Sun Fire Office Fire Mark
date: label: date made
content: 1785-1790
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: Beginning in the late 17th century, English insurance companies maintained private fire brigades that were paid to respond to fires at properties they insured. Properties were identified by leaden badges (fire marks) bearing a insurance company’s emblem and often stamped with the customer’s policy number.
label: Description (Brief)
content: The Sun Fire Office of London, England issued this lead fire mark around 1785 to 1790. The fire mark consists of a rounded upper half featuring a sun face with sixteen rays alternating straight and wavy. Underneath the sun, a rectangular panel bears the policy number “528906.” The Sun Fire Office operated from 1710 until 1959, when it merged with the Alliance Insurance Company.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United Kingdom: England
topic: label: classified
content: Fire Fighting
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: 2005.0233.0563
label: accession number
content: 2005.0233
label: catalog number
content: 2005.0233.0563
objectType: label: Object Name
content: fire mark
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: lead (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 6 3/4 in x 6 in; 17.145 cm x 15.24 cm