Snapshots of the Past

The American fireman - always ready / Louis Maurer. – Antique Wall Art

The American fireman - always ready / Louis Maurer., New York : Published by Currier & Ives, c1858. — antique lithograph
The American fireman - always ready / Louis Maurer., New York : Published by Currier & Ives, c1858.. Antique lithograph from the Fire Engines collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

Few images capture their era like this antique lithograph of The American fireman - always ready / Louis Maurer.. The original is held by the Library of Congress, so what you hang is a true record of its time.

The framed print arrives ready to hang; the unframed option suits custom framing. It brings character to any room and makes a memorable gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Since 2001, Snapshots of the Past has shipped historic prints to tens of thousands of customers around the world.

The American fireman - always ready / Louis Maurer.

Order a print

Secure checkout · SSL encryptedPowered by Stripe and PayPal

Free shipping in the lower 48 states. The checkout page shows the picture, size and price before you pay.

Sign up for our newsletter

Sent securely. No purchase needed. Unsubscribe anytime.

Ask about licensing or this print

Louis Maurer's hand-colored lithograph, published by Currier & Ives around 1858, shows firemen in the mid-nineteenth-century volunteer tradition, when rival companies raced to fires with hand-pumped engines pulled by their own members. Currier & Ives sold such scenes widely, and their prints of firefighters both celebrated the volunteers' bravery and turned their rivalries into popular entertainment. The title, "always ready," points to the self-image these companies cultivated, in which the men were expected to answer an alarm at any hour. The print is catalogued in the Currier & Ives catalog raisonné and was included in the Library of Congress's 2002 exhibition American Treasures.

Created / publishedNew York : Published by Currier & Ives, c1858.
Medium1 print : lithograph, hand-colored.
GenreLithographs Hand-colored 1850-1860.
NotesCopyright by Currier & Ives. Currier & Ives : a catalogue raisonné / compiled by Gale Research. Detroit, MI : Gale Research, c1983, no. 0165 Exhibited: American Treasures of the Library of Congress, 2002.
SubjectsFiremen--1850-1860.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan3,684 × 4,716 px · prints to 12 × 16 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-223469

More from the Fire Engines collection

Snapshots of the Past helps heritage brands, museums, historians and storytellers tell stories with history: historic prints, image licensing and historical storytelling drawn from more than 25 years of research and curation.

Related pictures

[Fireman with 2 horses and fire engine in front of firehouse, 11th and Lucas, St. Louis, Mo.][Fireman with 2 horses and fire engine in front of firehouse, 11th and Lucas, StThe American fireman: prompt to the rescueThe American fireman: prompt to the rescueThe American fireman: rushing to the conflictThe American fireman: rushing to the conflictThe American fireman: facing the enemyThe American fireman: facing the enemyFireman testing high-pressure hoses, New YorkFireman testing high-pressure hoses, New York[Portrait of fireman from the Perseverance Hose Company][Portrait of fireman from the Perseverance Hose Company]