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Early fire engines have been designated as “hand-tub pumpers,” meaning water was collected by hand and fed to the engine with buckets. Once the water was supplied, the handles on either side could be pumped up and down, driving the pistons and producing enough pressure to shoot water to astonishing heights.
This particular hand-tub was manufactured by Silver & Deming Manufacturing Company of Salem, Ohio, between 1874 and 1890. The size of the apparatus indicates that it was most likely used for industrial or commercial purposes, as it is small enough to move around inside a building.
