Horse-drawn steam engines race through smoke and flame in this dramatic nighttime fire scene, a pre-linen chromolithograph postcard turned into an advertisement for a Newark, New Jersey fire insurance agent — pairing peak civic-safety drama with a very practical sales pitch. Posted in September 1907, it captures both the golden age of horse-drawn firefighting and the era's inventive approach to advertising ephemera.

• Card no.: 1244
• Publisher: A.C. Bosselman & Co., New York (made in Germany)
• Postmark: New York, Sep 16, 1907
• Status: Posted
• Notable stamp: Scott 300 — 1c Franklin, used