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- Title
- Certificate of Honorary Membership of the Weccacoe Fire Company. Philadelphia
- Description
- Honorary membership certificate containing vignettes of Weccacoe Fire Company engine houses and firefighting equipment between 1840 and 1860 within a decorative border adorned with filigree, bugles, and axes. American flags, laurel wreaths, and an eagle with a shield surmounts the text in the central portion of the certificate, below which is an 1860 view of the fire company’s engine house on the 100 block of Queen Street in Southwark. Fire fighters and wagons loaded with equipment congest the street in the foreground. A large American flag flies atop the roof of the engine house. Left and right panels contain smaller views of the 1840 firehouse and its hand-pumper fire engine and the three-story, enlarged engine house and a steam fire engine from 1850. All scenes include fire fighters dressed in the red and blue Weccacoe uniform., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 98, Library of Congress: PGA - Duval - - Certificate of honorary membership (C size), Atwater Kent Museum: 88.98.685. AKM copy issued to William Schlag. Signed by the [illegible] president and Wm. B. Landon, Secretary.
- Creator
- Queen, James Fuller, 1820 or 21-1886, artist
- Date
- [ca. 1860]
- Location
- Library of Congress | Prints and Photographs Division PGA - Duval - - Certificate of honorary membership (C size)
- Title
- Reliance Steam Fire Engine Company of Philadelphia
- Description
- Fire company certificate containing five vignettes showing the company firehouse and engines, and firefighting scenes bordering text framed as a badge. Vignettes depict firefighters gathered around a hand-pump, and a steam engine, at their stations near New and Second streets; firefighters racing an engine past the Public Ledger Building (built 1866-1867) and Independence Hall en route to a fire; and firefighters using a steam engine to battle a fire aboard a sailing vessel, and a hand pump to battle a fire at buildings opposite piers at the Delaware River. Also contains above the vignettes two American flags draped over a pole; a panoramic view of cityscape; an empty framed oval, probably to be used for a photographic portrait of the fire fighter member; two oval frames surrounding the company's institution and incorporation date, 1786 and 1848 respectively; and the company motto "We Persevere to Conquer." Company originally established by Quakers., Not in Wainwright., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 636, Historical Society of Pennsylvania: Bc 834 R 279, 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., Mifflin fund, November 12, 1959.
- Creator
- Bosch, A. H., artist
- Date
- [ca. 1870]
- Location
- Historical Society of Pennsylvania HSP Bc 834 R 279
- Title
- Cut outs of firefighting scenes from The Fire Insurance Company of the County of Philadelphia advertisement
- Description
- First cutout is captioned "1800" and is within a border containing a banner reading "Incorporated 1832 Charter Perpetual." Shows several volunteers, attired in long coats and top hats, operating a hand-pumper engine near a pond of water and water pump during the day. Other men operate the water pump and use buckets to collect water from the pond as flames shoot from two windows of a building in the background. Two volunteer firefighters, including Joseph Tipler of the United States Engine Company, in uniform flank the scene. The second firefighter's shirt and hat is adorned with "1." Second cutout is captioned "1866" and is surrounded by a border of filigree. Shows several volunteers, during the evening, using steam engines to battle the blaze of two multi-story buildings. Men run and operate hoses from the ground and by ladder, pull equipment, and direct their fellow firefighters. Some volunteers hold an ax or a horn. United States Engine Company was incorporated in 1832., Title supplied by cataloguer., Attributed to Breuker & Kessler from duplicate print in auction catalog., Not in Wainwright., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 169, Historical Society of Pennsylvania: Firefighting Album Am 3989 Cutouts
- Date
- [ca. 1866]
- Location
- Historical Society of Pennsylvania HSP Firefighting Album Am 3989 Cutout 1, Historical Society of Pennsylvania HSP Firefighting Album Am 3989 Cutout 2
- Title
- Cut outs of firefighting scenes from The Fire Insurance Company of the County of Philadelphia advertisement
- Description
- First cutout is captioned "1800" and is within a border containing a banner reading "Incorporated 1832 Charter Perpetual." Shows several volunteers, attired in long coats and top hats, operating a hand-pumper engine near a pond of water and water pump during the day. Other men operate the water pump and use buckets to collect water from the pond as flames shoot from two windows of a building in the background. Two volunteer firefighters, including Joseph Tipler of the United States Engine Company, in uniform flank the scene. The second firefighter's shirt and hat is adorned with "1." Second cutout is captioned "1866" and is surrounded by a border of filigree. Shows several volunteers, during the evening, using steam engines to battle the blaze of two multi-story buildings. Men run and operate hoses from the ground and by ladder, pull equipment, and direct their fellow firefighters. Some volunteers hold an ax or a horn. United States Engine Company was incorporated in 1832., Title supplied by cataloguer., Attributed to Breuker & Kessler from duplicate print in auction catalog., Not in Wainwright., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 169, Historical Society of Pennsylvania: Firefighting Album Am 3989 Cutouts
- Date
- [ca. 1866]
- Location
- Historical Society of Pennsylvania HSP Firefighting Album Am 3989 Cutout 1, Historical Society of Pennsylvania HSP Firefighting Album Am 3989 Cutout 2
- Title
- View of the United States Hose house & apparatus, Philadelphia. [graphic] : To the Independent Fire Co. of Baltimore & the Franklin Fire Co. of Washington, this print is respectfully dedicated, (as a slight token of appreciation of their generous hospitality) by the United States Hose Co. of Philadelphia.
- Description
- Location: York Avenue, from Tammany Street., LCP exhibit catalogue: Made in America #75., Wainwright retrospective conversion project., Select link below to view a digital image.
- Date
- ca. 1855.
