Collection Highlights
Matthew Perry
Date:
ca. 1855
Object Number:
PR.012.2.787
Medium:
Daguerreotype
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Museum Collections
Luce Center
Fire helmet: Excelsior 14 H.S.
Object Number:
INV.8895
Date:
1836-1850
Medium:
Leather, paint, textile
Dimensions:
Overall: 8 3/4 x 11 x 14 1/2 in. ( 22.2 x 27.9 x 36.8 cm )
Marks:
stamped: in oval on back of brim: "H T GRATACAP / 143 / GRAND ST N. Y."
printed paper label: affixed inside top of crown: "H. T. GRATACAP / Manufacturer of / FIREME . . . / BELTS . . . / 143 Grand St., New . . ."
painted in red: inside crown: "1796"
pa
Description:
Eight comb black painted leather fire helmet with tooled linear decoration on crown and stamped border of stars on brim; black leather frontpiece with "EXCELSIOR" painted in gold on red banner at top, "14" in gold at the center, and "H. S." in gold at the bottom; gold painted leather frontpiece holder; textile half-lining.
Gallery Label:
A foreman in the New York Fire Dept., Henry T. Gratacap began to manufacture fire hats in 1836. Gratacap sold his business to Jasper and Henry Cairns (Cairn & Brother) in 1868.
Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.
