Featured is a great old tin corner hanging sign from the Springfield Fire and Marine Insurance Company, formerly based in Springfield, Massachusetts. This particular sign is made of tin, and has a curved wooden backing, designed to hang outside on a 90 degree angled corner of an building. I love the colors on this sign, the teal green is certainly unusual for this era, i.e. 1900.
In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s their were many insurers whose primary business was designed for fire and marine needs. If one thinks about it, many buildings were still wooden and were often fire hazards. Once the buildings started becoming more brick and were less of a fire hazard as a result. Combining that with the reduced amount of shipping uses, the F&M Insurance companies simply started losing business, and the insurers based on F&M needs simply starting vanishing from the landscape. Today these two particular needs are based on broad insurer company offerings.