In the nineteenth century, volunteer fire companies often commissioned paintings to decorate their hand-pumped fire engines for parades, competitions, and community events. Sometimes framed with elaborate carvings, they adorned the tall air chamber located at the middle or rear of a pumper. The paintings would often feature patriotic, heroic, or allegorical images to associate the volunteer companies with these lofty ideals.
This panel is probably not an authentic engine panel. It purports to be painted by Charles Peale Polk in 1805, but paint analysis dates it around early 20th century. The painting is a copy of John Trumbull's painting "The Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown." This painting’s companion piece can be seen in object 2005.0233.0318. Panel paintings of Washington would have had significance to volunteer company’s named after Washington, but because of this paintings late date, it is unlikely that it was ever in use as an engine panel in an active volunteer company.
This hand-colored lithograph with muted colors depics a firemen pulling a Philadelphia steamer, rushing out of the fire house into the snow. The title notes the establishment of a paid municipal fire department in New York in 1865.
The lithographer was H. A. Thomas & Wylie Lithographing Company based in New York City, 1862-1904. Henry Atwell Thomas (1844-1904) was trained as a painter but became a lithographer in the 1860's and a partner in the firm Crow, Thomas, & Eno Litho. He started a business around 1873, creating high-quality lithographed theatrical portraits and posters. In 1887, he formed a partnership with George A. Wylie. The company became part of Consolidated Lithographing Company in the early 1900s.
In the nineteenth century, volunteer fire companies often commissioned paintings to decorate their hand-pumped fire engines for parades, competitions, and community events. Sometimes framed with elaborate carvings, they adorned the tall air chamber located at the middle or rear of a pumper. The paintings would often feature patriotic, heroic, or allegorical images to associate the volunteer companies with these lofty ideals.
This panel is probably not an authentic engine panel. It purports to be painted by Charles Peale Polk in 1805, but paint analysis dates it to the early 20th century. The painting is a copy of Charles Wilson Peale’s “Washington as Commander-in-Chief of the Army.” This painting’s companion piece can be seen in object 2005.0233.0319. Panel paintings of Washington would have had significance to volunteer company’s named after Washington, but because of this paintings late date, it is unlikely that it was ever in use as an engine panel in an active volunteer company.
This hand-sewn leather bucket from 1795 is marked “White Angel.” This is an example of one of a number of poetic mottos—others include “Heart in Hand” and “Always Ready”—that were featured on buckets. These bold sayings “bring immediate visions of fighting the flames with leather.” Buckets such as this one sang the praises of their owners, and would have been used and paraded proudly. Such descriptive imagery continued to be used by firefighters long after the days of the bucket brigade were over: in 1883, the American Fire Engine Company of Seneca Falls, New York built the “White Angel” engine for use at parades and competitions.
This high-crowned, leather work helmet dates from around 1790 to 1810 and lacks the thicker, elongated brims and detachable shields of later-nineteenth-century work hats. The text “Hook & Ladder No. 15” is painted in black directly on the hat’s front. This hat is one of the earlier examples in the firefighting collection, and its four combs distinguish it from simpler eighteenth-century “stove-top” style hats which were made from a single piece of leather.
This hat dates from before 1830 and is a good example of the versatility of designs and materials available to fire hat makers. Unlike the more commonly used leather, this hat is made of straw covered with cloth. Predating the era of combs or metal wiring this hat on a practical level did not offer very much protection against falling debris or water. Unfortunately because the gold design formerly printed on this hat has been lost to time it is impossible to determine which company it belonged to.
Before the advent of the Gratacap hat in the 1830’s, with its familiar rearward projecting brim, fire companies often sported wide-brim leather hats that resembled top hats. This hat says little about company affiliation. Printed in gold letters on the front brim is “Lowell” referring possibly to Lowell, Massachusetts. Early fire hats lacked reinforced wire brims or combs and offered little protection against falling projectiles, and this hat was probably valued more for its water resistance.
This early leather work hat with its low, dome-shaped crown, narrow brim, and lack of a company shield and shield holder, is vaguely reminiscent of eighteenth- and early-nineteenth-century “stovepipe-style” fire hats. Yet it also includes more modern features like combs and a curved, extended rear brim. Indicative of its hybrid, early-to-modern construction, this hat could date to as early as 1812 or as late as 1860. A large label printed inside the crown indicates that the hat belonged to the “Excelsior” Company, possibly of New York.
