Fire Bucket, "W.P. Goodhue"

unknown · mid 19th century

The design of this mid-nineteenth century fire bucket, which belonged to W.P. Goodhue, matches that of bucket G98, though they were owned by different individuals. On both buckets, the owner’s name and the word “social” are painted in black on a white circle, an inner blue circle notes the year, leaved branches surround this emblem, and a banner at the bottom bears the motto “Pour Nos Amis,” meaning “For Our Friends” in French. Firemen took great pride in their companies and devoted a great deal of time to decorating their uniforms and equipment. Firefighting provided both a brotherhood and a sense of personal identity, and individual volunteers used such decoration and imagery to identify themselves as belonging to a particular company. Street parades were frequent and well-attended in nineteenth-century America, and fire companies used these occasions to display themselves to their communities. For example, on the centennial of George Washington’s birthday in 1832, more than thirty companies paraded in a civic procession in Philadelphia. In such processions, elaborate displays were the norm. Decorated buckets—painted to match—and impressive uniforms distinguished members of one company from another, and created a striking impression for the onlooker.