Firefighting.- Braidwood (James) On the Construction of Fire-Engines and Apparatus, the Training of Firemen, and the Method of Proceeding in Cases of Fire, first edition, double-page engraved frontispiece mounted on stub, 3pp. list of subscribers, 7 folding engraved plates at end, these with some neat and subtle repairs to gutter, ownership inscription "M. Braidwood 1.2.22" to frontispiece verso, additional inscriptions "City road. 14.12.69" to head of title and "J. Grant" to head of p.1, small and light portion of offsetting to title from newspaper clipping tipped to frontispiece verso, light browning to frontispiece, occasional spotting or light soiling, handsomely bound in antique-style half calf [by Philip Dusell], spine gilt, uncut, 8vo, Edinburgh, 1830.

⁂ James Braidwood (1800-1861) founded the world’s first municipal fire service in Edinburgh in 1824. This text represents the earliest comprehensive guide to the construction of equipment and the training of officers within the increasingly organised fire services of 19th century urban Britain. In 1832 Braidwood was appointed the first Superintendent of the London Fire-Engine Establishment, an organisation which was to become the London Fire Brigade in 1865. He died in 1861 fighting a fire at London Bridge, which burnt for two weeks causing £2,000,000 of damage.