This fire bucket is identical to G45. Both are painted green and labeled with the name of the owner, N. K. Sargent, and the year, 1841. They are numbered No. 1 and No. 2 respectively. Buckets were painted bright colors and marked with the owner’s name so that, in the confusion following a fire, they would be easily recognizable. While inevitably some buckets would be lost or stolen after a fire had been extinguished, such labeling increased the likelihood that buckets would be retrieved and taken home by their proper owner. Sargent possessed two buckets, as was often required by local law; buckets would frequently be purchased in pairs. Numbering his buckets provided an obvious distinction between the two, which would have been useful should one have been lost or stolen during a fire.
This early nineteenth century bucket reads “Laurel Lodge.” This may refer to a Masonic Lodge—a local chapter within the larger fraternal organization—such as the one in Laurel Springs, New Jersey. It is also possible that Laurel Lodge was a tavern or an inn. Either way, the lodge would have kept its own buckets in case of fire. The opposite side of the bucket is painted with an insignia featuring a helmet and two crossed swords. This icon is surrounded by green laurel leaves, in keeping with the name of the lodge; laurel is usually symbolic of triumph or fame.
This riveted bucket was used by the Water Line Association, formed in 1817 at Lexington, Kentucky. Because it is riveted and not hand-sewn, it was most likely produced in the mid to late nineteenth century.
Note: The W.L.A. was some sort of community organization, but its exact purpose is unknown. It could have been involved in supplying water for firefighting, or it might simply have been a fraternal organization that had its own buckets. The W.L.A. is not listed in the Lexington city directories for 1818 or 1859-60, and it is not mentioned in William Henry Perrin’s History of Fayette County, Kentucky or in Allen Share’s Cities in the Commonwealth: Two Centuries of Urban Life in Kentucky.
The leather fire hat was made by an unknown maker during the early 19th century. This helmet predates the use of combs or metal wiring for strength, as evidenced by the collapsed crown. The brim of the hat features embossed scroll work, and the embossed text “So. DANVERS” that is painted in faded gold. A nail hole on the rear edge of the brim allowed the hat to be hung.
This 1830 bucket, which belonged to J.M. Prince, is a good example of an ordinary bucket that would have belonged to an individual citizen. Having fire equipment supplied by private citizens was not without its disadvantages. The most common problem was buckets being used for purposes other than firefighting, for example, as mop buckets or as storage receptacles. There is one story of a fire bucket being used to store beans—and the beans then accidentally being emptied into an engine in the chaos of a fire. Some buckets were made with rounded or conical bottoms, so that they could not lay flat on the floor and be used as mop buckets. The development of professional fire departments in the second half of the nineteenth century eliminated such problems by centralizing authority over the hazard of fire.
Businesses like the Boston bookseller Marsh, Capen & Lyons owned fire buckets that could be filled from wells and cisterns and passed hand to hand to feed the engine fighting the fire. These utilitarian objects were often decorated with patriotic motifs. Here the eagle and shield are meant to evoke patriotism and a sense of protecting the well-being of the community and nation.
This hand-sewn bucket, dated 1784, is painted with the image of two hands clasped in friendship, a common motif in the material culture of firefighting. The image of the handshake symbolizes the cooperation and community effort that were essential in early firefighting. In the eighteenth century, when this bucket was made, firefighting was the responsibility of all able-bodied members of the community. It was necessary for everyone to provide equipment and to participate in the bucket brigades. Engine companies worked side-by-side with ordinary citizens to extinguish a fire. Surrounding the image of the handshake is a circular chain, another symbol of cooperation and strength through unity. It is possible that this bucket belonged to the Hand-in-Hand Fire Company of Philadelphia. The Hand-in-Hand was founded in 1742, and its members included some of the important professional, civic, and religious leaders of the community.
This hand-sewn leather bucket from 1832 is marked with the owner’s name, W. Forbes, and “Independent,” most likely the name of his fire company or fire society. The public service of firefighting was closely connected with republican ideals of citizenship. The formation of associations was considered uniquely American, and volunteers generally chose names for their organizations that would demonstrate their patriotism and sense of civic duty: “Independent,” “Union,” and “Liberty” were all common names for fire companies. Fire threatened to destroy society, and by protecting the cities in which they lived from physical destruction, firefighters were seen as preserving democratic values, values at the core of American society. Companies chose names that would emphasize their commitment to the young nation and its political principles.