Object Record
Images
Additional Images [2]
Metadata
Object ID # |
1974.053.009ab |
Object Name |
Helmet, Firefighter's |
Title |
Fireman's Helmet |
Lexicon category |
3: Personal Artifacts |
Date |
After 1907 |
Year Range from |
1907 |
Artist |
Anderson & Co. |
Made |
Anderson & Co. |
Place of Origin |
New York, New York, United States of America |
Description |
Fireman's helmet (a), made by Anderson & Co., that has a detached front piece badge (b) with "Engine Co. 1 OSFD" on it [Engine Company No. 1 of the Owen Sound Fire Department]. The helmet is made predominately of stiff, stitched leather, and has a thick metal rim. The interior of the dome has a circular, partial printed label from the manufacturer. The exterior of the helmet has a red paint on it. The crown of the helmet has eight sections to it with ribs dividing the sections that create the dome. The back of the front piece has "James McLauchlan / Chief of Engine Co. / -------- Helmet / Before 1875" written on it in pencil in script. |
Makers mark |
The interior has a circular, partial printed label from the manufacturer. |
Provenance |
Manufactured by Anderson & Co. of New York. The name of James McLauchlan is pencilled on the back of the front piece. The helmet and front piece would have been worn by a member of Engine Company No. 1 of the Owen Sound Fire Department. The script seems to suggest it was worn by Jamed McLauchlan before 1875 however, the OSFD was created in 1907. Around 1876, the town founded the Victoria Fire Department consisting of about 40 volunteers, and for about its first 12 years, was housed in the Town Hall (the area we now call City Hall (until 1887). The Excelsior Fire Department was created in 1890, so named after the insurance company which organized it (common practice around the turn of the 20th century). On April 13, 1907, the Excelsior Fire Department was disbanded and later that year, a by-law was passed which established the same basic crew, now known as the Owen Sound Fire Department, a paid muncipal fire service operated independently from any insurance company, consisting of four "regular" firemen and ten "on-call." Last owned by Marion Searle (née Henderson). How she came to have it and when she acquired it is unknown. |
Collection |
Firefighting Equipment Collection |
Material |
Leather/Paint/ Metal/Thread/Paper/Ink/Glue |
Dimensions |
H-18.5 W-25 L-32.5 cm |
Found |
Owen Sound, Grey County |
People |
Searle, George Searle, Marion McLauchlan, James McArthur, Angus Baines, George W. |
Subjects |
Fire fighting Helmets |
Search Terms |
Owen Sound Fire Department |