Philadelphia Contributionship Fire Mark
date: label: Date made
content: 1774
name: label: maker
content: unknown
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: 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.
label: Description (Brief)
content: The Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire issued this fire mark in 1774. The board reads “No. . . .19.” The Contributionship issued insurance policy number 19 in 1752, but this fire mark was either re-issued in 1774 or a policy that ended in “19.” 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.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
topic: label: Subject
content: Insurance
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Fire Fighting and Law Enforcement
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content: Cultures & Communities
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content: Advertising
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content: Work
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content: Firefighting Collection
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content: Fire Marks
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: 2005.0233.0354
label: accession number
content: 2005.0233
label: catalog number
content: 2005.0233.0354
objectType: label: Object Name
content: fire mark
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: lead (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: board: 15 1/8 in x 11 1/8 in x 1 in; 38.4175 cm x 28.2575 cm x 2.54 cm
label: Measurements
content: hands: 8 3/4 in x 8 1/4 in x 7/8 in; 22.225 cm x 20.955 cm x 2.2225 cm
label: Measurements
content: overall: wt 72 oz