Merryweathers' Illustrated Catalogue of Motor Fire Engines, Steam Fire Engines, Fire Boats, Manual Fire Engines,Chemical Fire Engines, Fire Hydrants, Fire Escapes, Pumps etc
[1905] xvi, 436, xvii-xix pp. Numerous black and white drawings and photographic illustrations throughout. Bound in red cloth-covered boards, with gilt lettering front and spine. Boards faded, heavily rubbed around edges and all around spine, minor tears and fraying, some moderate soiling, rounded on corners. Text block edges dulled. Front pastedown warped and creased, front free endpaper creased with minor tears at edges, tile page edge worn with a couple of short closed tears at edges. Rear free endpaper absent, with some minor scarring on rear pastedown, else internally generally neat and clean with some minor signs of use. Front hinge cracked, resulting in the volume being moderately loose. An extensive, comprehensive catalogue, with many, many illustrations, of the products produced by fire engine manufacturers Merryweather and Sons, with some technical and practical specifications, organised into four sections covering, respectively, Motor Fire Engines, Steam Fire Engines, Fire Boats etc; Manual Fire Engines, Chemical Fire Engines, Fire Escapes and other Equipment; Firemains, Hydrants, Hose and Fittings and Water Supply; and Pumps for all Powers, Sanitary Apparatus and Watering Appliances. Merryweather and Sons, a company which could trace its origins to 1690, was in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the leading manufacturer of fire engines and other fire fighting and fire prevention equipment (including, famously, firemen's helmets).