Books & Manuscripts, including Americana

2 bronze shield badges, each measuring approximately 2 x 1 1/2 in and stamped with the date of the Chicago Fire. Overall, 11 3/4 x 9 3/4 in.

Shortly after 9:00 p.m. on 7 October 1871, the watchman on duty in the Chicago courthouse tower, Matthias Schaffer, spotted flames coming from somewhere on the city's southwest side. He immediately called down a voice tube to the night operator and told him to strike box 342, which would alert the fire department. As it turns out, Schaffer's estimate of where the fire was located was off, and despite realizing his error almost immediately, the correct alarm box was never struck, the night operator having decided that doing so would only confuse the firemen on their way to put out the blaze. Because of this, two engine houses, which were reasonably close to the O'Leary barn, were never dispatched. This mistake is generally acknowledged to be one of the greatest errors of the night, as the blaze was given more time to spread out of control. After the fires were finally put out two days later and the task of reconstruction began, souvenirs were made from the now-destroyed bronze bell from the Chicago Courthouse, including fire badges issued to Chicago firefighters who had so valiantly fought the great inferno that would eventually leave most of the city in ruins.

[With]: Pierce, W.M., publisher. Albumen photograph of identified members of the Chicago Fire Brigade, dated 9 October 1871. 5 x 7 1/2 in. albumen photograph on cardstock mount showing a group of eight men posed together near a steam-powered fire engine. Several of the subjects are identified in pencil in the lower margin of the mount. The image is dated "1871, Oct. 9," which coincides with the date of the Great Chicago Fire, indicating that the men represent the Chicago Fire Brigade. The photograph is matted and housed in a 16 x 18 in. frame with a photocopied label with imprint of J.A. Pierce & Co., Chicago, IL. (Print not examined outside frame, toning and some fading to print, soiling to mount.)