the protection of the women.
When the survivors were finally picked up by the Carpathia Mr. Blank said that everything was done for their comfort. Hot drinks were supplied, the passengers gave up their staterooms to the women who were saved, and, in fact, everything that could be done was done to make their condition as comfortable as possible.
The jeweler said that the morning after the disaster he counted 14 icebergs drifting slowly along, and that the space between them was covered with floating ice, but elsewhere the sea was clear. Once the Carpathia started for New York she made all speed possible.
It was the opinion of Mr. Blank that the passengers did not realize in any degree that danger lurked so near after the liner struck the iceberg, and that, secure in the belief that the boat was unsinkable, they had no thought of the terrible tragedy to follow.
It was the opinion of many at first that the launching of the lifeboats was simply a far-fetched precaution and that those who went into the boats were taking greater chances than those who remained on the ship. The survivors could scarcely believe their eyes when they saw the big ship plunge to her final resting place over two miles below the surface of the sea.
A wireless to Mr. Blank’s family telling of his safety never reached its destination and the only news they had of him was the list of survivors which was sent out from the Carpathia.
It was evident that those who left the ill-fated ship at first knew nothing about the equipment provided for the safety of the passengers and were justified in the belief that should the occasion demand it there was adequate protection for all, although it was not thought possible that such an emergency could arise.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 24th April 1912
Trev.
Upon the return trip aboard the Titanic Mr. Blank was in the smoking room Sunday night when the giant steamer struck the iceberg. From where he was sitting at the time the shock of the collision was in no way startling. He was smoking at the time and went out on deck, but did not see the iceberg. It was very cold and he went to his stateroom for his fur coat and cap and went below to investigate. He said that he was accompanied by another man and that they found about two inches of water on one of the lower decks and noted that the squash court was also flooded.
They returned again and by that time the boats were being loaded, but there was no confusion and there did not seem to be any apprehension on the part of the passengers, as it was the general belief that the boat was unsinkable, many seeming to prefer to remain aboard rather than chance the open sea in the lifeboats.
The ocean was very smooth at the time and although there was no moon the stars were bright. Every woman and child in sight was put aboard boat, and Mr. Blank was told to also get in just before the boat started. He explained that the noise of escaping steam made it impossible to hear plainly and that he could not tell how many boats had been loaded at the time the one he got into was launched.
Once clear of the Titanic the boat in which Mr. Blank was saved was rowed steadily for about 40 minutes. He said that during that time the big steamer was brilliantly illuminated and that the lights did not go out until the time when two explosions occurred. Mr. Blank witnessed the sinking of the ship and described it in the same way that other survivors have, saying that it broke in two parts and sank quickly.
Those in the boat in which the Newark jeweler was saved did not see any other lifeboats for some time, but the cries of those who went down with the big liner could be plainly heard at the distance to which his boat proceeded. It was very cold on the water and the men gave up their coats for the protection of the women.
When the survivors were finally picked up by the Carpathia Mr. Blank said that everything was done for their comfort. Hot drinks were supplied, the passengers gave up their staterooms to the women who were saved, and, in fact, everything that could be done was done to make their condition as comfortable as possible.
The jeweler said that the morning after the disaster he counted 14 icebergs drifting slowly along, and that the space between them was covered with floating ice, but elsewhere the sea was clear. Once the Carpathia started for New York she made all speed possible.
It was the opinion of Mr. Blank that the passengers did not realize in any degree that danger lurked so near after the liner struck the iceberg, and that, secure in the belief that the boat was unsinkable, they had no thought of the terrible tragedy to follow.
It was the opinion of many at first that the launching of the lifeboats was simply a far-fetched precaution and that those who went into the boats were taking greater chances than those who remained on the ship. The survivors could scarcely believe their eyes when they saw the big ship plunge to her final resting place over two miles below the surface of the sea.
A wireless to Mr. Blank’s family telling of his safety never reached its destination and the only news they had of him was the list of survivors which was sent out from the Carpathia.
