Baltimore Equitable Society Fire Mark
date: label: date made
content: 1840
name: label: maker
content: unknown
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: Beginning in the 1750s, some American insurance companies issued metal fire marks to policyholders to signify that their property was insured against fire damage. The fire marks bore the name and/or symbol of the insurer, and some included the customer’s policy number. The company or agent would then affix the mark to the policyholder’s home or business. For owners the mark served as proof of insurance and a deterrent against arson. For insurance companies the mark served as a form of advertising, and alerted volunteer firefighters that the property was insured.
label: Description (Brief)
content: The Baltimore Equitable Society of Baltimore, Maryland issued this fire mark to Joseph Cobby, S. Liberty Street, Baltimore, Maryland, on March 16, 1840. The cast iron mark features a raised image of two clasped hands with linked chain cuffs on a square background. The mark has remnants of red paint on it, with the policy number “16675” painted in gold at the bottom. The Baltimore Equitable Society was founded in 1794 and is still in operation today. The “Sign of the Clasped Hands” fire mark is still available from the Baltimore Equitable Society, and comes in cast aluminum that is painted black overall, with hands and numbering in gold.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
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
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: McCosker, M.J.. The Historical Collection of 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: 2005.0233.0575
label: accession number
content: 2005.0233
label: catalog number
content: 2005.0233.0575
objectType: label: Object Name
content: fire mark
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: cast iron (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 10 in x 10 1/2 in; 25.4 cm x 26.67 cm