Handtub for Sale

Asking Price $24,999 or Best Offer
plus 10% buyer's Premium

This is the "RESCUE" it was built in 1852 by the Howard & David Company of Boston, Massachusetts. It served Grafton, Massachusetts, was on display at the Hall of Flame in Arazona and returned to Massachusetts in 1990.

This New England style hand engine is pretty much complete and in good shape. It is missing it's bell and the button for the back tool box. It could use some restoration and has it's original paint and lettering and looks like it would pump with replacement of all gaskets. It has 4 suction hose, at least one of them is stamped Hunneman and &Co Boston, MA. All wood, including wheels are solid. Has metal fold out brakes.

Howard & Davis was a Boston Clock making firm which also produced fire engines. It is not known exactly how many they made, but it was less 100. Edward Howard & David P. Davis met while both were apprentices for Roxbury, MA clockmaker Aaron Willard, Jr. In 1847 they began the production of clocks of "exceptional quality".

Shortly there after they started to manufacture hand fire engines. one of the attributes of a Howard & Davis engine was that the parts were interchangable among thier engines.

The Rescue has attended 10 musters, winning 3 first prizes and 1 second. It's longest stream is 198'4" done on Sept. 10, 1855 at Milford, MA. It has won $135 in prize money.

On October 20, 1880 at a muster in Fitchburg, MA the judges arbitrarily gave the Rescue a score of 170' even thought it had broke down and never played a stream!