Directeurs de "Phoenix Fire Office"
Lawrence Charlesson
Immeuble de "La Phoenix Fire Office
Lombard Street, London
with a List of the Directors. J. Farror, Birmingham Agent.
1790 - 1810 (c.)
Image from: Bisset's Magnificent Guide or Grand Copper Plate
Directory for the Town of Birmingham, 1808
[From Birmingham Central Library]
The engraving by Francis Eginton graphically represents this London
business. A local figure, Joseph Farror is described as agent for the
Birmingham Department. Unlike the static view of the Westminster Life and
British Fire Insurance Offices in London, Eginton presents a fire-fighting
scene. On the right several men are working the hand pump of a fire engine.
To the left, jets of water leap into the inferno of a burning building while
three people escape the conflagration. In the foreground a goddess holds a
shield emblazoned with an image of the phoenix, a mythical Arabian bird,
worshipped in ancient Egypt, which burned itself every 500 years and then
rose reborn from the ashes. This icon of the Phoenix Fire Office is echoed
by the column in the background, which was built after the Great Fire in
1666 and symbolised London’s rejuvenation from the flames. It was topped
by an image of the risen phoenix.
Source: Revolutionary Players