Firemen's Insurance Company Fire Mark With Hand Pumper

In the 18th and 19th centuries, fire marks like this one were posted above the first floor on the exteriors of homes and commercial buildings to alert the responding fire department of which insurance company to apply to be paid for fighting a fire as advertisements and also as evidence of an insurance policy should the paper policy burn in a fire.

This site has an enormous amount of information about the origins of fire insurance in England and America and about the club, The Fire Mark Circle of the Americas.