« Hook & Ladder 1869 »

You are looking at the first Minneapolis Hook and Ladder Company, 1869. Their uniforms have embroidered hooks and ladders on the chest; some men hold axes, and the very young boys standing at the right may be holding hooks which appear to be decorated with flowers and greenery, as does the entire vehicle. This is an occasion for civic pride.

Surely they have a fire house, but here they pose before Vail's imposing undertaking establishment which advertises a Coffin Wares Room. Do we take that to mean readymade coffins or does the company sell coffin hardware, decorative handles and castings, and linings for the coffin-making trade?

There is someone looking on behind the curtain in the only open window above. As is common, the side of the building has ads and event notices pasted directly on it – which we can't read due to the low resolution of this early image.

We would not be wrong in assuming that many of the men in this picture spent time as soldiers in the very recent war; as dangerous as their current job may be, surely it is a relief from what they have witnessed and been engaged in, and at least this is home and what they do saves lives and property in their community.

It's a bright day, perhaps overcast; photographers like such scattered and reflected light because there are no harsh shadows on faces.