Fire company certificate containing vignettes depicting fire fighters rushing a steam engine marked with the company motto down a city street past the Odd Fellows Hall, Frankford; a steam engine parked at the company fire station on Church Street; and fire fighters surrounded by spectators battling a fire of the Frogmore Mills cotton factory, Frankford. Fire fighting equipment including a fire hose, a ladder, an axe, a trumpet and other tools are drawn bundled together to form decorative elements on both sides. A small oval portrait of Commodore Stephen Decatur in a laurel wreath frame above intertwined American flags and the company motto "Ever Prompt to a Call" adorns the top. Also contains eagles, the company number "21," and the institution and incorporation dates (1803 and 1842, respectively). Company named after the Naval hero Decatur whose father purportedly resided in Frankford., Not in Wainwright., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 177, Historical Society of Pennsylvania: Certificates - Fire Companies - Decatur, Duval and Hunter was a partnership between Stephen Orr Duval (P.S. Duval’s son) and Thomas Hunter that lasted from P.S. Duval’s retirement in 1869 until 1874.
Creator
Bosch, A. H., artist
Date
[ca. 1870]
Location
Historical Society of Pennsylvania HSP Certificates - Fire Companies - Decatur
Fire company certificate containing vignettes depicting fire fighters surrounded by spectators, battling the July 12, 1866 fire at the "Tackawana" (i.e., Tacony) Print Works in Frankford; a steam engine parked in the company fire station on Frankford Avenue between Sellers and Oxford streets; and fire fighters rushing a horse-drawn steam engine past a church. Fire fighting equipment including a fire hose, a ladder, an axe, a trumpet and other tools are drawn bundled together to form decorative elements on both sides. A small oval portrait of George Washington adorns an arch at the top. An American eagle rests on top of the portrait and clutches an American flag that is intertwined over the arch that is printed "First in War. First in Peace. First in the Hearts of His Country Men." Also contains the company institution date - 1793. Company was incorporated in 1846 (date visible on the station house)., Not in Wainwright., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 819, Historical Society of Pennsylvania: Certificates - Fire Companies - Washington, Duval and Hunter was a partnership between Stephen Orr Duval (P.S. Duval’s son) and Thomas Hunter that lasted from P.S. Duval’s retirement in 1869 until 1874.
Creator
Bosch, A. H., artist
Date
[ca. 1870]
Location
Historical Society of Pennsylvania HSP Certificates - Fire Companies - Washington