DescriptionThis wooden fire marker, circa 1863, for the Fire Association of Philadelphia that operated from 1817-1958 when it merged with the Reliance Insurance Company of Philadelphia. It comes from a small collection of fire markers spanning the 19th century.  The 15 fire markers represent insurance companies from Cincinnati, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and one is even from Liverpool England- one of the only international signs in the Museum’s vast collection. In the U.S., insurance companies can be traced back to the early 1700s.  It wasn’t until the early 1750s that these agencies began issuing metal, often cast iron or lead, fire markers to their policyholders to show proof of insurance against fire damage.  The markers would be placed on the front of the property and would have the name or symbol of the insurance agency to alert firefighters that the property was insured.  Often insurance companies would have their own fire department so these markers helped determine which fire department would respond in the event of a fire.  Fire markers were used until the early 20th century, although many buildings still have their original fire markers in place. See also 2022.0009.0001-.0004, 2022.0009.0006-.0015