Tratado de la estincion de incendios

Barcelona: Imprenta de la Publicidad, 1856. FIRST EDITION. Complete with half-title and 14 folding plates. Contemporary calf-backed boards, worn on the edges; interior in excellent condition. Presentation to Mariano Lopez from A. Rovira, the author’s son. First edition of this historic treatise devoted to extinguishing fires and the job of a firefighter, the first work on the subject to be published in Spain. In this extremely rare work, the author describes in detail the organization and administrative side of firefighting, as well as the physical training, equipment, and maneuvers used by firefighters to save victims from blazes. The work has fourteen exquisite engravings demonstrating what firefighters do; of special interest are the plates of the early fire engines.

Antoni Rovira y Trias (1816-1889) was an important architect, urban planner, founder of several associations, and radical egalitarian. He was apparently very vital in the development of Barcelona, constructing numerous buildings and markets such as El Born (1876), Sant Antoni (1879), Theatre Circ Barcelones (1853), just to list a few. In addition, the author was a founding member of the first corps of firefighters in Barcelona.