It was evident that those who left the ill-fated ship at first knew nothing about the equipment provided for the safety of the passengers and were justified in the belief that should the occasion demand it there was adequate protection for all, although it was not thought possible that such an emergency could arise.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 24th April 1912
Trev.
Re: The Titanic and the Jewellery/Silverware Industry
M. B. Rosenback, of Wm. I. Rosenfeld, 1 Maiden Lane, returned Friday on the Mauretania from a visit to the European diamond markets. He had arranged for a passage on the ill-fated Titanic, which sank early Sunday morning in a collision with an iceberg, but at the last moment decided to change his plans.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 24th April 1912
Trev.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 24th April 1912
Trev.
Re: The Titanic and the Jewellery/Silverware Industry
Chicago, April 18—Ervin G. Lewey, one of the passengers of the ill-fated Titanic, whose death was announced last week, was treasurer of the Lewey Bros. Co., 201 S. State St. About five weeks ago he left here on a diamond-buying trip to Amsterdam, at which point he was last heard from by his brothers here. His name has never appeared in the list of rescued passengers.
Mr. Lewey was an expert diamond man and made the trip to Europe annually. He had been in the jewelry business with his brothers since he was a young boy. He resided at 5628 S. Park Ave. with his sister, Mrs. M. M. Oppenheimer.
Ervin G. Lewy, although but 31 years of age at the time of his death, was one of the shrewdest business men in his line and was a young man of extraordinary business ability. He was virtually the general manager of the Lewy Bros. Co. and no transactions of any importance were made without his knowledge and consent. At the age of 15 he entered the employ of Marks Lewy, who, with his father, had established a jewelry business at 68 E. Van Buren St. in 1889. After the death of the father in 1898 deceased, although only 17 years of age, was admitted to the firm and showed the marked ability which ever afterward distinguished him in the trade as one of its ablest men. He was a man of unimpeachable character.
Deceased was a Mason and a member of the Standard and Illinois Athletic clubs. He was considerable of an athlete and enjoyed almost daily a swim in the Illinois Athletic Club pool, being considered an expert swimmer.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 24th April 1912
Trev.
Mr. Lewey was an expert diamond man and made the trip to Europe annually. He had been in the jewelry business with his brothers since he was a young boy. He resided at 5628 S. Park Ave. with his sister, Mrs. M. M. Oppenheimer.
Ervin G. Lewy, although but 31 years of age at the time of his death, was one of the shrewdest business men in his line and was a young man of extraordinary business ability. He was virtually the general manager of the Lewy Bros. Co. and no transactions of any importance were made without his knowledge and consent. At the age of 15 he entered the employ of Marks Lewy, who, with his father, had established a jewelry business at 68 E. Van Buren St. in 1889. After the death of the father in 1898 deceased, although only 17 years of age, was admitted to the firm and showed the marked ability which ever afterward distinguished him in the trade as one of its ablest men. He was a man of unimpeachable character.
Deceased was a Mason and a member of the Standard and Illinois Athletic clubs. He was considerable of an athlete and enjoyed almost daily a swim in the Illinois Athletic Club pool, being considered an expert swimmer.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 24th April 1912
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Re: The Titanic and the Jewellery/Silverware Industry
BOSTON
A package of rough diamonds valued at $7,000, consigned to S. B. Kantor, of the Jewelers’ building, was lost on the Titanic. The loss is covered by insurance.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 24th April 1912
Trev.
A package of rough diamonds valued at $7,000, consigned to S. B. Kantor, of the Jewelers’ building, was lost on the Titanic. The loss is covered by insurance.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 24th April 1912
Trev.
Re: The Titanic and the Jewellery/Silverware Industry
Boston, Mass., April 20.—Among the people drowned in the Titanic disaster were Messrs. Hilliard and McCarthy, who had charge of the leather and stationery departments of the Jordan-Marsh Co. Both men were highly respected by the members of the company and the emp!oyes, and their loss was the occasion for many expressions of sympathy and grief.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 24th April 1912
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Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 24th April 1912
Trev.
