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Early fire engines were called “hand-tub pumpers,” or simply “hand pumpers,” meaning crews collected water by hand with a bucket or external hose and fed it to the engine. 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 hand pumper was manufactured by Cowing & Company of Seneca Falls between 1840 and 1882. Its exact age and history are virtually unknown. Still, it likely served industrial or commercial purposes, as it is small enough to move inside a building.
