BEFORE THE SMOKE DETECTOR

National Automatic Fire Alarm Company

Automatic Protection Against Fire [Chromolithographed Industrial Ephemera] [c. 1885–1886]

BEFORE SMOKE DETECTORS, THIS 1885 SYSTEM TAUGHT BUILDINGS TO SOUND THE ALARM.
A striking 1880s trade booklet promoting one of the emerging technologies of automatic fire detection. The system used heat-sensitive thermostats connected electrically to transmitting and annunciating equipment, promising businesses warning during the crucial first moments of a fire.

Its color covers make the argument dramatically: a burning commercial building is contrasted with one protected by automatic alarm, beneath the memorable warning, ‘The First Five Minutes at a Fire Are Worth the Next Five Hours.’

FROM HEAT TO ALARM —
Inside, detailed illustrations show the patented thermostat and a combined transmitting, annunciating and test box. The accompanying text explains that the thermostat's heat-sensitive element remained directly exposed while its electrical contacts were protected from dust, allowing rapid response without sacrificing reliability.

The sales argument went beyond technology. The company emphasizes reduced insurance rates, fire-loss statistics, and adoption by businesses including Harper Brothers, New Haven Clock Company, Metropolitan Storage Warehouse, Francis H. Leggett & Co., and others.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS: COLOR MEETS TECHNOLOGY.
+++ Small stapled promotional booklet measuring approximately 3.25 by 5.25 inches, 8 pages, including illustrated wrappers.
+++ Chromolithographed front and rear covers in red, blue, yellow, black, and related tones. 
+++ Front identifies the National Automatic Fire Alarm Company, with home office at 338 Broadway, New York, and names company officers and directors including Erastus Wiman, F. E. Morgan, J. W. Frost, J. G. Noyes, Charles A. Tinker, James W. Husted, G. V. B. Frost, and G. S. Pearsall.
+++ Rear cover presents contrasting scenes of an uncontrolled commercial fire and a protected building under the caption ‘The First Five Minutes at a Fire Are Worth the Next Five Hours.’
+++ Interior illustrations printed in red and black include full and sectional views of the thermostat and open and closed views of the company's combined transmitting, annunciating, and test box.
+++ Thermostat illustration marked ‘Pat'd July 21, '85.’

CONDITION: Very Good. Light age toning and minor handling wear, with small edge and corner imperfections. Stapled binding remains intact, with some expected wear around the staples and center fold. Color wrappers remain notably bright and attractive. Interior printing and technical illustrations are clean and readily legible.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: AUTOMATING FIRE PROTECTION—A BUILDING THAT COULD SOUND THE ALARM.
This booklet documents the shift from human discovery of fire to automatic electrical detection. Its heat-sensitive thermostats triggered an electrical alarm system, turning fire protection into an engineered building service rather than reliance on watchmen and fire brigades. By the late 1880s the company was installing systems commercially, and its technology later protected major federal buildings, including the Treasury Department and Government Hospital for the Insane.

INSURANCE DROVE INNOVATION —
The booklet reports that approval of the system by fire underwriters resulted in reduced insurance rates where it was installed. Fire prevention thus became not only a safety measure, but an economic investment.

GENRES: Trade Catalogues, Advertising Ephemera, Firefighting Ephemera, Electrical Technology, Patent Literature, Illustrated Advertising

SUBJECTS: Automatic Fire Alarms, Fire Detection, National Automatic Fire Alarm Company, Electrical Signaling, Thermostats, Fire Prevention, Industrial Safety, Fire Insurance, New York City, Patented Inventions, Nineteenth-Century Technology, Building Safety

Item #22559

Price: $95.00