Original Owner
R. A. Bookman
Fireman's belt: liberty hose
1850-1900
Place madeUnited States, North America
Leather, metal
Overall: 39 3/8 x 2 7/8 x 1 3/8 in. ( 100 x 7.3 x 3.5 cm )
Gift of the Exempt Firemen's Benevolent Fund Association of the 23rd & 24th Wards, 1933
INV.9131
This duty belt belonged to R. A. Bookman, exempt from military service as a volunteer firefighter.
DescriptionBrown leather fireman's duty belt; red recess in the center with applied painted leather letters reading "L[I]BER[T]Y HOSE"; red leather binding machine-sewn around outer edges; leather strap underneath one end of the belt which buckles onto metal buckle on opposite end, which is secured to the belt with two metal studs; the belt at the strap end slips into belt sleeve at the buckle end; the belt sleeve has a red shield shaped recess with the number "1" at the center.Markingsapplied: center obverse: "L[I]BER[T]Y HOSE"
handwritten: center reverse: "MY DUTY BELT. / R. A. BOOKMAN. (EXEMPT.)"
painted: reverse: "2334"
ClassificationsFIRE FIGHTING TOOLS & EQUIPMENT
