Fairmount Fire Hat
date: label: date made
content: ca 1820s
name: label: maker
content: unknown
notes: label: Description
content: Beginning in the late 18th century, some volunteer fire fighters began to wear hats painted with their company’s name to identify themselves at chaotic fire scenes. During the 19th century, these fire hats became more ornate, as portraits of historical figures, patriotic scenes, allegorical images, or company icons were painted alongside the company’s name, motto, or founding date. Made of pressed felt, these “stove-pipe” hats were primarily used in Philadelphia, but other nearby cities such as Baltimore and Washington adopted them as well. Fire hats were personal items with the owner’s initials often painted on the top of the hat. While these hats were worn at fires, they are more colloquially known as “parade hats.” Fire companies commonly marched in the many parades of the period and these ornate hats contributed to the visual culture of their day. These distinguishing features in a company’s regalia often proclaimed the members’ cultural and political identity as well as their position on contested topics such as work, religion and immigration.
label: Description
content: This fire hat dates to the first half of the 19th century. Though soiled and discolored, the hat is painted red overall and bears a central image of William Rush’s “Nymph and Bittern” statue painted in an oval frame that is flanked by aqua-colored banners with the text “Fair Mount” painted in gold on the banner. Rush’s “Nymph and Bittern” statue was part of a fountain made to commemorate the completion of the Centre Square Water Works in the early 1820s, providing Philadelphia with public waters which was an aid to the city’s fire fighters. The crown of the fire hat bears the faded initials “P.S.” The Fairmount Fire Engine Company No.32 was established in Philadelphia in February 22, 1823 as a hand engine company. It acquired a steam fire engine in 1860 and operated as a steam fire engine company until 1871 when Philadelphia’s paid firefighting department was established.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States
topic: label: Subject
content: Nymph and Bittern
label: Subject
content: Fire Fighting
label: Subject
content: Fraternal Associations
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: Clothing & Accessories
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content: Fire Hats
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content: Work
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content: Firefighting Collection
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content: Art
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: McCosker, M.J.. The Historical Collection of the Insurance Company of North America
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: 2005.0233.0101
label: catalog number
content: 2005.0233.0101
label: accession number
content: 2005.0233
objectType: label: Object Name
content: hat, fire
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: fabric, pressed felt (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: paint (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: painted (overall production method/technique)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 6 in x 12 1/2 in x 13 1/2 in; 15.24 cm x 31.75 cm x 34.29 cm