West of England Fire and Life Insurance Company Fire Mark
date: label: date made
content: 1807-1894
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 West of England Fire and Life Insurance Company of Exeter, England issued this copper fire mark sometime between 1807 and 1894. The oval mark has a central image of King Alfred holding a sword and scepter, with a shield leaning against him. The West of England Fire and Life Insurance Company was founded in 1807 when a fire destroyed two-thirds of the houses in a town near Exeter, and started issuing policies in 1808. The company expanded into London in 1825, and by 1852 it was the sixth-largest insurance company in England.
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
label: See more items in
content: Cultures & Communities
label: See more items in
content: Advertising
label: See more items in
content: Work
label: See more items in
content: Firefighting Collection
label: See more items in
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: 2005.0233.0560
label: accession number
content: 2005.0233
label: catalog number
content: 2005.0233.0560
objectType: label: Object Name
content: fire mark
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: copper (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 7 7/8 in x 9 5/8 in; 20.0025 cm x 24.4475 cm