Re: The Titanic and the Jewellery/Silverware Industry
BOSTON
D. C. Smith, of the Smith-Patterson Co., who returned with Mrs. Smith from Europe last week on board the George Washington, had booked his passage on the Titanic three weeks before she sailed and fully intended to return to this country on the ill-fated vessel, but at the lost moment —in fact, only two days before the Titanic sailed—changed his mind and transferred to the George Washington so as to leave before Easter.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 24th April 1912
Trev.
D. C. Smith, of the Smith-Patterson Co., who returned with Mrs. Smith from Europe last week on board the George Washington, had booked his passage on the Titanic three weeks before she sailed and fully intended to return to this country on the ill-fated vessel, but at the lost moment —in fact, only two days before the Titanic sailed—changed his mind and transferred to the George Washington so as to leave before Easter.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 24th April 1912
Trev.
Re: The Titanic and the Jewellery/Silverware Industry
PHILADELPHIA
J. Warner Hutchins, 1328 Walnut St., was another of those who had engaged passage on the Titanic. Col. Hutchins, however, missed the boat by a few minutes and has sent word to his friends here that he is coming home on another vessel. He has been touring continental Europe for several months.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 24th April 1912
Trev.
J. Warner Hutchins, 1328 Walnut St., was another of those who had engaged passage on the Titanic. Col. Hutchins, however, missed the boat by a few minutes and has sent word to his friends here that he is coming home on another vessel. He has been touring continental Europe for several months.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 24th April 1912
Trev.
Re: The Titanic and the Jewellery/Silverware Industry
PHILADELPHIA
Frank Kind, of the firm of S. Kind & Sons, jewelers at 1110 Chestnut St, had already engaged passage to New York on the vessel. On examining the state room that had been assigned to him he expressed dissatisfaction with his accommodations and desired a change. As it was too late to change him to another part of the vessel, Mr. Kind returned home on the steamer George Washington, arriving in New York on Thursday night, a few hours before the Carpathia arrived with the few survivors of the Titanic.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 24th April 1912
Trev.
Frank Kind, of the firm of S. Kind & Sons, jewelers at 1110 Chestnut St, had already engaged passage to New York on the vessel. On examining the state room that had been assigned to him he expressed dissatisfaction with his accommodations and desired a change. As it was too late to change him to another part of the vessel, Mr. Kind returned home on the steamer George Washington, arriving in New York on Thursday night, a few hours before the Carpathia arrived with the few survivors of the Titanic.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 24th April 1912
Trev.
Re: The Titanic and the Jewellery/Silverware Industry
PHILADELPHIA
Joseph B. Bechtel, of Joseph B. Bechtel & Co., Inc., 729 Sansom St., lost a first cousin in the Titanic disaster. Mr. Bechtel’s relative was a Miss Annie Funk, 28 years old, of Boyertown, Pa. Six years ago she went to India as a missionary for the Mennonite sect. Some time ago she evinced a desire to come home and see her relatives. Accordingly Mr. Bechtel engaged passage for her from Bombay, India, through the Philadelphia offices of the Cook agency. On March 16, five days after the passage was engaged, Miss Funk set sail from Bombay and arrived in Liverpool a few days before the Titanic was to sail. She was not to sail on that vessel, however, but was to come direct to Philadelphia on the Haverford. How she came to take the other steamer Mr. Bechtel cannot explain, unless, as is rumored, she desired to have the company of a number of missionaries from Japan who are believed to have sailed on the Titanic and also been lost.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 24th April 1912
Trev.
Joseph B. Bechtel, of Joseph B. Bechtel & Co., Inc., 729 Sansom St., lost a first cousin in the Titanic disaster. Mr. Bechtel’s relative was a Miss Annie Funk, 28 years old, of Boyertown, Pa. Six years ago she went to India as a missionary for the Mennonite sect. Some time ago she evinced a desire to come home and see her relatives. Accordingly Mr. Bechtel engaged passage for her from Bombay, India, through the Philadelphia offices of the Cook agency. On March 16, five days after the passage was engaged, Miss Funk set sail from Bombay and arrived in Liverpool a few days before the Titanic was to sail. She was not to sail on that vessel, however, but was to come direct to Philadelphia on the Haverford. How she came to take the other steamer Mr. Bechtel cannot explain, unless, as is rumored, she desired to have the company of a number of missionaries from Japan who are believed to have sailed on the Titanic and also been lost.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 24th April 1912
Trev.
