Fire Bucket, "Marsh, Capen & Lyons"

unknown · 1831

Businesses like the Boston bookseller Marsh, Capen & Lyons owned fire buckets that could be filled from wells and cisterns and passed hand to hand to feed the engine fighting the fire. These utilitarian objects were often decorated with patriotic motifs. Here the eagle and shield are meant to evoke patriotism and a sense of protecting the well-being of the community and nation.