Jacob Ulrich Holfeldt Tostrup (1 July 1806 – 31 January 1890) was a Norwegian jeweler,

goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Modern goldsmiths mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, they have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), plat ...

and silversmith.

Biography

Tostrup was born at

Hjelmeland is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Ryfylke. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hjelmelandsvågen. Other villages in the municipality include Fister, Årdal, ...

, in

Rogaland Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. As of 1 January 2024, it had a population of 49 ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. He was the son of infantry captain Nicolay Tostrup (1768–1858) and his wife Thale Margrethe Resen Holfeldt (1779–1860). He was born into a family with eight siblings. Around 13 years of age, he worked for a local silversmith. He started as a goldsmith apprentice in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

between 1823 and 1828. He then had short stays in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

and

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

. He received his journeyman's certificate in 1828. He then moved to Christiania (now Oslo) and acquired burghership in 1832. In 1832, he founded the jewelers firm ''J. Tostrup'', gradually expanding his business with more production equipment and better localities. Tostrup held several positions in the goldsmith's guild and artisan associations. His firm made the original enameled insignia for the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

, when the order was established in 1848 and later in 1883 it was put in charge of the whole production. ''J. Tostrup'' received the title royal court jeweler, and Jacob Tostrup received the Norwegian

King's Medal of Merit The King's Medal of Merit (Norwegian: ''Kongens fortjenstmedalje'') is a Norwegian award. It was instituted in 1908 to reward meritorious achievements in the fields of art, science, business, and public service. It is divided in two classes: gold ...

in gold (''Kongens fortjenstmedalje'') and was appointed a Knight of the

Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

for his work as a goldsmith.

Personal life

In February 1839 he married Lina Hjorthøy (1821–1890), a granddaughter of priest and topographer Hugo Fredrik Hjorthøy. They had five children. Their son Oluf Tostrup became involved in the company, but died in 1882. Instead Tostrup took on his granddaughter's husband Torolf Prytz as a partner in 1884. Torolf Prytz became owner of the store after Jacob Tostrup's death. Prytz, a skilled architect, was one of the designers behind the new store, Tostrup Yard (''Tostrupgården''), built 1893–1898 at Karl Johans gate 25, next to the

Norwegian Parliament The Storting ( ; ) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years based on party-list proportional represe ...

. Torolf Prytz' son, and Jacob Tostrup's great-grandson, Jakob Tostrup Prytz (1886–1962) also became a notable jewelry designer and goldsmith.

References

Other sources

* Finne-Grønn, Stian Herlofsen. ''Familien Tostrup fra Lister'' (Christiania, 1897). * Kielland, T. ''Om gullsmedkunst i hundre år. J. Tostrup 1832–1932'' (1932).

External links

Jacob Tostrup designs
at the

National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design The National Museum (, officially the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design) is a museum in Oslo, Norway which holds the Norwegian state's public collection of art, architecture, and design objects. The collection totals over 400,000 w ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tostrup, Jacob 1806 births 1890 deaths People from Hjelmeland Norwegian jewellers Norwegian goldsmiths Norwegian silversmiths Norwegian company founders Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal Recipients of the King's Medal of Merit in gold Burials at the Cemetery of Our Saviour