Re: The Titanic and the Jewellery/Silverware Industry
Magnificent Jeweled Copy of Omar Khayyam, Recently Sold at London for Over $2,000, Lost on S.S. Titanic
A special cable to the New York Times, last week, from London, stated that there has gone down with the Titanic what may safely be declared one of the most sumptuous modern books in the world. This was a copy of Omar Khayyam, which was sold at Sotheby’s March 29 for £405 ($2,025), and was bought on behalf of an American collector. By chance the book missed a previous boat and was sent off on the Titanic.
Three years ago Messrs. Sotheran took a perfect copy of an American quarto edition of Fitz Gerald’s Omar Khayyam, with strange and original illustrations by Elihu Vedder and resolved to invest it with the richest binding extant. They commissioned Sangorski & Sutcliffe to design and execute
this binding, and that firm lavished on the task two years of the finest craftmanship at their command. This they did, and also embodied in the design over 1,000 precious stones.
For richness of design and decoration it is probably no exaggeration to say that this is the most remarkable specimen of binding ever produced. This magnificent book, which is illustrated herewith, is bound in green levant morocco, with leathern joints and doublures, and brown levant morocco flyleaves, the whole elaborately inlaid, gold tooled and jeweled.
An endeavor has been made to suggest both in color and design all the beauty, extravagance and splendor of Eastern decoration. Richness of decoration has been the chief aim, and although a certain symbolism is suggested in the various designs there has been a recognition of the limitations of the tools and materials, and no vain striving after pictorial or theatrical effects has been attempted.
It took nearly two years of incessant work to produce, and as a piece of craftsmanship. it illustrates the richly decorative possibilities of inlaying and gold tooling.
Sunk panels of decorative shapes are introduced into both covers and doublures to break up the monotony of a flat surface, and also to avoid excessive projection of the jewels that are inset.
One thousand and fifty stones, comprising rubies, turquoises, amethysts, topazes, olivines, garnets and an emerald are introduced into the decoration, and each stone is in a gold setting, which is firmly fixed underneath the leather, thus making it almost an impossibility for it to come out. Very close gold tooling, producing in appearance the richness and splendor of solid chased gold panels, is strongly in evidence in the whole work and affords a fitting background for the jewels.
On the front cover, in a sunk panel of a shape suggestive of Persian architecture, appears, as a central feature, a heart shape, richly jeweled with rubies, olivines and garnets, and closely gold tooled. This is surrounded by a conventional arrangement of three peacocks elaborately inlaid in their many natural hues and filling with the graceful radiating lines of their tails the remainder of the panel. The eyes of the feathers are jeweled with 97 topazes, all of which are specially cut to the correct shape of the eye. The crests of the birds are suggested by 18 turquoises, and rubies are inset to form the eyes; the slight background thus left is tightly filled with gold dots. Surrounding this panel is a border and corner piece suggestive both in color and design of characteristic Oriental decoration and set with 289 garnets, turquoises and olivines. The design is completed with a border representing a conventional treatment of the vine, inlaid in brown and green, and set with 250 amethysts arranged so as to form the bunches of grapes.
The back cover is divided up into a number of sunk panels of Persian shapes. These are closely filled with gold foliage and set with 198 turquoises, garnets and olivines. Inlaid in the center panel is a model, complete in every detail, of a Persian mandolin made of mahogany and inlaid with silver, pearl, satinwood and ebony. A border composed of a graceful arrangement of lines and dots completes the design on this cover.
The front doublure is also divided into a number of sunk panels, and in the center one is a suggestion of Stanza 58: “O thou who man of baser earth didst make, and who with Eden didst devise the snake,” etc., the dominating feature therefore is a snake modeled and inlaid in various colored leathers, with ivory teeth and an emerald set in as the eye, surrounded and entwined among a conventional arrangement of an apple tree, with the sun suggested in solid gold appearing through the foliage. The whole of the background is closely filled with gold dots, throwing the design slightly into relief. The panel is also intended to be an -emblematical suggestion of Life. The corner and side panels are jeweled with 48 turquoises and garnets and closely filled foliage. An elaborate inlaid border of an Oriental character completes the design.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 24th April 1912
Trev.
