A George III silver Fireman’s Arm Badge for the London Assurance Company.
£4,600.00
The London Assurance Company.
A George III silver Fireman’s Arm Badge, London 1801, by Robert and David Hennell. The oval image is chased with a figure of Britannia, holding a spear in her left hand and a harp in her right. To the left of Britannia is a shield bearing the arms of the City of London. The badge bears number ’24’.
This badge is one of a series produced by Hennells for the London Assurance Company, all marked for 1801. Number ‘3’ is illustrated in ‘Badges of Extinction’ by Brian Henham and David Sharp, published 1989. A number of the other badges within the series were sold as part of the Royal and Sun Alliance Collection at Christie’s London on 19th May 2005. This included numbers ’14’ and ’15’ which were mounted into the lids of biscuit boxes, number ‘6’, mounted in a humidor, and badges ‘1’, ’12’, 20′, ’30’, ’33’, ’41’. Some of these badges were acquired as part of the Holder collection of silver badges and were again sold at Duke’s auctioneers, on the 13th October 2016. This particular badge survives in crisp condition and retains the attachment rings on the reverse. See the image below for a portrait of a fireman wearing an arm badge of this sort [although for a different company]. The illustration appears in ‘Badges of Extinction’ cited above.
Description
Condition:
Very good with a minor mark on the shield and a small dent to the edge.
Dimensions:
Length – 17.50 cm.; Width – 14.40 cm.; Depth – 2.50 cm.; Weight – 206.80 gms.
