{{Short description|American silverware company, 1824–2015}} {{Infobox company | name = Reed & Barton | logo = | image = Reed Barton Taunton.jpg | image_caption = Reed and Barton Complex, Taunton, Massachusetts | type = | industry = Silversmith | fate = Bankruptcy | predecessor = <!-- or: | predecessors = --> | successor = <!-- or: | successors = --> | founded = {{Start date and age|1824}} | founder = <!-- or: | founders = --> | defunct = {{End date|2015|02}} | hq_location_city = Taunton, Massachusetts | hq_location_country = United States | area_served = <!-- or: | areas_served = --> | key_people = | products = | owner = <!-- or: | owners = --> | num_employees = | num_employees_year = <!-- Year of num_employees data (if known) --> | parent = | website = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} --> }}

'''Reed & Barton''' was a prominent American silversmith manufacturer based in the city of Taunton, Massachusetts, operating between 1824 and 2015. Its products include flatware of sterling silver and silverplate, but the company originally focused on britannia metal<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://antiquesilver.org/reed-barton-an-influential-and-significant-silversmith-in-the-19th-20th-century/|title=Reed & Barton - An influential and significant silversmith in the 19th & 20th century|date=2017-06-17|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-29}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/people/18044781/bio|title=Reed & Barton {{!}} Biography {{!}} People {{!}} Collection of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum|website=collection.cooperhewitt.org|access-date=2020-04-29}}</ref>; it sold varying items of these alloys since Henry G. Reed<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~silversmiths/makers/silversmiths/115732.htm|title=Henry Gooding Reed, born 23 Jul 1810, died 1901}}</ref> and Charles E. Barton took over the failing works of Isaac Babbitt<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~silversmiths/makers/silversmiths/75147.htm|title = Isaac Babbitt, born 26 Jul 1799, died 26 May 1862}}</ref> in Taunton. During the American Civil War, Reed & Barton produced a considerable quantity of weapons for Union Army soldiers and officers.<ref name=":0"/>

== History highlights == [[File:Reed and Barton watch chain label.jpg|thumb|Pocket watch chain made by Reed & Barton]] Reed & Barton was originally founded as Babbitt & Crossman in Taunton, Massachusetts, in 1824. Babbitt & Crossman, which produced Britannia ware, was first owned by Isaac Babbitt. However, the company was slowly losing money, so the failing company was purchased by Henry G. Reed and business partner Charles E. Barton.<ref name=":0"/><ref name=":1"/>

In 1928, Reed & Barton merged with silversmith Dominick & Haff.<ref>{{cite magazine| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,731445,00.html?promoid=googlep | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025105223/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,731445,00.html?promoid=googlep | url-status=dead | archive-date=October 25, 2012 | magazine=Time | title=More Mergers - TIME | date=23 January 1928}}</ref>

Reed & Barton was chosen to design and produce the official gold, silver, and bronze medals for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=GF&s_site=grandforks&p_multi=GF&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB6EB673530DED3&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |title=SHROUD OF SECURITY COVERS OLYMPIC MEDAL-MAKING | date=15 June 1996}}</ref> of which there are samples on display at the Old Colony History Museum in Taunton. The company's products are used at the White House in Washington, D.C. Today, the company operates a factory store at the plant site, an outlet store at Wrentham Premium Outlets in Wrentham, Massachusetts, and an online store as well.

== Other operations == The company remained privately owned by the family of Henry Reed. Besides the flatware, Reed & Barton operated other brands as well: *Reed & Barton Handcrafted Chests, the world's largest manufacturer of handmade chests, cigar humidors, pen chests, and hardwood flatware.{{Citation needed|date=December 2010}} *Miller Rogaska Crystal, handmade stemware. *Sheffield Collection, a company started in 1908 and purchased by Reed & Barton in 1973. *Everyday stainless steel flatware designed for durability (and modern conveniences like dishwashers). *It is the exclusive American importer of Belleek Fine Parian China and Aynsley Fine English Bone China Tableware.

The company's manufacturing complex in Taunton is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

== Bankruptcy == Reed & Barton filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2015, citing ongoing pension liabilities and decreasing revenue.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.providencejournal.com/article/20150228/News/150229298|first=John|last=Kostrzewa|title=Reed & Barton bankruptcy marks end of an era|newspaper=The Providence Journal|date=February 28, 2015|accessdate=2015-06-13}}</ref> In a bankruptcy auction conducted in April 2015, the operating assets of the company were acquired by The Lenox Company, a competing maker of flatware and tableware.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newsday.com/business/lifetime-brands-outbid-for-silversmith-reed-and-barton-1.10350240|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503033229/http://www.newsday.com/business/lifetime-brands-outbid-for-silversmith-reed-and-barton-1.10350240|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 3, 2015|title=Lifetime Brands outbid for silversmith Reed & Barton|newspaper=Newsday|date=April 30, 2015|accessdate=2015-06-13}}</ref>

== References == {{Reflist}}

==Archives and records== *[http://id.lib.harvard.edu/ead/bak01074/catalog Reed & Barton Company records] at Baker Library Special Collections, Harvard Business School. *[https://reedandbartonvirtualarchive.org/ Reed & Barton virtual archive], maintained by the Old Colony History Museum

==Further reading== *''The Whitesmiths of Taunton: A History of Reed & Barton 1824-1943'', George Sweet Gibb, 1943. *''Sterling Seasons - The Reed & Barton Story'', Renee Garrelick, 1998.

==External links== *[http://www.reedandbarton.com Reed & Barton's Official Home Page] *[http://www.silverqueen.com/PatternSearch/STERLING/Reed%20%26%20Barton List of Reed & Barton Sterling Patterns]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Reed and Barton}} Category:Silversmith companies of the United States Category:1824 establishments in Massachusetts Category:2015 disestablishments in Massachusetts Category:Companies based in Massachusetts Category:Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2015