A special cable to the New York Times, last week, from London, stated that there has gone down with the Titanic what may safely be declared one of the most sumptuous modern books in the world. This was a copy of Omar Khayyam, which was sold at Sotheby’s March 29 for £405 ($2,025), and was bought on behalf of an American collector. By chance the book missed a previous boat and was sent off on the Titanic.
Three years ago Messrs. Sotheran took a perfect copy of an American quarto edition of Fitz Gerald’s Omar Khayyam, with strange and original illustrations by Elihu Vedder and resolved to invest it with the richest binding extant. They commissioned Sangorski & Sutcliffe to design and execute
this binding, and that firm lavished on the task two years of the finest craftmanship at their command. This they did, and also embodied in the design over 1,000 precious stones.
For richness of design and decoration it is probably no exaggeration to say that this is the most remarkable specimen of binding ever produced. This magnificent book, which is illustrated herewith, is bound in green levant morocco, with leathern joints and doublures, and brown levant morocco flyleaves, the whole elaborately inlaid, gold tooled and jeweled.
An endeavor has been made to suggest both in color and design all the beauty, extravagance and splendor of Eastern decoration. Richness of decoration has been the chief aim, and although a certain symbolism is suggested in the various designs there has been a recognition of the limitations of the tools and materials, and no vain striving after pictorial or theatrical effects has been attempted.
It took nearly two years of incessant work to produce, and as a piece of craftsmanship. it illustrates the richly decorative possibilities of inlaying and gold tooling.
Sunk panels of decorative shapes are introduced into both covers and doublures to break up the monotony of a flat surface, and also to avoid excessive projection of the jewels that are inset.
One thousand and fifty stones, comprising rubies, turquoises, amethysts, topazes, olivines, garnets and an emerald are introduced into the decoration, and each stone is in a gold setting, which is firmly fixed underneath the leather, thus making it almost an impossibility for it to come out. Very close gold tooling, producing in appearance the richness and splendor of solid chased gold panels, is strongly in evidence in the whole work and affords a fitting background for the jewels.
On the front cover, in a sunk panel of a shape suggestive of Persian architecture, appears, as a central feature, a heart shape, richly jeweled with rubies, olivines and garnets, and closely gold tooled. This is surrounded by a conventional arrangement of three peacocks elaborately inlaid in their many natural hues and filling with the graceful radiating lines of their tails the remainder of the panel. The eyes of the feathers are jeweled with 97 topazes, all of which are specially cut to the correct shape of the eye. The crests of the birds are suggested by 18 turquoises, and rubies are inset to form the eyes; the slight background thus left is tightly filled with gold dots. Surrounding this panel is a border and corner piece suggestive both in color and design of characteristic Oriental decoration and set with 289 garnets, turquoises and olivines. The design is completed with a border representing a conventional treatment of the vine, inlaid in brown and green, and set with 250 amethysts arranged so as to form the bunches of grapes.
The back cover is divided up into a number of sunk panels of Persian shapes. These are closely filled with gold foliage and set with 198 turquoises, garnets and olivines. Inlaid in the center panel is a model, complete in every detail, of a Persian mandolin made of mahogany and inlaid with silver, pearl, satinwood and ebony. A border composed of a graceful arrangement of lines and dots completes the design on this cover.
The front doublure is also divided into a number of sunk panels, and in the center one is a suggestion of Stanza 58: “O thou who man of baser earth didst make, and who with Eden didst devise the snake,” etc., the dominating feature therefore is a snake modeled and inlaid in various colored leathers, with ivory teeth and an emerald set in as the eye, surrounded and entwined among a conventional arrangement of an apple tree, with the sun suggested in solid gold appearing through the foliage. The whole of the background is closely filled with gold dots, throwing the design slightly into relief. The panel is also intended to be an -emblematical suggestion of Life. The corner and side panels are jeweled with 48 turquoises and garnets and closely filled foliage. An elaborate inlaid border of an Oriental character completes the design.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 24th April 1912
Trev.
