Bidspirit auction | Rare 19th c. Original BROTHERHOOD

Rare 19th c. Original BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE FIREMEN OF NORTH AMERICA Poster - Rare 19th c. Original Poster BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE FIREMEN OF NORTH AMERICA, 1885 | Matted and framed under glass | Approx. Size: Inscribed in the lower left corner: 'Entered according to Act of Congress by S.M.Stevens in the Southern District of Ohio in the year 1885”; Inscribed in the lower right corner: The Strobridge Lithographing Co. Cincinnati, O.” | Approx. Size: 36'' H X 24'' W. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen (B of LF&E) was a North American railroad fraternal benefit society and trade union in the 19th and 20th centuries. The organization began in 1873 as the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen (B of LF), a mutual benefit society for workers employed as firemen for steam locomotives, before expanding its name in 1907 in acknowledgement that many of its members had been promoted to the job of railroad engineer. Gradually taking on the functions of a trade union over time, in 1969 the B of LF&E merged with three other railway labor organizations to form the United Transportation Union.