Fire marks - Advertisements for fire insurance companies
Fire marks: sought-after collector's items with a curious history.
Protective elements were often apparent on the fire mark: shields, dragons or the phoenix were common visual elements.
The Great Fire of London, which destroyed two-thirds of the city in 1666, provided the "vital spark" in the creation of professional fire insurance in England.
Soon afterwards (1680), the Fire Office, which was the first real fire insurance company, was founded. Others followed. These dynamic young entrepreneurs in London were not only involved in insurance for damage incurred, but also in loss mitigation. They set up professional fire brigades, which were a hitherto unknown entity. Company-specific emblems were emblazoned as a trademark on the fire extinguishing equipment, the policies and the uniforms of the firefighters, and as a plaque on every house insured by that company. This simplified identification in the event of a fire and often made firefighting considerably easier, as only those properties which had the identifying metal plate (the fire mark) of the company were attended. Buildings insured by the competition, were left to burn until the appropriate fire brigade arrived.
Such teething troubles had been overcome long before the English fire insurance model reached the Continent and the colonies at the end of the 18th century. Companies were well-aware of the importance of a good impression and deliberately used their fire marks as an advertising medium and for publicity purposes - the protective eagle with outspread wings, yawning lions and Justice as a symbol of legality and fairness.
The designs are a good reflection of the prevailing spirit of the time and the companies’ effective response to clients’ wishes for protection and well-organized business. Many of us may still remember the powerful-looking Helvetia, the symbol of the Helvetia Insurance or the decorative dragon of the Basel Fire Insurance Company, which once hung over house entrances.
Nowadays, fire marks are sought-after collector’s items. Swiss Re has around ninety of them.
"Collector's Items" originate from Knowledge & Information Management and the Company Archive at Swiss Re.
