Photo by David Friend Productions, San Diego, California
'BOYLES' PATENT AIR PUMP VENTILATOR' DEMONSTRATION MODEL
10-004. English, 4th quarter 19th century, signed on an ivorine base plate "BOYLES' PATENT AIR PUMP VENTILATOR, LATEST PATENT (has double the extracting power of earlier models), ROBERT BOYLE & SON, LTD., VENTILATING ENGINEERS, LONDON & GLASGOW." This attractive glazed mahogany frame model, 7" wide x 2 7/8" deep x 19 3/4" high overall, is mounted on a plinth base with brass bun feet and has a pitched roof with a spire-shaped iron ventilator at its top. The model is in very good overall condition, except for fading of the lettering on the ivorine plate.
The system works by having the wind blow through the ventilator on the roof top, causing air to be sucked into the building through holes in the bottom floor. In this model, the air flow is demonstrated by the rise of small hair balls in glass tubes over holes in the base.
