The mark “Ball & Heald” on the base of this urn-shaped classical revival coffee pot dates it precisely to 1811, when William Ball and J. S. Heald operated a brief partnership in Baltimore. The pot is inscribed, “To Mr. Baltis Branson, by the Baltimore Equitable Society and the Baltimore Fire Insurance Company in Testimony of their Gratitude for his Patriotic Exertions in rescuing the Property of his fellow Citizens from the Dangers of Fire. 1811.” Mr. Branson was a clearly civic-minded blacksmith. The highly motivated donors were two of Baltimore’s first fire insurance companies.