[Photo Album]: Photographic Highlights of 6th Annual Convention International Fire Buff Associates

Baltimore, Maryland, 1958. Hardcover. Very Good. Oblong 12 mo. Screw bound red leather over paper board. Contains 25 black and white photographs measuring 4" x 5" with some captions. Tape repaired spine with worn edges and some detached but present pages else good only with near fine photographs.

A small photo album compiled as a souvenir for the 6th Annual Convention of International Fire Buff Associates in Baltimore, Maryland June 26th through 28th, 1958. On the rear board inner pastedown is hand printed "presented to Box 414 Association and Mr. Chas. C. Price - Pres. International Fire Buff Associates by J.K. (Steve) Stevenson Free Lance Photographer." According to a Maryland newspaper at the time it was an "organization of 3,050 fire engine chasers" out of the United States, England, and Canada. They met annually to discuss public service and ways of helping their local firemen, a version of a volunteer fireman group. The photos show candids of the men, experiments, and lectures, and group photos of the fire buffs. One photo shows a line of men on a ladder with a rope practicing scaling the wall of a building. Also included is photo from a visit to Baltimore mayor, Thomas D'Alesandro Jr., on his boat.

Charles C. Price began his career in fire safety in 1904 when, according to his obituary, he "sounded the first alarm during the 1904 fire in Baltimore. Later he was the president of the local chapter of the Fire Buff Associates before ultimately becoming the international president in 1958. He was later "Fire Buff of the Year" in 1972.

A nice collection of photographs depicting the goings on a at a unique public safety convention.