Fire Engine Plate, "Delaware 1761"
date: label: date made
content: 1840
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 brass fire engine plate was used by the Delaware Fire Company No. 4.. Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1761, the company was originally named for King George III. The name was changed at the start of the Revolution to the Delaware in 1776. The company operated as a hand engine company and acquired a steam fire engine in 1858. It served as a steam fire engine company until 1871 when Philadelphia’s paid firefighting department was established. The rectangular brass plate has black recessed lettering that reads “DELAWARE 1761.” The plate has been mounted on to a wooden board for display.
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: 2005.0233.0920
label: accession number
content: 2005.0233
label: catalog number
content: 2005.0233.0920
objectType: label: Object Name
content: plate, fire engine
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: brass (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 5 1/2 in x 17 in; 13.97 cm x 43.18 cm