Society for the Relief of Distressed and Decayed Pilots, Their Widows and Children [certificate] [graphic] / T. Birch, del.; S.Seymour, fc.

Society for the Relief of Distressed and Decayed Pilots, Their Widows and Children [certificate] [graphic] / T. Birch, del.; S.Seymour, fc.

Allegorical scenes

Sailors

Membership certificates

Membership certificate for a mutual aid society for sailing ship pilots established in Philadelphia in 1788. A large central oval contains a scene on the Delaware Bay showing sailing ships and the lighthouse at Cape Henlopen. To the right of the central oval a beautiful young widow with a baby at her breast and two young children by her side sits on coils of rope. To the left is the bow of a ship adorned with a figurehead, a female figure holding a mirror and a nautical chart. Above an eagle holds a sail, a chart of the Delaware River, a shield, and a pole topped with a liberty cap. Below is a bundle of nautical equipment including an anchor, a buoy, and coils of rope. Each lower corner contains a partial view of a ship, one showing a ship beached on the shore, the other a ship under construction. Text below.

Seymour, Samuel, 1796-1823, engraver.

Library Company of Philadelphia

[Philadelphia: s.n., 1810]

1 print: engraving; 61 x 48 cm. (24 x 19 in.)

**Philadelphia Certificates - Charitable Organizations [7934.F]