Re: The Titanic and the Jewellery/Silverware Industry
Last Honors Paid to the Late Engelhardt C. Ostby, Providence, R. I.
Providence, R. I., May 4.—With simple though impressive services the funeral of Engelhardt C. Ostby, president of the Ostby & Barton Co., manufacturing jewelers of this city, who was one of those who sacrificed his life on the White Star Line steamer Titanic on the night of April 15 that women and children might enter the boats, was held at noon to-day from his late home, 63 Cooke St., this city.
Hundreds of men and women in all walks of life, business associates, professional men and friends of many years attended the services. The spacious residence occupied by the Ostby family was scarcely adequate to hold the mourners that gathered to pay their last tribute of respect, and the gathering overflowed into the main hallway and the front vestibule.
Mr. Ostby’s body was one of those which were recovered by the cable ship Mackay-Bennett, near where the ill-fated ocean liner went down. It was taken into Halifax, Nova Scotia, where it was identified and claimed by David C. Sutherland, assistant superintendent of the Ostby & Barton factory, who went to that port on behalf of the family to receive the body if it was among those recovered. It arrived in this city late Thursday afternoon.
Thursday night the factory of the firm closed its doors until next Monday morning and among those who attended the services were a number of the employes who had been associated with Mr. Ostby for periods varying from a score to a score and a half of years.
The body rested in a mahogany casket, covered with black broadcloth and enclosing a hermetically sealed metallic casket. It occupied a position at the southeast corner of the reception room at the front of the house and was completely covered by an immense blanket of white Killarney roses and adiantum ferns, the only other floral tribute on the casket being a huge wreath of violets. The family had expressly asked that flowers be omitted, but all available space in the room was occupied by the floral tributes, the number being so great that it appeared like a veritable bower of bloom. Great wreaths of orchids, roses, carnations and other flowers, emblematic and set pieces of various designs, flat bouquets and wreaths were banked about the room in almost inestimable number, or banked against the walls.
The funeral service was conducted by the Rev. Gaius Glenn Atkins, D.D., pastor of the Central Congregational Church, of which Mr. Ostby had been a member. It was impressively simple, merely a recapitulation of comforting passages from the Scriptures, with a prayer and benediction. There was no address, but in his prayer Rev. Mr. Atkins referred feelingly to the brave men who went down with the Titanic, drew a lesson from the deaths such men suffered and suggested comfort to the family and friends in the statement that such men are men who know how to meet death bravely and whose deaths speak to the survivors, urging them to be brave also and to emulate the examples set.
Burial in the family lot at Swan Point Cemetery followed the service. There were no honorary bearers, colored bearers being employed at the house and the grave.
Mr. Ostby was not a member of any secret or fraternal society and did not enter social circles, being of a very retiring disposition. He lived in a quiet manner, giving most of his time to business and his family. He was deeply esteemed by all who knew him and considered one of the most philanthropic and charitable men in the city.
Among those present at the funeral service were delegates from the Citizens’ Savings and the High St. Banks, the Industrial Trust Co. and the Rhode Island School of Design, of all of which Mr. Ostby was a director, and from the New England Manufacturing Jewelers’ and Silversmiths’ Association and the Manufacturing Jewelers Board of Trade, of which he was also a member.
At a meeting of the board of governors of the New England Manufacturing Jewelers’ and Silversmiths’ Association, held last week at the office of the association in the Wilcox building, this city, the following resolutions were adopted and sent to the Ostby & Barton Co., signed by Everett L. Spencer, president of the association:
“The New England Manufacturing Jewelers’ and Silversmiths’ Association, through its Board of Governors, desires to express to you its sense of loss in the recent and shocking death of Engelhardt C. Ostby.
“Mr. Ostby was known so long and respected so highly by the members of the jewelry industry in New England that the news of his tragic passing comes with a sense of personal loss to his business friends.
“At such times language frequently proves an inadequate means of expression, but we trust you will understand that your loss is shared by the entire membership of our association.”
