Insurance Company of North America Fire Mark
date: label: date made
content: 1929-1932
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: This fire mark is an example of the type that the Insurance Company of North America produced between 1929 and 1942 for the Chinese market. The circular mark has a red background in the center which bears the INA Eagle and the inscription I.N.A./1792. Outside the red center is the text “INSURANCE Co., OF NORTH AMERICA” at the top and Kanji script at the bottom.
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
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: 2005.0233.0570
label: accession number
content: 2005.0233
label: catalog number
content: 2005.0233.0570
objectType: label: Object Name
content: fire mark
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: tinned sheet iron (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 6 5/32 in; 15.621 cm