Fire Bucket, "Solomon Henkel No. 4"
date: label: date made
content: ca 1805
name: label: maker
content: unknown
notes: label: Description
content: This bucket belonged to Solomon Henckel (1777-1847), whose family was very prominent within the Lutheran Church. Solomon’s father, Paul Henckel, was a Lutheran minister active in Virginia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Ohio. Paul Henckel encouraged his sons Solomon and Ambrose to establish a printery, the Henkel Press, in New Market, Virginia. Solomon was the main organizer and eventually the owner of this printery. In addition, while Solomon’s five brothers became Lutheran ministers like their father, Solomon was a medical doctor. The decoration of Solomon Henckel’s fire bucket reflects his profession: its identifying mark is the mortar and pestle. The mortar and pestle, a tool used to crush, grind, and mix substances, was traditionally used by pharmacists to prepare prescriptions. This common icon was used to represent Henckel’s involvement in medicine and healing, and made this fire bucket easily recognizable as his.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: classified
content: Fire Fighting
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Fire Fighting and Law Enforcement
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: 2005.0233.0261
label: accession number
content: 2005.0233
label: catalog number
content: 2005.0233.0261
objectType: label: Object Name
content: bucket, fire
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: leather (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 15 1/2 in x 9 in; 39.37 cm x 22.86 cm