ultimate victorian steampunk: the 19th century all original commercial "a.b.c" reel or fire hose swing-out bracket

this remarkable contraption, comprised of painted iron and wood, is a very early commercial building integrated fire hose reel and swing-out bracket manufactured by or for jno. c.n. guilbert of new york city. the date of fabrication is likely 1895-98.

the firefighting device was made available shortly before a series of patents were filed for similar contraptions that were designed for his newly named company identified as cliff & guilbert, with his operations moved to 198 w. broadway, ny. after the turn of the century the "cliff safety automatic reel" began appearing more and more in various advertisements as it grew to be a popular fixture used across the country. in fact, the company holds the record of having the longest film title ever used: "another demonstration of the cliff-guilbert fire horse reel, showing a young girl coming from an office, detaching hose, running with It 60 feet, and playing a stream, all inside of 30 seconds."

the all original late 19th century antique american industrial ornamented swing-out cast iron fire house reel bracket depicted in this post (owned by urban remains) consists of an impressive wall-mount bracket containing two opposed flywheels with fanciful spokes that not only appealed to the victorian style, but were curved to ensure the spokes were in compression under a given load. the central hub supporting the flywheels is affixed to a pivoting cast iron bracket with a riveted hinged collar that allows the hose reel to swing 180 degrees.

the stationary backplate or fixed bracket contains four screw holes for mounting purposes. remarkably, the original beveled edge wood panel with a darkly stained finish remains intact with original wood screws. perhaps even more remarkable is the original red paint finish that has not been cleaned retouched or altered in any way. the discolorations and sporadic loss of paint is consistent with age. maker markings, in the form of deeply embossed lettering, runs along outer rim of the flywheel. at the time of production patents - design or otherwise, had been applied for, but not awarded. the hose bracket was known as the "a.b.c" reel. together, it remains structurally sound and fully functional.

a similar, "period" hose reel bracket with distinctive heart-shaped "spokes" remains intact and undisturbed at the chicago athletic association building gymnasium (upper balcony). the backplate shares a nearly identical profile as the "a.b.c." bracket, and swings 180 degrees. no manufacturer markings were found on the bracket "in situ." it likely is original to the building, which would date it to 1893. despite being obsolete, the hotel design team has wisely chosen to use it elsewhere in the building - perhaps as a decorative wall piece. the image below shows their hose reel i shot on one of my many visits there, documenting the historic building's transition into a boutique hotel.