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![Argonaut Mine Bell Sign pic2.JPG - ARGONAUT MINING COMPANY BELL SIGN - Rare original ca.1920s cloth bell sign for the Argonaut Mining Co., Jackson, CA, with wood glassed frame and water hood, sign 35 3/8 in. tall and 13 3/8 in. wide withoutframe, with well-known mining supply firm E.D. Bullard, San Francisco, CA marking [see more about Bullard below], acquired from Ted Bobrink (Bell signals have been in use for communication in shaft mining since the mid-1800s. Any mine worked from a vertical or inclined shaft used bell signals to provide a means to communicate with the hoist engineer on top. Bell signals were used to lift or lower miners, lift ore, and move material to and from the surface. The earliest bell signal signs were wood but they deteriorated quickly, especially in wet mines. Later, porcelanized steel and painted tin signs came into use followed by cloth in the 1920s and then paper. Each state had its own signal rules, adding to the confusion, and some rules were specific to individual mines. Each mine was equipped with one bell sign at each level and one at the headframe. As mines became worked out, the bell signs were lost to the elements and/or flood waters and have become scarce to the collecting community and highly prized. The sign shown here is a rare example of a surviving cloth sign with the name of a specific mine on it. The Argonaut mine at Jackson, CA is one of the most famous mines of the California Mother Load, being discovered in 1850 by two miners, James Hager and William Tudor. Serious development started in 1893 when it was purchased by the Argonaut Mining Company. It operated until 1942, reaching a vertical depth of 5,570 ft. via a 63 degree shaft and produced more than $25 million in gold. The Argonaut along with the nearby Kennedy mine are registered as California Historical Landmark #786. The Argonaut mine is also infamous for being the site of one of the worst mining disasters in California history. On August 27, 1922, 47 miners mostly immigrants from Italy, Spain and Serbia were trapped 4,650 feet below ground by a fire. It took 2 ½ days to extinguish the fire and nearly 3 weeks to get to where the miners were trapped. None survived. The cause of the fire was never determined. The mine disaster is detailed in the book 47 Down: The 1922 Argonaut Gold Mine Disaster by O. Henry Mace. See also Bobrink, Mining Artifact Collector #1, p 25) [More about E. D. Bullard... Founded in 1898, E.D. Bullard Company continues as a leading manufacturer of high quality personal protective equipment and systems that are marketed worldwide. Product lines include thermal imagers, hard hats, firefighter and rescue helmets, supplied air respirators, powered air-purifying respirators, and air quality equipment. Bullard is now a fourth generation family-owned enterprise. The company, headquartered in Cynthiana, Kentucky, is led by President and CEO Richard C. Miller. Bullard traces its heritage back to 1898. Founded in San Francisco by Edward Dickinson Bullard, the company originally supplied carbide lamps and other mining equipment to gold and copper miners in California, Nevada, Arizona and across the western U. S. Most collectors of mining artifacts are familiar with the Bullard name on catalogs, lamp brochures (some shown on my website), and advertisements. When his son, E.W. Bullard, returned from World War I, he used his experience with his doughboy army helmet to design a protective headgear for miners. This “hard boiled” hat, introduced in 1919, represented the first of many innovative designs that have led Bullard to its prominent position in head protection for industrial and emergency response applications. During the 1930s, while the Golden Gate Bridge was being constructed in San Francisco, Bridge engineer Joseph B. Strauss contacted Bullard to request that the company adapt its hats to protect bridge workers. Bullard not only supplied hard hats for this famous project, but its engineers also designed an original supplied air respirator for workers responsible for blasting the steelwork prior to the application of the Bridge’s International Orange paint. Bullard went on to design innovative supplied-air respiratory protection solutions for such key industries as pharmaceutical manufacturing and automotive refinishing. Following the development of the hard hat, Bullard engineers designed the Company’s first fire helmet in 1930. The company quickly became a technology leader in this industry, developing and introducing the first fiberglass fire helmet in 1947, the first NFPA-approved thermoplastic fire helmet in 1983, and the first ratchet headband used in a fire helmet in 1986. Beginning in 1972, the Company moved its production facilities from Sausalito, California, to Cynthiana, Kentucky where it continues to mine gold from a whole different industry.]](Argonaut Mine Bell Sign pic2.JPG) |
