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Gold Hill Fire Department Lithograph Membership Certificate NV - Gold Hill,Storey County - 1878 - 20

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Western Americana Start Price:2,500.00 USD Estimated At:5,000.00 - 10,000.00 USD
Gold Hill Fire Department Lithograph Membership Certificate NV - Gold Hill,Storey County - 1878 - 20
Invoicing and lot pick up will NOT be available at the live auction.
This historically significant Gold Hill Fire Department lot of 5 includes: 1) A stunning full-color Certificate of Membership lithograph, measured 23” x 27”, and professionally framed and matted with red and blue mats. The edges of the litho are obscured by the matting and frame. This lithograph was printed in 1878 by H.S. Crocker of San Francisco. This certificate bears images of the Liberty Engine Company No. 1 hand engine, the Yellow Jacket Engine Company No. 2 steamer, and a hose carriage from the Lincoln Hose Company No. 3. This classic lithograph also shows scenes of rescue operations, fire fighting scenes, fire engines, and firefighters. A bird’s eye view of Gold Hill is displayed in the bottom center, flanked by floral branches and fire department accoutrements. While this lithograph is original and fantastic, the central inscription is a modern addition perhaps meant to deceive. There were several repairs made to this certificate: tears were patched together, and the ripped areas were recolored in some places. The repair was fairly done, and much of the damage is now unnoticable without very close inspection.

The inscribed date, 1868, predates the actual creation of this particular lithograph. Therefore, the rest of the inscription is clearly also false. The fill-in shows A.A. Putnam’s name at the top, elected as a Delegate Member to the Liberty Hose Co. No. 1 on May 22, 1868. However, it`s unlikely that Delegates would be listed on this type of certificate. According to the Nevada 1870 Census, A. A. (Andrew Appleton) Putnam was a carpenter in Gold Hill, Storey County. The certificate is also "signed" by Gold Hill Fire Department President John T. Riordan, Chief Engineer W. H. H. Lee, and Secretary Richard Sander. According to Steven Frady on page 8 of his book, "Red Shirts and Leather Helmets: Volunteer Fire Fighting on the Comstock", W.H.H. Lee left Gold Hill in 1870 and became chief engineer of the Sacramento fire dept. in 1874. Obviously, Lee could not have been the CE of both fire departments. It seems that the signatures on this certificate were added by a novice who didn`t know that the lithograph was printed in 1878.

The Gold Hill Fire Department was one of the fire departments instrumental in extinguishing the fire that began the morning of April 7, 1869, that devoured the Yellow Jacket, Crown Point and Kentuck mines. Thirty eight men died in the fire.

2) This lot also includes a black and white photo post card depicting the members of the Gold Hill Liberty Fire Department No. 1 in 1887; 3) a ticket to the Grand Uniform Hall at Miners Union Hall, Gold Hill, November 2, 1906; 4) a 30-page booklet, CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT OF GOLD HILL, NEVADA, published by H.S. Crocker & Co., Printers and Stationers, Sacramento, in 1868; 5) and, a metal badge displaying the number "2". The small book of by-laws was very likely the source material the forger used to supply names and dates to the central fill-in of the lithograph. - Jacobitz Collection -60191