The top lot of the auction was this 36-inch-tall Boston, fire alarm lamp. An East Coast collector took the piece of history home for $6,195 ($7,5/8,500).
Review by Carly Timpson; Photos Courtesy Fire Antiques
PHILADELPHIA — After a five-day bidding period, Fire Antiques’ Valentine’s Fire Memorabilia Auction closed on February 23. In the sale, more than 230 lots of firefighting memorabilia were offered, including helmets, trumpets, alarms, badges and banners.
Ryan TreDenick, who owns Fire Antiques with his wife Elyse, shared that the sale brought in just about $74,000 and saw a sell-through rate of 65 percent. “It was a successful sale. It’s different times right now and firefighting memorabilia is definitely a niche market, but we had 179 bidders. Just like any market, things go up and down depending on who is bidding and what is selling. Currently, trumpets are on the low end while helmets are always popular because they’re generally affordable and have appeal to buyers.”
Leading the sale was a 36-inch-tall fire alarm telegraph box lamp from Boston. All four sides of the red-lens gas lamp were boldly marked “Fire Alarm” and one side read “opening the door does not give the alarm / the hook inside must be pulled.” Additionally, “Property of the City of Boston Street Lighting” was etched into the lamp’s metal frame. Since only a few of these lamps are known to be held in private collections, this rare piece of Boston history was estimated to earn $7,5/8,500 but was ultimately claimed by an East Coast collector for $6,195.
This 1855 leather fire helmet for York, Penn., Union 3 had a Cairns & Bros. fireman finial. It doubled its high estimate to bring $3,245 ($1,4/1,600).
Finishing as the second-highest lot was a leather fire helmet from York, Penn. A metal shield on the front of this helmet was marked “Union Fire Co 3” and a stamp on the underside of the brim read “J.M. Migeod & Son Philadelphia.” The date 1855 was boldly marked on the rear brim of the hat and on the top was a Cairns & Brothers finial of a running fireman with trumpet. Initialed “G.N.” inside, the helmet ended up doubling its high estimate to achieve $3,245.
TreDenick did not know much about a salvage bag marked “John Rohrer / No. 1 / 1868,” but it substantially exceeded his expectations. “The buyer really wanted a salvage bag and usually they go for around $500, but it got into a bidding war with two people and that’s what drove the price up even though there was a second bag in the sale. I’m not sure if he knew something about the name or what.” The motivated, perhaps omnipotent, buyer, who is a frequent Fire Antiques client based in Pennsylvania, scored this one for $2,360.
A white 16-comb Cairns & Brothers helmet achieved $2,360. The leather helmet had a leather shield marked “Chief SFFD” and a chief’s emblem of five crossed bugles. Bridging the top of the shield and the crown of the helmet was a classic Cairns eagle head finial. Another Cairns helmet, this one a black 8-comb helmet was marked “Water Witch / WFD / 5” and had a gold-painted lion finial. Dated on the brim 1833, this helmet from Wilmington, Del., earned $2,065.
This 16-comb Cairns & Brothers helmet had a leather shield marked “Chief SFFD” and a chief’s emblem of five crossed bugles. It cracked past its estimate range to achieve $2,360 ($1,8/2,000).
Collectors were not discouraged by the tattered appearance of a New York City leather helmet front, even as it was presented without its helmet. With markings from Liberty Hook & Ladder 1, this New Utrecht, N.Y., helmet front was a hot find for collectors. According to TreDenick, fire memorabilia connected to New York City brings in the most business, noting that “it probably goes back to the city’s history as a volunteer system and the story of how America was built on these volunteer fire departments.” A Massachusetts collector won the helmet front for $1,770.
Three helmets finished at $1,475. One was a red Cairns & Brothers jockey-style helmet for “Friendship 1 / MWH,” another was also a Cairns helmet but had a metal shield marked for Norristown, Penn., company Hancock 5, and the third was by an unidentified manufacturer, possibly Oak Hall. The two Cairns helmets were finished with eagle finials and the Hancock 5 helmet was dated 1872 on the brim. The possibly Oak Hall helmet bore a leather front shield that read “Picket 1 MFD.”
After the auction closed, TreDenick negotiated deals for six lots that did not meet the posted reserve — one such lot was expected to be the sale’s top-selling item. Ultimately earning $18,025, below its estimated $20/22,000, was a parade hat from Philadelphia’s Phoenix Hose Company No. 11, which closed in 1871 when the city’s paid fire department opened. The circa 1840 pressed felt hat had a painted image of a rising phoenix on the front and a nautical star on the reverse.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.fireantiques.org or 610-745-0280.
