Baltimore Equitable Society Fire Mark
date: label: date made
content: 1927
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 Baltimore Equitable Society of Baltimore, Maryland produced this fire mark in 1927. The cast iron mark features a raised image of two clasped hands with linked chain cuffs on a square background. The clasped hands are painted gold, with the year “1794” painted in gold at the bottom. The Baltimore Equitable Society of Baltimore, Maryland first produced this fire mark design in 1795. The “Sign of the Clasped Hands” fire mark is still available from the Baltimore Equitable Society, now cast in aluminum that is painted black overall, with hands and numbering in gold.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Maryland
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: 2005.0233.0571
label: accession number
content: 2005.0233
label: catalog number
content: 2005.0233.0571
objectType: label: Object Name
content: fire mark
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: cast iron (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 10 in x 11 in; 25.4 cm x 27.94 cm