1937 Ford 1½-ton Pumper Fire Truck
Chassis no. BB1831718809

Appointed its director in 1930, Arthur Fiedler was for some 50 years conductor of the famous Boston Pops Orchestra, an ensemble dedicated to popularising light classical music. A man of many hobbies, Fielder was also interested in fire-fighting and owned this fully equipped Ford 1½-ton pumper fire truck, which was manufactured in 1937, just two years after he began recording the music of the Boston Pops. He loved to watch fire fighters at work and was made an 'Honorary Captain' of the Boston Fire Department. Fiedler's biography states that the conductor once helped in the rescue efforts at the tragic fire at Boston's Cocoanut Grove night club in 1942, and many years later he even appeared in the role of a fireman in an edition of CBS television's 'The Red Skelton Show'. Fiedler purchased the Ford fire truck from a New Hampshire fire department. It was subsequently restored (in the 1970s) and has covered fewer than 1,000 miles since the 85hp V8 engine was rebuilt. Arthur Fiedler passed away in Brookline, Massachusetts at the age of 84 on 10th July 1979 and the fire truck passed into the care of the Larz Anderson Museum, appearing in parades throughout the 1980s and '90s. The current vendor purchased the vehicle at Bonhams' sale at the Larz Anderson Auto Museum in Brookline in October 2008 (Lot 544). At that time it was stated that the tyres appeared in good condition, likewise the brakes, while the exhaust had been renewed and the bells and emergency sirens were in working order. Kept in museum storage since acquisition, the vehicle will require re-commissioning before further use. Offered with State of Massachusetts Certificate of Title. No Reserve.