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 and decorated with blind rules.  Folio. Boards faded, rubbed around edges and all around spine, some moderate soiling.  Text block edges dulled.  The half-title page is creased and soiled and one leave is detached else generally internally neat, clean and bright.  One cracked gutter resulting in somewhat fragile binding.  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).