The life of a fireman: the new era, steam and muscle – Vintage Print
(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
This antique lithograph of The life of a fireman: the new era, steam and muscle brings a moment of history to your wall. An authentic image from the Library of Congress, it carries the weight of the real historical record.
Framed, it is ready for the wall; unframed, it is ready for the frame you choose. It makes a striking addition to a living room, study or office, and a thoughtful gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Snapshots of the Past, founded in 2001, has served tens of thousands of customers worldwide.
The life of a fireman: the new era, steam and muscle
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Steam is the subject here, set against the hand-operated engines that volunteer companies had pulled and pumped by muscle for decades. Charles Parsons drew the scene for Currier & Ives, the New York firm known for inexpensive lithographs that sold widely in the 1800s. By the early 1860s, steam pumpers were spreading through American cities, and firefighting was shifting from a contest of human strength to one of machinery. The print's title, "the new era, steam and muscle," points to that transition, with the men's labor still central even as the engine took on more of the work. Hand coloring gave the sheet its bright, eye-catching finish.
| Created / published | New York : Published by Currier & Ives, c1861. |
|---|---|
| Medium | 1 print : lithograph, hand-colored. |
| Genre | Lithographs Hand-colored 1860-1870. |
| Notes | Artist: Charles Parsons. Currier & Ives : a catalogue raisonné / compiled by Gale Research. Detroit, MI : Gale Research, c1983, no. 3785 |
| Source | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division |
| Original scan | 1,536 × 1,093 px · prints to 5 × 4 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | AMZ-SOTP-HPA-175516 |
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