Fire Engine Plate, "Vigilant"
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 engine plate was used by Philadelphia’s Vigilant Hose Company founded in 1844 and operated until 1863, when it was removed from the fire department by Common Council for not being in service for one year. The plate features the text “VIGILANT” above the number “3” engraved and filled with black enamel. There is a fancy filigree design above the arch and shield of the plate, and holes on the sides where the plate was attached to an engine.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
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: 2005.0233.0947
label: accession number
content: 2005.0233
label: catalog number
content: 2005.0233.0947
objectType: label: Object Name
content: plate, fire engine
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: brass (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 10 1/2 in x 5 3/4 in; 26.67 cm x 14.605 cm