Fire Correspondents, Engineers, Drivers, and More: A Collection of 88 Calling/Business Cards of Individuals for Fire Correspondents and other "Fire"- Related Professions

United States, 1900. Very good. Light dust soiling, toning.. A large collection of approx. eighty-eight (88) printed calling cards/business cards related to "fire" professions, most dating from around the late 19th to early 20th centuries, and appearing to be mostly from New England and the Midwest. The majority are listed as fire correspondents, with some doubling as fire fighters. Some of the related professions include: engineer; fire commissioner; foreman; driver; and assistant. Three of the cards are accompanied by CDV's. The largest card measures approx. 2.75" by 5.25". Several feature attractive firefighter motifs showing horse-drawn fire wagons or helmets and ladders. What makes these cards so fun, aside from the professions, is that many have chosen to include their journalistic nicknames on the cards. Examples include: "Wandering Jew"; "Jerry"; "Greenhorn"; "Harpy"; "Beppo"; "Big Bonanza"; and "Lengthy" During the 19th century, a "fire correspondent" was not a formalized journalistic role with a single definition, but was instead an informal title or function for a newspaper employee who reported on fires. These reporters worked within a competitive and often chaotic press environment to provide the public with urgent news of fires, which were a constant and significant danger in the crowded, predominantly wooden cities of the era.