A message of condolence was also sent by the board of governors of the association to the family of the deceased.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 8th May 1912
Trev.
Providence, R. I., May 4.—With simple though impressive services the funeral of Engelhardt C. Ostby, president of the Ostby & Barton Co., manufacturing jewelers of this city, who was one of those who sacrificed his life on the White Star Line steamer Titanic on the night of April 15 that women and children might enter the boats, was held at noon to-day from his late home, 63 Cooke St., this city.
Hundreds of men and women in all walks of life, business associates, professional men and friends of many years attended the services. The spacious residence occupied by the Ostby family was scarcely adequate to hold the mourners that gathered to pay their last tribute of respect, and the gathering overflowed into the main hallway and the front vestibule.
Mr. Ostby’s body was one of those which were recovered by the cable ship Mackay-Bennett, near where the ill-fated ocean liner went down. It was taken into Halifax, Nova Scotia, where it was identified and claimed by David C. Sutherland, assistant superintendent of the Ostby & Barton factory, who went to that port on behalf of the family to receive the body if it was among those recovered. It arrived in this city late Thursday afternoon.
Thursday night the factory of the firm closed its doors until next Monday morning and among those who attended the services were a number of the employes who had been associated with Mr. Ostby for periods varying from a score to a score and a half of years.
The body rested in a mahogany casket, covered with black broadcloth and enclosing a hermetically sealed metallic casket. It occupied a position at the southeast corner of the reception room at the front of the house and was completely covered by an immense blanket of white Killarney roses and adiantum ferns, the only other floral tribute on the casket being a huge wreath of violets. The family had expressly asked that flowers be omitted, but all available space in the room was occupied by the floral tributes, the number being so great that it appeared like a veritable bower of bloom. Great wreaths of orchids, roses, carnations and other flowers, emblematic and set pieces of various designs, flat bouquets and wreaths were banked about the room in almost inestimable number, or banked against the walls.
The funeral service was conducted by the Rev. Gaius Glenn Atkins, D.D., pastor of the Central Congregational Church, of which Mr. Ostby had been a member. It was impressively simple, merely a recapitulation of comforting passages from the Scriptures, with a prayer and benediction. There was no address, but in his prayer Rev. Mr. Atkins referred feelingly to the brave men who went down with the Titanic, drew a lesson from the deaths such men suffered and suggested comfort to the family and friends in the statement that such men are men who know how to meet death bravely and whose deaths speak to the survivors, urging them to be brave also and to emulate the examples set.
Burial in the family lot at Swan Point Cemetery followed the service. There were no honorary bearers, colored bearers being employed at the house and the grave.
Mr. Ostby was not a member of any secret or fraternal society and did not enter social circles, being of a very retiring disposition. He lived in a quiet manner, giving most of his time to business and his family. He was deeply esteemed by all who knew him and considered one of the most philanthropic and charitable men in the city.
Among those present at the funeral service were delegates from the Citizens’ Savings and the High St. Banks, the Industrial Trust Co. and the Rhode Island School of Design, of all of which Mr. Ostby was a director, and from the New England Manufacturing Jewelers’ and Silversmiths’ Association and the Manufacturing Jewelers Board of Trade, of which he was also a member.
At a meeting of the board of governors of the New England Manufacturing Jewelers’ and Silversmiths’ Association, held last week at the office of the association in the Wilcox building, this city, the following resolutions were adopted and sent to the Ostby & Barton Co., signed by Everett L. Spencer, president of the association:
“The New England Manufacturing Jewelers’ and Silversmiths’ Association, through its Board of Governors, desires to express to you its sense of loss in the recent and shocking death of Engelhardt C. Ostby.
“Mr. Ostby was known so long and respected so highly by the members of the jewelry industry in New England that the news of his tragic passing comes with a sense of personal loss to his business friends.
“At such times language frequently proves an inadequate means of expression, but we trust you will understand that your loss is shared by the entire membership of our association.”
A message of condolence was also sent by the board of governors of the association to the family of the deceased.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 8th May 1912
Trev.
