Ladder 16 (1 results)

Hardcover. Condition: Good. Folio, 2 volumes. 500 manuscript pages each (1000 total). In good condition, with heavy wear to the bindings, but internally rather clean. The 1913 ledger is marked as belonging to Hook & Ladder Co. 16 at 159 E. 67th St. The other ledger, dated in 1929, does not mention the company, although there is a full typed roster affixed to the front paste-down, and which could probably be triangulated with some determined sleuthing. Nearly every rule on the paper is filled with details of life in the firehouse ("5:15 PM Fireman McPartland left for supper" is quite typical), while most days there are notes of fier alarms responded to. The intimate details of these fires are rarely discussed, as these logbooks seem to be oriented towards the activity of the building rather than the calls. A search in WorldCat for "firehouse logbook" or "firehouse ledger" and "New York" curiously brings up no results; it's quite possible that these mostly remain in the deep basements of New York ladder companies, although one would imagine after a few decades the oldest ledgers, if not archived, are thrown away. But enough speculation; in any event, these logbooks offer a forensic look at life in the New york City firehouse in the early part of the 20th century.