Fire Bucket, "Protection in Danger"
date: label: date made
content: ca 1800
name: label: maker
content: unknown
notes: label: Description
content: This bucket belonged to Matthew Skilton, Jr., who lived in Burlington, Massachusetts. Burlington, a small town 13 miles northwest of Boston, was first settled in 1641 and was officially incorporated in 1799. Skilton was present at the first town meeting, held on March 11, 1799. His fire bucket features his company’s motto, “Protection in Danger,” which served as an identifying mark and articulated the company’s commitment to public service. The bucket also features a painting of an urn. Urns were a symbol associated with mourning and death, and were frequently featured on gravestones and in memorial paintings in the early decades of the nineteenth century. Here, the image of an urn may emphasize the danger and destructive nature of fire, and serves as a warning against inaction. This bucket is stamped with a maker’s mark on both sides of the seam. This mark, which appears to read “IFENNO,” may be that of John Fenno. Fenno was a well-known glazier who decorated fire buckets in Boston.
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: 2005.0233.0278
label: accession number
content: 2005.0233
label: catalog number
content: 2005.0233.0278
objectType: label: Object Name
content: bucket, fire
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: leather (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 12 1/2 in x 8 1/4 in; 31.75 cm x 20.955 cm