Collection Highlights
Fire engine condenser case of the Clinton Fire Company No. 41
Date:
ca. 1842
Object Number:
1937.1631
Medium:
Wood, oil paint, gilding
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Museum Collections
Luce Center
Fire helmet
Object Number:
INV.204
Date:
1840-1868
Medium:
Leather, brass, other metal, paint
Dimensions:
Overall: 9 x 11 1/2 x 14 in. ( 22.9 x 29.2 x 35.6 cm )
Marks:
applied leather: on frontpiece: "JL MOTT / 2 / JQ"
stamped: on back of brim: "HT GRATACAP / 143 / GRAND ST NY"
handwritten: inside crown: "Prestd by / G[?] Burns"
Description:
Eight comb black leather fire helmet with stamped decoration on crown and border of stars stamped on brim; leather frontpiece with large gold "2" appliquéd at center with "JL MOTT" and "JQ" above and below in gold painted leather lettering; brass eagle frontpiece holder.
Gallery Label:
A foreman in the New York Fire Dept., Henry T. Gratacap began to manufacture fire hats in 1836. In the 1840s he introduced brass eagle frontpiece holders, a feature soon copied by other manufacturers. Gratacap sold his business to Jasper and Henry Cairns (Cairns & Brother) in 1868.
Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.