Re: The Titanic and the Jewellery/Silverware Industry
Among those who contributed to the Titanic fund whose names were not mentioned in the last issue of The Jewelers’ Circular are: Goodfriend Bros., $25; S. L. Van Wezel, $50, and employes of Eduard Van Dam, $16.35.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 8th May 1912
Trev.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 8th May 1912
Trev.
Re: The Titanic and the Jewellery/Silverware Industry
NEW YORK
Theodore Schisgall, of the Schisgall & Kienzie Co., 116 Chambers St., has returned from Europe on the steamer La France after spending seven weeks on a buying trip abroad. Mr. Schisgall had booked passage on the Titanic and it was only for the reason that he had contemplated accompanying his niece to England, where she was to complete her studies, that he gave up his reservation.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 8th May 1912
Trev.
Theodore Schisgall, of the Schisgall & Kienzie Co., 116 Chambers St., has returned from Europe on the steamer La France after spending seven weeks on a buying trip abroad. Mr. Schisgall had booked passage on the Titanic and it was only for the reason that he had contemplated accompanying his niece to England, where she was to complete her studies, that he gave up his reservation.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 8th May 1912
Trev.
Re: The Titanic and the Jewellery/Silverware Industry
It has proved somewhat annoying to the family of the late W. W. Wattles that the country should be flooded with false reports regarding the circumstances surrounding the well-known jeweler’s death. It was published in a number of papers from coast to coast that the reading of the terrible loss of life when the Titanic went down had caused the jeweler to drop dead. The inference was given by some accounts that he had a large quantity of diamonds aboard the ship. The statements were entirely false. Jewelers from as far west as Seattle, Wash., have written inquiring about the matter. There is said to have been absolutely no grounds at all for printing such trash, as the news that the ship had sunk was printed in the papers the morning of the day that Mr. Wattles died, his death occurring suddenly late in the afternoon, while returning from a long walk, the strain of which had exhausted him.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 8th May 1912
Trev.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 8th May 1912
Trev.
Re: The Titanic and the Jewellery/Silverware Industry
The Chicago office of the Ostby & Barton Co. in the Columbus Memorial building was closed last Saturday on account of the funeral of E. C. Ostby, who lost his life in the Titanic disaster.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 8th May 1912
Trev.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 8th May 1912
Trev.
Re: The Titanic and the Jewellery/Silverware Industry
CHICAGO
The will of Erwin G. Lewy, one of the victims of the Titanic disaster, and who was a member of the firm of Lewy Bros., jewelers, was filed for probate last week. The estate is valued “not to exceed $50,000, of which $30,000 is insurance.” The will bequeaths $2,000 to a sister, Mrs. Celia L. Silverberg, to be held in trust for her daughter, Bertha Silverberg, until she attains the age of 18 years. The residue of the estate is bequeathed to the two brothers, Marks Lewy and Jay B. Lewy, who are named as executors, to be divided as follows: to the four sisters—Mrs. Celia L. Silverberg, Mrs. Nora L. Isenberg, Miss Paulina Lewy and Mrs. Frieda L. Oppenheimer—are bequeathed each 20 per cent. of the estate. To the two brothers are bequeathed each 10 per cent. of the estate.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 8th May 1912
Trev.
The will of Erwin G. Lewy, one of the victims of the Titanic disaster, and who was a member of the firm of Lewy Bros., jewelers, was filed for probate last week. The estate is valued “not to exceed $50,000, of which $30,000 is insurance.” The will bequeaths $2,000 to a sister, Mrs. Celia L. Silverberg, to be held in trust for her daughter, Bertha Silverberg, until she attains the age of 18 years. The residue of the estate is bequeathed to the two brothers, Marks Lewy and Jay B. Lewy, who are named as executors, to be divided as follows: to the four sisters—Mrs. Celia L. Silverberg, Mrs. Nora L. Isenberg, Miss Paulina Lewy and Mrs. Frieda L. Oppenheimer—are bequeathed each 20 per cent. of the estate. To the two brothers are bequeathed each 10 per cent. of the estate.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 8th May 1912
Trev.