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 tinned sheet iron fire mark between 1807 and 1894. The mark has a central raised image of King Alfred holding a spear and shield. Over the mark is the raised text “WEST OF ENGLAND” while below the raised text reads “EXETER.” 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
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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: 2005.0233.0565
label: accession number
content: 2005.0233
label: catalog number
content: 2005.0233.0565
objectType: label: Object Name
content: fire mark
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: tinned sheet iron (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 7 1/4 in x 9 3/4 in; 18.415 cm x 24.765 cm