Fire-Marks: Their Origin and Use; With Special Reference to the Mark of the “Hand-in-Hand” (Classic Reprint) - Hardcover

Contributionship For Insurance Of Houses

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0331488892 ISBN 13: 9780331488890

Publisher: Forgotten Books, 2018

Synopsis

This book explores the Fire Marks used by early fire insurance companies which insured buildings in the United States. The author begins by describing how these marks originated in London after the Great Fire in 1667. London insurance companies organized their own fire brigades to fight blazes, and each brigade used distinct marks displayed on the buildings they insured. When fire insurance spread to the American colonies, the use of fire marks followed. The first fire insurance company in the colonies, the Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire, was formed in 1752, and it adopted a mark featuring four clasped hands, a modified version of the two clasped hands used by the London Corn and Hand-in-Hand Insurance Society. The author details how the use of fire marks by insurance companies declined as fire departments became more organized and reliable, but the marks remain a reminder of the early days of fire insurance and the importance of fire prevention.

Edition details

• Publisher: Forgotten Books
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 0331488892
• ISBN 13: 9780331488890
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 69