Curious Print: The Fire and House-Breaking Preservative (1786) *

One of many curious machines invented or made in Birmingham.

This is 'a machine, calculated to act as a preservative against fire and house-breaking', the design produced by William Hamlet in 1786.

It came with a long description (see here), but seems to be an elaborate bell-ringing device 

DETAILS OF PUBLICATION: The Plan and Description of a Machine Calculated to Act as a Preservative Against Fire and House-breaking (Birmingham: M. Swinney, 1786), p. 43.