Detroit Fire Department active duty certificate, engraved by Capewell and Kimmel, and issued to John McDuff on April 24, 1858

Description:

Detroit Fire Department active duty certificate, engraved by Capewell and Kimmel, and issued to John McDuff on April 24, 1858. The document bears the signatures of President Robert E. Roberts, Treasurer Alexander Paton, and Secretary Benjamin Vernor, as well as the signing date, March 15, 1858, beside a blue embossed Fire Department of the City of Detroit seal. Hand-colored illustrations of uniformed firefighters, firefighting equipment, the seal of the State of Michigan, and Neptune flanked by two winged monsters are bordered by scrollwork. The number "4" has been added to the helmets of the firefighters and to the apparatus, indicating McDuff's involvement in Lafayette Fire Company No. 4. "When danger calls we are prompt to fly / and bravely do or bravely die," has been handwritten around the upper arc of the large central circular motif. Illustrations of the fire engine of Lafayette Company No. 4, another pair of early apparatuses, and a sepia-toned photograph of Lafayette Company No. 4's apparatus on Wayne Street in front of their fire station near Larned Street, are pasted onto the certificate.

Date Issued:

1858-01-01T00:00:00Z

Data Provider:

Detroit Historical Society

Collection:

Fire Department

Subject Topic:

Detroit Fire Department, Firefighters, Capewell and Kimmel, Lafayette Company No. 4, Fire Stations, Fire Engines, and Wayne Street

Subject Name:

McDuff, John

Rights:

No Copyright - United States

URL:

http://detroithistorical.pastperfectonline.com/archive/FBE5B644-309F-4EBE-B0DE-181032517847