The archives of the Baltimore Equitable Society, spanning 210
years, has been donated to the Maryland Historical Society's
H. Furlong Baldwin Library, where it ranks among the largest
and most significant collections. The exhibition, now open in
the Marr Newhall Gallery of the Library, explores the history
of the Baltimore Equitable Society and highlights pieces from
that collection.
The Baltimore Equitable Society Collection consists of more
than 400 linear feet of fire insurance policies, accounting
records, correspondence, minutes, and miscellanea. At the
heart of the collection are the records directly related to
insurance, constituting a massive repository of economic,
demographic, and architectural information.
Significant pieces from the collection on display include
a 1792 map of "Baltimore Town," minutes from the
1794 founding meeting of the Society, the oldest surviving
policy in the collection, no. 33, issued to Thomas McElderry,
June 5, 1794, and the committee report on the bank riots of
1835.
The H. Furlong Baldwin Library is open Wednesday-Saturday,
10 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. Call 410.685.3750 or visit www.mdhs.org
for information.
The Sign of the Clasped Hands, so frequently seen on
the exterior of houses in the region, means that the home is
(or was) insured by the Baltimore Equitable Society (Baltimore
Equitable Insurance), the city's oldest corporation.
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Fire mark #3, issued in April, 1794
to Humphrey Pierce, first policyholder/ member of Society
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The Society chose the clasped hands, depicting the hand of the
company and the hand of the policy holder shaking, symbolizing
the agreement by both parties to the contract of insurance.
Called a “fire mark,” this sign of coverage was
once just as important as the paper policy document.
In Europe insurance companies owned the fire companies that
fought the fires. At one time fire companies would only extinguish
the fire if the home had the proper fire mark.
This was never the case in the United States. Here, Benjamin
Franklin established public and volunteer fire departments that
responded to fire danger regardless of insurance arrangements.
Still, the fire mark was a very important feature of most insurance
companies of that day. We still give our firemark to any person
insured with Baltimore Equitable who wishes to receive it. It
is numbered and painted in the traditional black with gold leaf.
Quite a collectors’ item.
You are invited to step back into the past with this tour of
Baltimore's history. See how Baltimore Equitable has been by
your side from 1794, through The Great Baltimore Fire of 1904,
to the present. Click on the links to read more!
A Taste of Baltimore Equitable History
Baltimore Equitable Insurance Timeline
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