Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Guide to the Frank Seymour Firefighting Ephemera Collection

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.1232
Creators:
CIGNA
Seymour, Frank
Dates:
1852 - 1957
Languages:
Collection is in
English
. Some materials in
French
.
Physical Description:
0.3 Cubic feet
2 boxes
Repository:
The collection documents firefighting and fires in American history through newspaper and magazine illustrations, ephemera, and photographs. The emphasis is on large urban fires (New York City and Chicago) and industrial fires in the northeastern United States. There are some illustrations of cartoons, rescues, poems, fires on ships and clippings about great floods in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The collection documents firefighting and fires in American history through newspaper and magazine illustrations, ephemera, and photographs. The emphasis is on large urban fires (New York City and Chicago) and industrial fires in the northeastern United States. There are some illustrations of cartoons, rescues, poems, fires on ships and clippings about great floods in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.
Series 1, Newspaper clippings, 1852-1933, consists primarily of illustrations and text from Harper's Weekly, but other publications represented include Collier's Weekly, Harper's New Monthly MagazineIllustrated London News, Leslie's Weekly, Gleason's Pictorial, and Scientific American. The clippings are arranged geographically by state and city. The majority of the clippings relate to fires, firemen, fire engines, and parades featuring fire equipment. There is one folder that relates to a fire on the steamship Bienville, an explosion of the H.L. Cotton, as well as the floods. There is some ethnic imagery depicting John Bull during the Civil War and antislavery movement in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania folder.
Series 2, Illustrations, [1939?], consists of printed color illustrations of fire engines from Kenneth Holcomb Dunshee's book, Enjine! Enjine! published by Howard Vincent Smith of New York in 1939. The illustrations are arranged in an alphanumeric system (FS 105) assigned by Frank Seymour.
Series 3, Photographs and Ephemera, 1957 and undated, consists of primarily black-and-white photographs of engines, horse-drawn fire ambulances, a dog-drawn fire hose, an auction program for the Joseph L. Hallett Firemanic Collection, and a brochure for the National Fire Museum, Inc. of South Carver, Massachusetts. There is one color photograph of Ellie Mazur, undated.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged into three series.
Series 1, Newspaper Clippings, 1852-1933
Series 2, Illustrations, [1939?]
Series 3, Photographs and Ephemera, 1957 and undated

Administration

Author
Alison Oswald
Custodial History
Collection transferred to the Archives Center in 2011 by the Division of Home and Community Life (now Division of Cultural and Community Life).
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by CIGNA through Roxanne Korostowski, Director, Relocation Services on August 19, 2005.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Alison Oswald, archivist, 2012.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Use
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs, negatives, and slides.
Preferred Citation
Frank Seymour Firefighting Ephemera Collection, 1852-1957, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Related Materials
Materials at the Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Fires and firefighting (series), circa 1821-1955.(AC0060)
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Fires and firefighting: stereographs, circa 1875-1888 (AC0060)
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Inventions: stereographs, 1880s (AC0060)
Underwood & Underwood Glass Stereograph Collection, [Firefighters working water pump: Active no. 1810. photonegative,] 1926. (AC0143)
Underwood & Underwood Glass Stereograph Collection, [Firefighters in action.] 2031 photonegative. (AC0143)
Jack Robrecht Firefighting Photographs (AC1231)
Materials at the Division of Home and Community Life (now Division of Cultural and Community Life), National Museum of American History
The Division of Home and Community Life holds fire-related artifacts. See Accession numbers: 2005.0233; 2005.0279; 2006.0247; 2007.0160; and 2007.0174.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Firefighters Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ships -- Fires and fire prevention Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Fire extinction Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Fire departments Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Disasters Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Fires Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Articles Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Postcards Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Illustrations Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Fire engines Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Prints Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Archives Center, National Museum of American History
P.O. Box 37012
Suite 1100, MRC 601
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
archivescenter@si.edu