Fire Engine Plate, "Northern Liberty No. 1"
date: label: date made
content: 1756
name: label: maker
content: unknown
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: At the core of any fire company is the apparatus used to fight fires and protect lives. This was particularly true of for the volunteer fire fighters in 19th century America. Often purchased with their own funds, their fire engines were the focus of their pride and affection, as well as their identities as fire fighters. Engine plates, often made of brass, would be prominently affixed to engines and inscribed with the company name, number, and founding date. Engine plates could pass from old engine to new, or be kept in the firehouse as a memorial to a departed apparatus.
label: Description (Brief)
content: This shield-shaped brass engine plate was used by the Northern Liberty Fire Company No. 1 of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that was founded in 1756 and operated until 1871 when Philadelphia’s paid firefighting department was established. The number “1” refers to the fact that it was the first engine company organized in the incorporated district of Northern Liberties, which was consolidated into Philadelphia in 1854. The plate is mounted onto a larger wooden shield. Engraved on the shield is “NORTHERN LIBERTY / No 1 / FIRE Co.” There is a hole at the top of the shield for mounting.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States
topic: label: Subject
content: Fire Fighting
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Fire Fighting and Law Enforcement
label: See more items in
content: Cultures & Communities
label: See more items in
content: Work
label: See more items in
content: Firefighting Collection
label: See more items in
content: Fire Engine Plates
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of CIGNA Museum and Art Collection
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2005.0233.0937
label: accession number
content: 2005.0233
label: catalog number
content: 2005.0233.0937
objectType: label: Object Name
content: plate, fire engine
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: brass plate, once silver plated (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 5 1/2 in x 9 in; 13.97 cm x 22.86 cm