Fire Helmet, "Union / 1 / 1780"
date: label: date made
content: 19th century
name: label: maker
content: Cairns & Brother
notes: label: Description
content: The traditional American leather firefighter’s helmet with its distinctive long rear brim, frontpiece, and crest adornment was first developed around 1821-1836 in New York City. Henry T. Gratacap, a New York City luggage maker by trade, is often credited as the developer of this style of fire helmet. Gratacap created a specially treated leather helmet with a segmented “comb” design that led to unparalleled durability and strength. The elongated rear brim (also known as a duckbill or beavertail) and frontpiece were 19th century innovations that remain the most identifiable feature of firefighter’s helmets. The body of the helmet was primarily designed to deflect falling debris, the rear brim prevented water from running down firefighters’ backs, and their sturdy crowns could aid, if necessary, in breaking windows.
label: Description
content: This leather fire helmet was made by Cairns & Brother of New York, New York during the 19th century. The helmet is painted white with four combs and ivy-vine scrollwork stamped around the brim. The date “1780” is painted in red on the rear brim. The hat has a metal eagle frontpiece holder mounted on the crown, with a silver metal frontpiece that reads “UNION/1/1780” in stamped brass plate, with an image of a steam engine in stamped brass above the “1”. The ornate nature of the frontpiece may mean that this hat was primarily worn during parades and ceremonial functions.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: New York, New York City
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Fire Fighting and Law Enforcement
label: See more items in
content: Clothing & Accessories
label: See more items in
content: Work
label: See more items in
content: Firefighting Collection
label: See more items in
content: Fire Helmets
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: 2005.0233.0194
label: accession number
content: 2005.0233
label: catalog number
content: 2005.0233.0194
objectType: label: Object Name
content: helmet, fire
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: metal (part: shield material)
label: Physical Description
content: leather (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 9 in x 11 in x 14 in; 22.86 cm x 27.94 cm x 35.56 cm