Currier & Ives Prints
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Fire was a constant threat in American nineteenth-century cities, which were
illuminated and heated by open flame. In New York, the task of fire-fighting was
placed in the hands of volunteer fire departments, whose members included many of
the city's most prominent citizens, Nathaniel Currier among them. |
The Life of a Fireman:The Night Alarm "Start Her Lively Boys" In 1854, staff artist Louis Maurer produced a series of four prints, The Life of a Fireman, which documented in thrilling detail the course of fighting a fire. The Night Alarm, the first in the series, shows Excelsior Company No. 2, of 21 Henry Street, leaving the fire station; at left, Currier runs to join his comrades. Click on the Thumbnail to View a Larger Image |
The Life of a Fireman:The Race "Jump her boy's jump her" Fire wagons were pulled by the volunteers themselves, and once at the scene, they manned the hand- pumps that pushed water through hoses to quench the fire. Click on the Thumbnail to View a Larger Image |
The Life of a Fireman:The Fire "Now then with a will - Shake her up boys"
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The Life of a Fireman:The Ruins "Take up - Man your rope" In the 1850s, fire companies began replacing hand-pumps, which required large crews, with steam-powered pumps, which required only a few men. Because membership in New York's volunteer fire companies carried political clout, New York was slow to make the change from muscle to steam. Thus Louis Maurer's 1854 four- print series, The Life of a Fireman, shows no sign of either steam-powered or horse- driven fire wagons. Click on the Thumbnail to View a Larger Image |
The Life of a Fireman:The New Era. Steam and Muscle Charles Parsons, 1861 In 1861, Currier & Ives added a fifth print to the series, portraying the contest between two new steam engines and an old double-deck handpumper. As building heights increased to five and six stories -- seen in these marble and brownstone-fronted structures at the corner of Murray and Church Streets -- the ability of steam engines to throw steadier and higher streams of water established their superiority. Click on the Thumbnail to View a Larger Image |
The Life of a Fireman:The Metropolitan System John Cameron, 1866 In 1865, the conversion from handpump to steam engine was complete, and New York's volunteer fire companies were replaced by a city-wide professional fire department. The next year, Currier & Ives issued a sixth and last print to its Life of a Fireman series to acknowledge this development. Click on the Thumbnail to View a Larger Image |