The three-day auction by Mike Eckles, featured not only these highly valued items from the Granite Handtub Museum in Newmarket, N.H, but also a collection of arcade machines, rare toys and banks, trade signs and salesmenrsquo;s samples.

A handtub is a piece of firefighting equipment that preceded the steam pumpers of the mid to late 1800s. These items date back to the mid-1700s and were an improvement on the firefighting brigade.

A Hunneman hand-drawn handtub pumper built in 1860, meticulously restored after a barn fire, brought spirited bidding, the gavel finally falling at $99,000. The historical piece is headed to a new museum.

All quoted prices include a buyerrsquo;s premium.

Keeping with the firefighting spirit, a circa 1800s black leather firemanrsquo;s helmet marked "Empire 1 FDE" with the last three letters being the firemanrsquo;s initials, sporting a leather dog finial and “N.Y.” stamped on the brim, sold for $3,300.

As an accessory for the handtub pumper was a a red leather fire bucket complete with a leather handle and a hanging ring on the bottom, selling for $5,775.

Dating from around 1890, was an ornate firemanrsquo;s hand pumper 24-inch brass lantern. The lantern, expressly made for the New England League Champion Button Handtub, featured the god Neptune sitting on a clamshell as a finial. It also had four beveled-glass panels, with an embossed shield of leaves and acorns and the inscription "Red Jacket Cambridge." It sold for a princely $30,800.

From the Metropolitan Fire Dept., NYC, was a hand-painted self-framed wood sign stating that it was: "Proclaimed By Order of the President Board of Fire Commissioners The Stephenson Medal is to be Awarded to Firemen in Recognition of the Attainment of the Highest Standard of Efficiency & Discipline Including Command." Underneath the lofty proclamation was a list of fire companies which had attained these high standards, in addition to decorative depictions of various pieces of fire fighting equipment. This handsome piece attained a final bid of $1,650.

In addition to the firefighting equipment was an eclectic mix of antiques. Included were an unique mahogany cash register-style spool cabinet made by M Heminway & Sons with ruby glass inserts. In excellent condition, earned a final bid of $3,300.

Jic Jac Inc., a small soda manufacturing company in St Louis, Mo., began producing soda in cone-top cans in 1953. A lot of three of these, root beer, orange, and grape flavors found favor with the buyers earning a final bid of $4,888.

From 1910, was a convex porcelain beer sign for Crystal Springs Brewing & Ice Co., Boulder, Colo. This sign was a beer barrel topper design, for parade wagons. With minor professional restoration, the sign crossed the block for $6,050.

A Buddy L pressed steel touring coach, with spare wheels on the sides. in all-original condition and original decals sold for $4,675. Another Buddy L pressed steel Red Baby toy truck with original pull string, decals and tag sold for $8.250; while a Buddy L pressed steel firefighting ladder toy trunk with brass crank, original pull string and decals earned $2,750.

A Mickey Finn Tog-O-War coin-operated strength tester made by Caille Bros - a unique carnival piece - sold for $27,500.

A reverse glass sign in a period oak frame advertising wines and liquors for the Schuckmann & Seligmann Co. of Milwaukee, Wis., depicting a large commercial building found favor with the bidders and sold for $5,500.

Adding more selection to this eclectic sale was a cast iron mechanical circus bank, in good working condition with 20 percent of its original paint, sold for $3,450.

A soda brand from the past - Whistle - featured an advertising Glasscock cooler with the soda companyrsquo;s name - sold for $920.

A more familiar brand, a Pepsi-Cola spool-shaped can earned a final bid of $770.

A flanged porcelain sign advertising Helmar Turkish Cigarettes declaring "Quality Superb" was one of the highly desirable advertising items and sold for $4,125. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Studebaker, the Rockne Motors Corporation produced automobiles and trucks in 1932 and 1933. Named in honor of legendary Notre Dame football coach, Knute Rockne, a two-sided porcelain sign for "Studebaker Rockne Authorized Service and Genuine Parts" sold for $3,025.

Other items of interest that crossed the block included: a mahogany dental cabinet with black smoked glass, an inlaid crown, tin doors and porcelain shelves from the 1930s, $990; a 100-inches tall cigar store Indian attributed to Thomas Brooks, $21,850; a Regina disc console player in a walnut base $16,100; and a coin-operated Ramado cigarette dispenser that was in original working condition, $6,875.

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