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| Argonaut Mine Bell Sign pic2 | ARGONAUT MINING COMPANY BELL SIGN - Rare original ca.1920s cloth bell sign for the Argonaut Mining Co., Jackson, CA, with wood glassed frame and water hood, sign 35 3/8 in. tall and 13 3/8 in. wide without frame, with well-known mining supply firm E.D. Bullard, San Francisco, CA marking [see more about Bullard below], acquired from Ted Bobrink (Bell signals have been in use for communication in shaft mining since the mid-1800s. Any mine worked from a vertical or inclined shaft used bell signals to provide a means to communicate with the hoist engineer on top. Bell signals were used to lift or lower miners, lift ore, and move material to and from the surface. The earliest bell signal signs were wood but they deteriorated quickly, especially in wet mines. Later, porcelanized steel and painted tin signs came into use followed by cloth in the 1920s and then paper. Each state had its own signal rules, adding to the confusion, and some rules were specific to individual mines. Each mine was equipped with one bell sign at each level and one at the headframe. As mines became worked out, the bell signs were lost to the elements and/or flood waters and have become scarce to the collecting community and highly prized. The sign shown here is a rare example of a surviving cloth sign with the name of a specific mine on it. The Argonaut mine at Jackson, CA is one of the most famous mines of the California Mother Load, being discovered in 1850 by two miners, James Hager and William Tudor. Serious development started in 1893 when it was purchased by the Argonaut Mining Company. It operated until 1942, reaching a vertical depth of 5,570 ft. via a 63 degree shaft and produced more than $25 million in gold. The Argonaut along with the nearby Kennedy mine are registered as California Historical Landmark #786. The Argonaut mine is also infamous for being the site of one of the worst mining disasters in California history. On August 27, 1922, 47 miners mostly immigrants from Italy, Spain and Serbia were trapped 4,650 feet below ground by a fire. It took 2 ½ days to extinguish the fire and nearly 3 weeks to get to where the miners were trapped. None survived. The cause of the fire was never determined. The mine disaster is detailed in the book 47 Down: The 1922 Argonaut Gold Mine Disaster by O. Henry Mace. See also Bobrink, Mining Artifact Collector #1, p 25) [More about E. D. Bullard... Founded in 1898, E.D. Bullard Company continues as a leading manufacturer of high quality personal protective equipment and systems that are marketed worldwide. Product lines include thermal imagers, hard hats, firefighter and rescue helmets, supplied air respirators, powered air-purifying respirators, and air quality equipment. Bullard is now a fourth generation family-owned enterprise. The company, headquartered in Cynthiana, Kentucky, is led by President and CEO Richard C. Miller. Bullard traces its heritage back to 1898. Founded in San Francisco by Edward Dickinson Bullard, the company originally supplied carbide lamps and other mining equipment to gold and copper miners in California, Nevada, Arizona and across the western U. S. Most collectors of mining artifacts are familiar with the Bullard name on catalogs, lamp brochures (some shown on my website), and advertisements. When his son, E.W. Bullard, returned from World War I, he used his experience with his doughboy army helmet to design a protective headgear for miners. This “hard boiled” hat, introduced in 1919, represented the first of many innovative designs that have led Bullard to its prominent position in head protection for industrial and emergency response applications. During the 1930s, while the Golden Gate Bridge was being constructed in San Francisco, Bridge engineer Joseph B. Strauss contacted Bullard to request that the company adapt its hats to protect bridge workers. Bullard not only supplied hard hats for this famous project, but its engineers also designed an original supplied air respirator for workers responsible for blasting the steelwork prior to the application of the Bridge’s International Orange paint. Bullard went on to design innovative supplied-air respiratory protection solutions for such key industries as pharmaceutical manufacturing and automotive refinishing. Following the development of the hard hat, Bullard engineers designed the Company’s first fire helmet in 1930. The company quickly became a technology leader in this industry, developing and introducing the first fiberglass fire helmet in 1947, the first NFPA-approved thermoplastic fire helmet in 1983, and the first ratchet headband used in a fire helmet in 1986. Beginning in 1972, the Company moved its production facilities from Sausalito, California, to Cynthiana, Kentucky where it continues to mine gold from a whole different industry.] |  Original Image |
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