Decatur Fire Engine Company Fire Hat
date: label: date made
content: 1810-1860
name: label: depicted
content: Decatur, Stephen
label: maker
content: unknown
notes: label: Description
content: This hat was used in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the first half of the 19th century. The hat has been painted red with a portrait of Commodore Stephen Decatur framed in gold. American flags and black banners with gold trim surround the portrait. The banners bear the gold text “DECATUR/F.E. CO.” The back of the hat features a gold painted image of an early fire hydrant with gushing hose attached, flanked by the letters “FA”. This was the logo of the Fire Association of Philadelphia, an insurance company founded by a group of eleven volunteer engine companies and five volunteer hose companies in 1817. The top of the hat bears the owner’s initials “N.C.” painted in gold. The Decatur Fire Engine Company No. 21 was founded in 1803 in the Frankford neighborhood of Philadelphia as a hand engine company. It acquired a steam fire engine in 1859 and operated as a steam fire engine company until 1871 when Philadelphia’s paid firefighting department was established. Originally known as Good Will Frankford Fire Company No. 2, the company renamed itself in 1842 after Stephen Decatur, the famous naval officer and hero of the War of 1812, whose father had resided in Frankford.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States
topic: 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: 2005.0233.0031
label: catalog number
content: 2005.0233.0031
label: accession number
content: 2005.0233
objectType: label: Object Name
content: hat, fire
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: green (underbrim color)
label: Physical Description
content: gold (decoration; trim color)
label: Physical Description
content: painted (overall production method/technique)
label: Physical Description
content: red (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: fabric, pressed felt (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: paint (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 6 1/4 in x 14 in x 12 1/2 in; 15.875 cm x 35.56 cm x 31.75 cm