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Here's a large Double-Barrel Air Pump sold by Benjamin Pike, Jr. in the 1840’s

This beautifully engineered laboratory apparatus listed for $75 when it was new 175 years ago. It was used to experiment with the effects of a vacuum on various objects and phenomena. It’s very uncommon and is being offered complete with its original bell jar. Also included is an ancient Magdeburg Hemisphere, which appears to have been left on the pump’s solid brass receiver plate for the better part of two centuries.

The pump is signed by its maker on both the pump head and the vacuum gauge.

Condition overall is excellent. There’s some residual sealant around the mouth of the jar, but for a scientific instrument that probably did quite a bit of hard time in a physics lab, it’s still in very good shape.

Pump handles move easily in a see-saw motion, gears engage smoothly. Brass parts are clean, with some scattered light tarnish consistent with age. Base is solid, with no damage. Gauge is clean and legible, and the glass is undamaged.

Mahogany base measures approximately 16″ x 12″. Height is approximately 19″. Shipping weight approximately 40 lb.

An exquisite piece of scientific history from a premier American purveyor of early technical apparatus.