Object Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Irene Farrell's San Mateo Police Badge, 1926 |
Object Name |
Badge, Law Enforcement |
Description |
Irene Farrell's San Mateo Police Badge, 1926. This police badge was presented to Irene Farrell, San Mateo's first Policewoman from T.F. Burke, Chief of Police. The badge is made of metal, and sterling silver. The badge is shaped like a star with round tips on the ends with a inside squiggly design surrounding the front of the badge, and a design of a thin lines across the inside of each side of the star. In the middle of the badge, at the top, painted in blue, the text reads "POLICEWOMAN". Below the text above, in the middle of a curved design, the text reads "1". Below the text above, in between two lines, the text reads "SAN MATEO". The text "1" is bigger than both of the text above. On the back of the badge, engraved and in bold, the text reads "PRESENTED TO / IRENE FARRELL / JUNE 26 - '26 / BY / T.F. BURKE / CHIEF OF POLICE". Below the text above, in tiny print, the engraved text reads "STERLING". Also on the back of the badge is a metal pin that is held together by a metal safety patch on the back. |
Date |
June 26, 1926 |
Creator |
Unknown |
Role |
Manufacturer |
Catalog Number |
1997.320.003 |
Dimensions |
H-2.5 W-2 inches |
Collection |
3D - Personal Symbols |
Inscription Text |
"POLICEWOMAN / 1 / SAN MATEO" (blue, and bold text located in the middle of the badge with the text "1" bigger than both of the text above and below it) "PRESENTED TO / IRENE FARRELL / JUNE 26 - '26 / BY / T.F. BURKE / CHIEF OF POLICE" (Engraved in bold on the back of the badge) "STERLING" (tiny printed text located on the far right corner of the back of the badge) |
Provenance |
Collection of Memorabilia Reguarding Irene Farrell, 1st Policewoman in San Mateo. Belonged To Irene Farrell; Presented To Her June 26, 1926 By T.F. Burke, Chief of Police. |
Notes |
"San Mateo's first Policewoman joined the force today. She is Miss Irene Farrell, deputy city clerk and now a regular member of Chief Thomas Burke's gun toting trouble stoppers, with a regular police star'n everything." -- San Mateo Times June 26th, 1926 "Sworn in to help book female suspects, Miss Farrell was issued a gun that she immediately returned. She worked in her office across the hall from the old B Street police station." [Both text above located on the display used for the exhibit in the Atkinson Room] [3/14/2017] |
Search Terms |
Badge Badges Irene Farrell Police San Mateo San Mateo Police Department Women |
Subjects |
Badges Memorabilia Police San Mateo |
People |
Farrell, Irene |
Credit line |
Estate of Irene E. Palamountain |