Page 38 - JOA-Sept-2021

by Kary Pardy
Leather Fire Buckets: Painted Americana at its Most Helpful

magine you lived in the 17th or 18th century. Chances are
good that you would be surrounded by wooden buildings
Iand that you would be very wary of fire. Firefighting
technology at that time involved crews of people banding
together to help their town or their neighbors, and while
they did have some creative water transport ideas, putting out a
fire was a dangerous business that could be devastating to
all involved.
It’s no wonder that people wanted to be prepared, or that
your fire bucket—a family’s best defense at the time—became
such a valued item. As collectors, we see painted leather fire
buckets as desirable pieces of early Americana. Their colors,
sturdiness, and even usefulness (if you plan to display things in
them) make for a top tier antique, and the way we love them
speaks to how important they were to those whose homes
they protected.

The Rules to Follow
In Britain and later in America, citizens were required by
town mandates to have a fire bucket on hand for use in an
emergency. Sometimes coming in pairs, these buckets were
leather with a leather-covered rope handle and could carry two
gallons of water. You would purchase your bucket from a local
shoemaker, leatherworker, or even from a wholesale English
1. 2. importer. They were kept at the ready near a person’s front
door and were filled with linen bags for salvaging items from a
burning home, or with sand to assist in the firefighting efforts.
1. Club fire buckets were decorated with their chosen logo, and few examples While some cities like Boston had fire engines and pump
are as impressive as this Adroit Fire Club example from Salem, MA, ca. 1820. systems as early as 1653, there was only so much water they
Emblazoned with the club’s name, the owner’s name, and the motto “Delay could hold. The remainder would come from buckets wielded
Not,” this striking example depicts men fighting to save a Federal-style house by private citizens or by firefighting clubs.
from burning. According to Sotheby’s, which sold the bucket for $40,000 in The New York City Fire Museum writes that at sunset
2020, other examples from the Adroit Fire Club carry on the theme of the citizens were required to fill three buckets of water to leave on
burning house surviving.
their doorsteps overnight in case of an alarm. Neighbors would
photo: Sotheby’s, Triumphant Grace: Important Americana from the Collection of Barbara and Arun Singh, 2020
also band together to throw the contents of their buckets at the
blaze, and then form lines originating at the nearest water
2. Though it rarely shows up in pictures because of how they are always source. Fire buckets would be passed down a line of men
displayed resting on flat surfaces, don’t be surprised if your fire bucket has a toward the fire, and then returned down a line of women and
slightly convex, round bottom. It’s not a condition flaw, it was a practical boys to start the process all over again. Leather buckets worked
element that made the bucket more efficient. According to the New York well and were lighter when filled with water than wooden
Fire Museum, a rounded bottom resulted in a more controlled stream of buckets, making for more efficient passing.
water when throwing it on a fire. photo: Conestoga Auction Company. Certain towns also had firefighting clubs made up of
able-bodied volunteers. These fraternal organizations fostered
competition and inspired quicker response times and teamwork
when facing a blaze.

3. While fire buckets continued to be relevant until
the early 19th century, communities looked for ways
to make them more efficient. This image from the
town website of Marine on Saint Croix, Minnesota
displays an inventive way of carrying water to a fire.
photo: marine.govoffice.com
3.

36 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles