Beginning in the 1750s, some American insurance companies issued metal fire marks to policyholders to signify that their property was insured against fire damage. The fire marks bore the name and/or symbol of the insurer, and some included the customer’s policy number. The company or agent would then affix the mark to the policyholder’s home or business. For owners the mark served as proof of insurance and a deterrent against arson. For insurance companies the mark served as a form of advertising, and alerted volunteer firefighters that the property was insured.
The Hope Mutual Fire Insurance Company of St. Louis was active from 1857 until 1901, when it was purchased by the National Fire Insurance Company of Hartford, Connecticut. The shield-shaped fire mark is made of zinc, with a raised image of an anchor in its center. The mark has a raised rim and raised lettering that reads “HOPE/MUTUAL/ST. LOUIS.”
Beginning in the 1750s, some American insurance companies issued metal fire marks to policyholders to signify that their property was insured against fire damage. The fire marks bore the name and/or symbol of the insurer, and some included the customer’s policy number. The company or agent would then affix the mark to the policyholder’s home or business. For owners the mark served as proof of insurance and a deterrent against arson. For insurance companies the mark served as a form of advertising, and alerted volunteer firefighters that the property was insured.
The Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire issued this fire mark during the 1780s. The fire mark consists of the company’s symbol cast in lead showing four hands clasped at the wrist attached to a shield-shaped wooden backing. The Philadelphia Contributionship was established in 1752, becoming the first successful fire insurance company in America. Benjamin Franklin was one of its founding members. The Contributionship began as a mutual insurance company and this concept is represented by its “Hand in Hand” fire mark. The Philadelphia Contributionship is still in operation.
Lithograph of Golfer Byron Nelson made for the Equitable Life insurance Society of the United States. The lithograph features a reproduction of a drawing done by artist George Loh.
Byron Nelson began his professional golf career in 1932. With 64 professional golf victories. 52 on the PGA tour, he is considered one of the greatest golfers in American history. The Texas native was the winner of 5 Major Championships, and in 1945 had one of the best years in golf history, winning 11 consecutive tournaments. In 1974 he was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame, and in 2006 was posthumously awarded a Congressional Gold Medal.
This celluloid card has a calendar for 1903, and an advertisement for The Mutual Life Ins. Co. of New York. The back has the stamp of W. H. Cargill, agent in Pawtucket, R.I.
Part of an animation cel used in the making of a 1987 MetLife (Metropolitan Life Insurance) television commercial featuring "Snoopy" from the comic strip Peanuts .
Charles Schulz’s Peanuts was a syndicated newspaper comic that ran from 1950-2000. Originating from Schultz’s original cartoon Lil Folks , Peanuts became one of the most popular comic strips ever, running in over 2,6000 newspapers, developing into a massive multi-media franchise and marketing juggernaut. The strip, whose 17,897 cartoons were all written and drawn by Schulz, was noted its psychological depth and a philosophical bent, as well as for providing a humorous yet honest window into interpersonal relationships and life’s myriad challenges. Featuring only children and animals as characters, including the depressed yet perseverant Charlie Brown his joyful, imaginative pet dog Snoopy, the security blanket wielding Linus and his “crabby” older sister Lucy, Peanuts established reoccurring stories and motifs that have become part of the world’s shared popular culture.
Part of an animation cel used in the making of a 1987 MetLife (Metropolitan Life Insurance) television commercial featuring "Snoopy" from the comic strip Peanuts .
Charles Schulz’s Peanuts was a syndicated newspaper comic that ran from 1950-2000. Originating from Schultz’s original cartoon Lil Folks , Peanuts became one of the most popular comic strips ever, running in over 2,6000 newspapers, developing into a massive multi-media franchise and marketing juggernaut. The strip, whose 17,897 cartoons were all written and drawn by Schulz, was noted its psychological depth and a philosophical bent, as well as for providing a humorous yet honest window into interpersonal relationships and life’s myriad challenges. Featuring only children and animals as characters, including the depressed yet perseverant Charlie Brown his joyful, imaginative pet dog Snoopy, the security blanket wielding Linus and his “crabby” older sister Lucy, Peanuts established reoccurring stories and motifs that have become part of the world’s shared popular culture.
Production drawing used in the making of an animated 1987 MetLife (Metropolitan Life Insurance) television commercial featuring "Snoopy" from the comic strip Peanuts .
Charles Schulz’s Peanuts was a syndicated newspaper comic that ran from 1950-2000. Originating from Schultz’s original cartoon Lil Folks , Peanuts became one of the most popular comic strips ever, running in over 2,6000 newspapers, developing into a massive multi-media franchise and marketing juggernaut. The strip, whose 17,897 cartoons were all written and drawn by Schulz, was noted its psychological depth and a philosophical bent, as well as for providing a humorous yet honest window into interpersonal relationships and life’s myriad challenges. Featuring only children and animals as characters, including the depressed yet perseverant Charlie Brown his joyful, imaginative pet dog Snoopy, the security blanket wielding Linus and his “crabby” older sister Lucy, Peanuts established reoccurring stories and motifs that have become part of the world’s shared popular culture.
Production drawing used in the making of an animated 1987 MetLife (Metropolitan Life Insurance) television commercial featuring "Snoopy" from the comic strip Peanuts .
Charles Schulz’s Peanuts was a syndicated newspaper comic that ran from 1950-2000. Originating from Schultz’s original cartoon Lil Folks , Peanuts became one of the most popular comic strips ever, running in over 2,6000 newspapers, developing into a massive multi-media franchise and marketing juggernaut. The strip, whose 17,897 cartoons were all written and drawn by Schulz, was noted its psychological depth and a philosophical bent, as well as for providing a humorous yet honest window into interpersonal relationships and life’s myriad challenges. Featuring only children and animals as characters, including the depressed yet perseverant Charlie Brown his joyful, imaginative pet dog Snoopy, the security blanket wielding Linus and his “crabby” older sister Lucy, Peanuts established reoccurring stories and motifs that have become part of the world’s shared popular culture.
Part of an animation cel used in the making of a 1987 MetLife (Metropolitan Life Insurance) television commercial featuring "Snoopy" from the comic strip Peanuts .
Charles Schulz’s Peanuts was a syndicated newspaper comic that ran from 1950-2000. Originating from Schultz’s original cartoon Lil Folks , Peanuts became one of the most popular comic strips ever, running in over 2,6000 newspapers, developing into a massive multi-media franchise and marketing juggernaut. The strip, whose 17,897 cartoons were all written and drawn by Schulz, was noted its psychological depth and a philosophical bent, as well as for providing a humorous yet honest window into interpersonal relationships and life’s myriad challenges. Featuring only children and animals as characters, including the depressed yet perseverant Charlie Brown his joyful, imaginative pet dog Snoopy, the security blanket wielding Linus and his “crabby” older sister Lucy, Peanuts established reoccurring stories and motifs that have become part of the world’s shared popular culture.
Production drawing used in the making of an animated 1987 MetLife (Metropolitan Life Insurance) television commercial featuring "Snoopy" from the comic strip Peanuts .
Charles Schulz’s Peanuts was a syndicated newspaper comic that ran from 1950-2000. Originating from Schultz’s original cartoon Lil Folks , Peanuts became one of the most popular comic strips ever, running in over 2,6000 newspapers, developing into a massive multi-media franchise and marketing juggernaut. The strip, whose 17,897 cartoons were all written and drawn by Schulz, was noted its psychological depth and a philosophical bent, as well as for providing a humorous yet honest window into interpersonal relationships and life’s myriad challenges. Featuring only children and animals as characters, including the depressed yet perseverant Charlie Brown his joyful, imaginative pet dog Snoopy, the security blanket wielding Linus and his “crabby” older sister Lucy, Peanuts established reoccurring stories and motifs that have become part of the world’s shared popular culture.
Part of an animation cel used in the making of a 1987 MetLife (Metropolitan Life Insurance) television commercial featuring "Snoopy" from the comic strip Peanuts .
Charles Schulz’s Peanuts was a syndicated newspaper comic that ran from 1950-2000. Originating from Schultz’s original cartoon Lil Folks , Peanuts became one of the most popular comic strips ever, running in over 2,6000 newspapers, developing into a massive multi-media franchise and marketing juggernaut. The strip, whose 17,897 cartoons were all written and drawn by Schulz, was noted its psychological depth and a philosophical bent, as well as for providing a humorous yet honest window into interpersonal relationships and life’s myriad challenges. Featuring only children and animals as characters, including the depressed yet perseverant Charlie Brown his joyful, imaginative pet dog Snoopy, the security blanket wielding Linus and his “crabby” older sister Lucy, Peanuts established reoccurring stories and motifs that have become part of the world’s shared popular culture.
Part of an animation cel used in the making of a 1987 MetLife (Metropolitan Life Insurance) television commercial featuring "Snoopy" from the comic strip Peanuts .
Charles Schulz’s Peanuts was a syndicated newspaper comic that ran from 1950-2000. Originating from Schultz’s original cartoon Lil Folks , Peanuts became one of the most popular comic strips ever, running in over 2,6000 newspapers, developing into a massive multi-media franchise and marketing juggernaut. The strip, whose 17,897 cartoons were all written and drawn by Schulz, was noted its psychological depth and a philosophical bent, as well as for providing a humorous yet honest window into interpersonal relationships and life’s myriad challenges. Featuring only children and animals as characters, including the depressed yet perseverant Charlie Brown his joyful, imaginative pet dog Snoopy, the security blanket wielding Linus and his “crabby” older sister Lucy, Peanuts established reoccurring stories and motifs that have become part of the world’s shared popular culture.
Production drawing used in the making of an animated 1987 MetLife (Metropolitan Life Insurance) television commercial featuring "Snoopy" from the comic strip Peanuts .
Charles Schulz’s Peanuts was a syndicated newspaper comic that ran from 1950-2000. Originating from Schultz’s original cartoon Lil Folks , Peanuts became one of the most popular comic strips ever, running in over 2,6000 newspapers, developing into a massive multi-media franchise and marketing juggernaut. The strip, whose 17,897 cartoons were all written and drawn by Schulz, was noted its psychological depth and a philosophical bent, as well as for providing a humorous yet honest window into interpersonal relationships and life’s myriad challenges. Featuring only children and animals as characters, including the depressed yet perseverant Charlie Brown his joyful, imaginative pet dog Snoopy, the security blanket wielding Linus and his “crabby” older sister Lucy, Peanuts established reoccurring stories and motifs that have become part of the world’s shared popular culture.
One side of this celluloid card has a calendar for 1932, and an ad for The Massachusetts Protective Companies in Worcester. The other has information about E. R. Dimick, Special Agent for this insurance company, based in New York City.
Kentucky thoroughbred Man o' War (1917-1947) was one of the most successful racehorses of all time, winning 20 of 21 starts in his career and setting three world records. The horse was so popular that his funeral was attended by thousands of mouners and broadcast to millions more via radio.