The McLaughlin Collection

Recently, the Fire Museum of Maryland was the recipient of a substantial gift from the McLaughlin Company insurance agency of Rockville, Maryland. They had a large collection of fire-themed artwork and early twentieth-century toys which had been acquired over the years, and were kind enough to donate them to the Museum.

Over the course of several days, staff and volunteers at the Museum opened and sorted boxes and their contents, inventoried and cataloged each individual piece, and began to develop plans for several exhibits that will incorporate these items.

What we are showing here is just a small sample of this donation, but hopefully you can get a sense from these images of the impressiveness of this gift. We will be announcing a new exhibit featuring some of these items in the next few months, so whether you have an interest in the art(work) of fire fighting, remember playing with Buddy L toys as a child, or just enjoy learning more about American history, there’s sure to be something to catch your eye.