Publication: Gies & Co, nd (ca 1882), Chicago
First edition. 16-1/2" x 10-1/2" sheet folds to 8 - 6-1/4" x 3-1/2" panels and 2 - 3-1/2" x 4" panels that create an antique trade card fold out envelope. Five of the panels are a shade of green while the other five panels are bright, colorful and sharp pictures. The front panel is a picture of a man smiling because "I bought a McCormick Machine," after lifting a small tab, there's a picture of a sad man saying "I took a cheaper machine and lost part of my crop," the next panel states "The Oldest Reaper alive! The father of them all - The original McCormick Reaper, Invented by Cyrus H. McCormick, 1831." The next panel states "The McCormick Steel Mower, No. 3. Light, Swift & Sure" along with a picture of a man using the McCormick No. 3 Steel Mower, "The McCormick Daisy-Reaper that Leads them all," "The New McCormick Steel Mower No. 4. The Simplest in the World," "The McCormick Reaper Works. The Largest in the World," "The King of the Harvest Field. McCormick Steel Harvester and Binder. The Best in the World," and "The Daisy of the Field." Postmarked Cape Town, May 12 1887. Presented by "McCormick Harvesting Machine Co. Chicago, U.S.A." In 1831 Cyrus McCormick, aged 22, tried his hand at building a reaper. Resembling a two-wheeled, horse-drawn chariot, the machine consisted of a vibrating cutting blade, a reel to bring the grain within its reach, and a platform to receive the falling grain. The reaper embodied the principles essential to all subsequent grain-cutting machines. McCormick patented it in 1834 and first sold it in 1840 in Virginia. The McCormick reaper was horse-drawn and sharply reduced the amount of manual labor required to harvest grain. Item post-dated May 12, 1887. Minimal wear to the extremities, very small split on fold crease else very good.
Inventory Number: 49379Sold -- Contact us