- Location
- http://www.lcpgraphics.org/wainwright/W436.htm, Library Company of Philadelphia Print Dept. *W436 [P.2237]
- Title
- View of the United States Hose house & apparatus, Philadelphia To the Independent Fire Co. of Baltimore & the Franklin Fire Co. of Washington, this print is respectfully dedicated, (as a slight token of appreciation of their generous hospitality) by the United States Hose Co. of Philadelphia
- Description
- Keepsake print containing a rollicking view of members of the volunteer hose company racing their hose carriage around the corner from their firehouse at Tamany (i.e., Buttonwood) Street below York Avenue. Firefighters, most in gear, pull the carriage, run from behind the vehicle, and suit up in the entry to their firehouse. The house contains an iron-work verandah, and a tower from which a volunteer directs the company. Adjacent to the station house at the corner stands "Tamany Hall," an oyster house adorned in signage, including the name of proprietor "Jas. Griffiths" and street signs. The proprietor stands at his doorway, a server watches from outside, and a patron rushes out a rear entry. At the opposite corner, the grocery store of "Tunis O. Bancroft" stands. A female clerk stands in the doorway and merchandise displays, including brooms and buckets, line the storefront. The store owner, attired in an apron and top hat, stands out front, under an awning, and watches the commotion. Another hose carriage, ornately decorated, rests nearby in the street. A small toolbox, bucket, and sponge lie in the street next to the apparatus. View also shows the neighboring residential buildings on the block and around the corner. United States Hose Company was instituted on July 4, 1826 and incorporated on March 13, 1833. Baltimore held a Fireman's Celebration in cooperation with Washington D.C. in November 1851 that was attended by the United States Hose Company. The United States Hose Company hosted the Independent Fire Company of Baltimore during the 1852 Firemen's Parade in Philadelphia., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 808, LCP exhibit catalogue: Made in America #75., Wainwright retrospective conversion project, edited., Artist possibly James Queen., Trimmed. Lower edge containing title reattached., Firemen's Celebration
- Date
- [ca. 1851]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *W436 [P.2237]
- Title
- In commemoration of the great parade of the Philadelphia Fire Department October 16th 1865 Dedicated to the Philadelphia firemen and their visiting brethren
- Description
- Commemorative print containing a portrait of Chief Engineer David M. Lyle in uniform and three vignettes. Vignettes show an injured soldier being transported from an ambulance at the Citizens Volunteer Hospital; a horse drawn steam engine; and fire fighters battling a blaze with a steam engine. Also contains a list of over 100 regional fire companies who participated in the parade surrounded by a border designed as fire hoses extending from a fire hydrant. The 1865 parade was the greatest one in the history of the fire companies with near twenty thousand fireman processing nearly 20 miles from Broad Street. The men marched with decorated steam engines, hand pumpers, and ambulances., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 369, Free Library of Philadelphia: Philadelphiana - Firemen's Parades. FLP holds 2 copies, one is half-sheet., Originally part of a McAllister scrapbook., Reaccesioned P.2272., Advertisement soliciting "Agents for Every Fire Co." to sell the print published in The Philadelphia Inquirer (October 13, 1865), p. 8.
- Creator
- Queen, James Fuller, 1820 or 21-1886, artist
- Date
- c1865
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *W181 [P.2272]
- Title
- [Broad Street Station fire, Philadelphia, June 1923]
- Description
- Scene showing smoke filled interior of the burnt train shed. Depicts laborers, including African Americans, clearing debris from a row of tracks upon which two burnt out train cars rest. Wires hang down from the skeletal framework ceiling. Fire hoses are strewn across the tracks. A camera and tripod rest on a walkway near the damaged trains. In the background, a group of well-dressed men and a group of firemen consult amongst debris. The fire, started by a short circuited cable, was at the time considered one of the worst fires in the city's history with an estimated $1,500,000 worth of damage. By the second day, despite the fire continuing to burn in areas, 2000 laborers began to clear debris and set up umbrella shelters to prepare for the station's planned reopening by the end of that week., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from content., Purchase 1981., Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
- Date
- [June 1923]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - unidentified - transportation [P.8683.13]
- Title
- The conflagration of the Masonic Hall Chesnut Street Philadelphia. Which occured on the night of the 9th of March 1819 This plate is respectfully dedicated to the active and much esteemed fire engine & hose companies, by their obed't serv'ts S. Kennedy and S.S. West
- Description
- Reissue of the print after a commemorative painting of the hall on fire by Samuel Jones at the request of the publishers with added figures by the prominent Philadelphia genre painter, John Lewis Krimmel. View depicts several volunteer firefighters hosing the flame-engulfed tower of the majestic hall, erected in 1811, purportedly after the design of William Strickland. A large frenzied crowd, including African Americans and well-dressed men and women couples, gather on the street. Spectators push, shove, are knocked down, and watch the fire in horror. Residents flee with their belongings as firefighters blow horns and transport a handpump. The fire started by a faulty flue destroyed the building, which after several successful masonic charity events was rebuilt, without a tower, in 1820 under the direction of Strickland., Title from item., Third state., Inscribed below image: Copy right secured., Samuel Kennedy and Samuel West were members and official print publishers for the Association of American Artists, later headed by Krimmel., Barber, a Philadelphia printer, artist, and engraver, was in business from 1867 until 1885., See Anneliese Harding's John Lewis Krimmel. Genre artist of the early Republic. (Winterthur, Delaware: The Henry Francis Dupont Winterthur Museum, 1997), p. 206-208., See Milo Naeve's John Lewis Krimmel: An artist in Federal America. (Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1987), p. 109., LCP exhibition catalogue: Made in America #30., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
- Creator
- Hill, John, 1770-1850, engraver
- Date
- [ca. 1876]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department **PhPr - Associations - Masonic Hall [P.9210.5]
- Title
- Decatur Fire Company of Frankford
- Description
- 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