Pair of Fire Buckets, Burning Building, S – NYE / COMMON SAFETY - Antique Associated At West Townsend
Pair of Fire Buckets, Burning Building, S – NYE / COMMON SAFETY
Common Safety as a motto – was a common phrase
Benjamin Franklin’s writings (e.g., in the Pennsylvania Gazette) emphasized “common safety” as a civic duty
This bucket was owned or used by S. Nye and strongly suggests a link to a “Common Safety” entity, possibly a fire company or…”Common Safety” as a Term for Fire Safety Protocols which feels like the strongest fit.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, “common safety” was a recurring phrase in New England fire literature, referring to shared community protocols for prevention and response—think bucket brigades, chimney inspections, and mutual aid pacts.
Examples from the era: Mutual Fire Societies (starting in Boston, 1711) focused on “common safety” by pooling resources for members’ protection, predating formal companies.
Broader protocols: Laws like Massachusetts’ 1783 fire prevention act mandated “common safety” measures like leather buckets in every household. Your buckets could represent a personal or neighborhood commitment to these rules, perhaps under a local “safety committee” rather than a named company.
We did not find any early 19th-century firefighting manuals listing “Common Safety” as a proper noun; however, it’s a natural motto for volunteers. The “Common Safety” phrase matches period mottos for mutual fire societies.
Pure supposition: We found a Silas Nye Jr. (1763–1843) Born: 1763, Sandwich, Barnstable Co., Massachusetts Died: 1843 (exact date/location unclear; possibly Sandwich or nearby) Parents: Silas Sr. & Elizabeth Hall Spouse: Polly (Mary) Bourne (married c. 1785) Children: Charles Marston Nye (born 1831, Sandwich), others (at least 4) Sandwich, MA; Farmer/tradesman. Family involved in local militias post-Revolution.
Prime candidate: Active in early 1800s, aligning with bucket dating. Nye descendants in Sandwich participated in early fire societies.
Fire Volunteer Angle: Early Massachusetts firefighting efforts were hyper-local (e.g., bucket brigades per 1783 state laws). Sandwich had informal groups by 1800, influenced by Franklin’s Union Fire Company model.
The dark green bucket – now oxidized to near-black features flames [and smoke] leaping from windows of a two-story house centered by a banner reading “S. NYE / COMMON SAFETY. The composition is within a leafy wreath tied with a bowknot.
Item Date: 1800 - 1830
Measurement: Height: 12"; Height at Handle: 19"
Material: Leather, paint
Item Condition: Commensurate with age and use; losses to paint; one handle, albeit original has been reinforced with old leather sewn to underside.
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