1869 FILTRATION OF RIVER WATERS FOR THE SUPPLY OF CITIES AS PRACTISED IN EUROPE, by James P. Kirkwood. Published by D. Van Nostrand, Publishers, New York, 1869. First Edition.

Copy of HIRAM BISSELL who was President of HARTFORD'S WATER COMMISSION from 1854 to 1873 and OVERSAW THE CONSTRUCTION OF HARTFORD'S WATER WORKS SYSTEM.

The book is SIGNED by Hiram Bissell at the top of the title page: "Hiram Bissell / Hartford, Conn." Also, laid-in the book is a MANUSCRIPT LETTER by Hiram Bissell on "Office of Water Commissioners" letterhead. The letter reads in part:

"Hartford Jany 28 1856 / To the Mayor Aldermen, and County of Common Council of The City of Hartford / The Water Commissioners...recommend to the Hon. Court of Common Council the payment of The Woodruff & Beach Iron Works bill of extras...$3851.57. / Respectfully Submitted / Hiram Bissell / President Pro Tem".

(Woodruff & Beach Iron Works of Hartford built many items for Hartford Water Works, including some massive iron pumps.)

Hardcover book, 9x11.5 inches, 178 pages of text followed by 30 PLATES, many double-page, one in color. The plates are drawings of a variety of European city water works systems, including: London, Liverpool, Dublin, Hamburg, Berlin, Marselles, Lyons, Genoa, and others.

Condition: The covers are disbound (loose but present), the cloth spine edges and spine ends are scraped and chipped, nonetheless the covers are original. Internally nice, the endpapers have a few small scrapes, the pages are lightly toned, there is some foxing to the plates mainly on their blank backsides, overall the pages are complete, tight, bright, clean and unmarked. A nice, complete copy in disbound but present covers.

RARE TRUE 1869 FIRST EDITION with all the PLATES. Unique with the SIGNATURE and LETTER of HIRAM BISSELL, who oversaw the construction of Hartford's Water Works in the mid 1800s.

An important book that may have been partly responsible for the design of Hartford's water system

About HIRAM BISSELL of HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT (from "Water for Hartford: The Story of the Hartford Water Works", published by the Wesleyan Press, 2010).

******HOW THREE MEN BROUGHT CLEAN WATER TO HARTFORD, ON A MASSIVE SCALE. As good health is inextricably wedded to pure drinking water, understanding delivery systems is almost as important as the water itself. Water for Hartford chronicles the century-long effort, beginning in the 1850s, to construct a viable, efficient water system. The story of Hartford's water works is a fascinating one, for it recalls the hard work, great sacrifice, and extraordinary engineering feats necessary to deliver wholesome drinking water to a growing urban center.

The story of its construction is the story of three men - HIRAM BISSELL, Ezra Clark, and Caleb Saville. Readers are transported back in time and given a firsthand glimpse of what these champions of a water system faced on a daily basis: unforgiving geography, venal politicians, and an often indifferent public. The book culminates in the exhilaration of these men having built a water works from scratch to deliver clean, safe drinking water to the masses. These men understood that their decisions and actions would affect millions of people for decades to come.******

About HIRAM BISSELL and the HARTFORD WATER WORKS SYSTEM (from the Commemorative Biographical Record of Hartford County, Connecticut, published 1901):

******Hiram Bissell, b.1819 d.1888, was elected Water Commissioner in 1854 and, in 1856, was made President, in which capacity he served for seventeen years, retiring in 1873. He oversaw the entire system of Hartford's system of water works.******

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