Bride's sewer flushing device, invented by C. T. Bride of Washington, D.C., circa 1896. [In the original article, the graphic was printed upside-down. It has been righted for clarity.]

Source: "Bride's Sewer Flushing Device," Engineering News and American Railway Journal, Volume XXXVI, No. 6 (July - Dec. 1896), p. 90.

Construction drawings of flush tanks. From Columbus, Ohio, dated 1899 to 1903.

Source: Mike Foster, Sewer Maintenance Operations Center, Columbus, Ohio.

Source: Supplement to Engineering News and American Railway Journal, Volume XXXVII, No. 17 (29 April 1897), p. XXIV (facing p. 161).

Source: Supplement to Engineering News and American Railway Journal, Volume XXXVII, No. 9 (4 March 1897), p. XXVI (facing p. 77).

Photograph of the "bell" from the automatic (siphon style) flush tank mechanism made by the Pacific Flush Tank Company. The bell looks virtually identical to the one shown in the Pacific Flush Tank Co. advertisement above, and it appears to be in very good condition. Flush tank mechanisms of this type began to be used in the early-to-mid 1880's.

Located in Cali, Colombia, this unusual item is approximately 150 years old and weighs 65 kilograms.

Source: Alejandro Cuero Torres and Sigifredo López Maya, Colombia.

A special form of the Miller Tank, designed by Andrew Rosewater for the city of Omaha, Nebraska, circa 1899.

Source: H. N. Ogden, "Chapter XVII: Flushing," Sewer Design (New York: John Wiley & Sons, London: Chapman & Hall, Limited, 1899), p. 205.

The Miller Automatic Flush Tank, circa 1899.

Cady Staley and Geo. S. Pierson, "Chapter X: Flushing and Ventilation," The Separate System of Sewerage, Its Theory and Construction, Third Edition (New York: D. Van Nostrand, Co., 1899), p. 221.

The Miller Automatic Flush Tank, combined with manhole, circa 1899.

Cady Staley and Geo. S. Pierson, "Chapter X: Flushing and Ventilation," The Separate System of Sewerage, Its Theory and Construction, Third Edition (New York: D. Van Nostrand, Co., 1899), p. 223.

Designs for automatic flush tanks, late 1800s - early 1900s, by the Pacific Flush Tank Co.

Source: Harold E. Babbitt, Sewerage and Sewage Treatment, 6th edition (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1949), p. 113.

Source: Supplement to Engineering News and American Railway Journal, Volume XXXVII, No. 12 (25 March 1897), p. XXVI (facing p. 105).

Flush tank design by the Van Vranken Flush-tank Co. of Schenectady, NY, circa 1899.

Source: H. N. Ogden, "Chapter XVII: Flushing," Sewer Design (New York: John Wiley & Sons, London: Chapman & Hall, Limited, 1899), p. 197.

Flush tank design by the Van Vranken Flush-tank Co. of Schenectady, NY, circa 1899.

Source: H. N. Ogden, "Chapter XVII: Flushing," Sewer Design (New York: John Wiley & Sons, London: Chapman & Hall, Limited, 1899), p. 203.

Van Vraken's Flush Tank, circa 1899.

Cady Staley and Geo. S. Pierson, "Chapter X: Flushing and Ventilation," The Separate System of Sewerage, Its Theory and Construction, Third Edition (New York: D. Van Nostrand, Co., 1899), p. 218.

Design for Van Vraken flush tank, circa 1914.

Source: Leonard Metcalf and Harrison P. Eddy, American Sewerage Practice, Vol. 1: Design of Sewers, 1st edition (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1914), p. 594.