Page 26 - JOA-Sept-2021

arade hats, colorful symbols of volunteer
firefighters of the first half of the 19th Red stovepipe hat with gold and black banner
stating, “Mechanic Fire Co.” and a scene of Pat
Pcentury, are eagerly coveted by both Lyon at the Forge after the painting by John Neagle. Pat
folkart collectors and firefighting memorabilia RB initialed in upper right of the painting.Written
enthusiasts. While they do appear at auction on the inside of the brim in green marker: R.Sparks
from time to time, they are relatively rare. Killed at Battle of Gettysburg and other illegible
Basic patterns appear to have been agreed upon words. Written on a piece of paper in pencil which
by members of each company, but some hats was glued to the top of crown “72nd Reg … Robert
are more elaborately decorated than others. Sparks, member of Mechanic Fire Co No 26 /
Generally, they all included the name of the Killed at Battle of Gettysburg July 2nd 1863.”
company, the symbol or logo the company This was since removed by a conservator. Symbol
adopted, the owner’s initials, usually on of the Fire Association is painted on the back
the top of the hat, and of the hat and on the top, Spark’s
initials, RS, in bold.
in Philadelphia, for those
Photo: Peter Olson
companies that were
members, the symbol of
the Fire Association, a working under the
sign of common unity. tutelage of Samuel
Wheeler, a respected
The Philadelphia Philadelphia iron
Contributionship worker whose gates can
In 1752, Benjamin still be seen at Christ
Franklin and his fellow fire- Church, before setting up
fighters founded The Philadelphia his own business. Lyon had
Contributionship, the longest tenured previously learned the craft in
insurance company in the country. The Philadelphia London. Although he finished with formal
Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire is the education by age 11, he was interested in mathematics, philosophy, and
oldest property insurance company in the United States. It was incor- astronomy. On July 4, 1795, Pat Lyon married Ann Brindley at Christ
porated in 1768. Church in Philadelphia and they had one child, a daughter
One of The Philadelphia Contributionship’s most remarkable items Clementine; the yellow fever epidemic of 1797 claimed the lives both
in its firefighting collection is the Mechanic Fire Company parade hat. mother and daughter.
The Mechanic Fire Engine Company No. 26 was founded on August In 1798 the Bank of Pennsylvania foiled a robbery attempt but
14, 1839, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and operated as a hand engine decided to move into leased space at Carpenters’ Hall for their
company until it acquired a steam fire engine in 1859. It then changed operations. Samuel Robinson built the vaults and commissioned Pat
its equipment to become a steam fire engine company until March 15, Lyon to remove the doors and install new locks for them in early
1871, when Philadelphia’s paid firefighting department was established. August 1798. Lyon advised against the locks the Bank’s directors
The Mechanic Fire Company chose as its logo an image of the wanted feeling they weren’t secure but did install them. Lyon then
famous blacksmith and fire engine manufacturer, Pat Lyon at the moved to Delaware as a new wave of yellow fever swept the city. On
Forge, copied after the famous commissioned portrait John Neagle September 1, 1798, the Bank was robbed with the locks undamaged
painted in 1826-27. This red stovepipe hat is made of pressed felt, has and Lyon, despite his absence from the city, became suspect. He spent
been painted and varnished, and was made by James Hill, whose shop at time in the Walnut Street Jail (shown in the background of the painting)
the time was located at 207 Callowhill Street, Philadelphia. On the front without being formally charged. Ultimately it was proven that a local
of the hat above the portrait of Pat Lyon at the Forge is a banner with the carpenter was responsible, and a grand jury found the charges against
name of the company: “Mechanic Fire Company;” at the top of the hat Lyon to be not sufficiently proven. He was released after four grueling
are the owners’ initials “R.S.;” and on the back of the hat is the symbol months but found it hard to resume his smithing business and turned
of the Fire Association to which the Mechanic Fire Company belonged. his focus to building fire engines, a field in which he excelled. Lyon
went on to provide engines for a number of local companies, including
The Story the quarantine hospital in Tinicum.
This hat tells different stories: that of the fire engine manufacturer
and unjustly accused robber of the Bank of Pennsylvania, and the hat’s The Artwork
owner, R. Sparks, mortally wounded in the Battle of Gettysburg. By 1803 Lyon’s luck was improving. He remarried – this time his
In 1798, Patrick Lyon was a well-established blacksmith working in bride was Catherine Taggart and again the ceremony took place at
Philadelphia having emigrated from Edinburgh, Scotland in 1793 and Christ Church. In 1805 he won a suit against the Bank for “malicious

24 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles