The
Farm Tractor: 100 Years of North American Tractors. Ralph
Sanders,
2007. Hardbound, 384 pages.
I haven't tried this one yet but I liked This Old Tractor,
which the author co-edited, and he's photographed quite a few other
books and calendars. I expect this to be a handsome coffee-table
book along the lines of Randy Leffingwell's The American Farm Tractor, below, and the foreword by baseball Hall of Famer (and old-tractor fan) Bob Feller is probably fun.
Standard
Catalog of Farm Tractors, 1890-1960. C.H. Wendell,
2005. Softbound, 752 pages.
Great
big collection
of old advertising art, black and white photos, Nebraska Test
results, and brief descriptions of a huge variety of old
tractors.
Estimated dollar values are given for some.
Tractors are
sorted alphabetically by manufacturer, from the Abenaque Machine Works
to the Zimmerman Auto Tractor Company, with nearly 1000 companies in
between. Some get only a few lines of text or a few
paragraphs,
covering their brief involvement in the tractor business; others get
many more. John Deere alone has 50 pages, covering the Dain
to
the 8630. Like all catalogs, you don't really read this book--you
browse it.
America's
Classic Farm
Tractors. Randy
Leffingwell, 1999. Hardbound, 432 pages.
Detailed,
well-researched,
well-written history
of the development of steam engines, internal combustion engines, and
major
events in tractor evolution such as the Nebraska tests, rubber tires,
three-point
hitch, etc. Extremely high quality color photos throughout,
mostly
of unusual makes and types of tractors: A 1909 Phoenix Log
Hauler
(steam railroad engine on crawler tracks), Wallis Bear, Ford Model T
conversion,
Sheppard Diesel, Ford 971 LPG, and many others. This book is
an expanded version of Leffingwell's earlier Farm
Tractors: A Living
History, with about 200 additional pages of text and
photos added to the final chapter, taken, I believe, from several of
Leffingwell's other books.
Farm
Tractor Milestones.
Randy Leffingwell, 2000. Hardbound, 155 pages.
Leffingwell's
survey of the machines and innovations that shaped the course of farm
tractor
development. It devotes 36 separate chapters to individual
tractors,
ranging from a J.I. Case steam traction engine to the IH Farmall, the
John
Deere R to the Super MTA, the Deere 4010 to the Caterpillar Challenger,
and many others. Nice coffee-table book, with Randy's
trademark
scholarly research, excellent
writing, and terrific photography.
The
Big Book of Farm
Tractors: The
Complete History of the Tractor 1855 to Present ... Plus Brochures,
Collectibles
and Lore. Robert Pripps and Andrew Morland,
2001.
Hardbound,
256 pages.
Another
historical survey of farm
tractor evolution,
beginning with steam power in the late 1800s and continuing through the
modern era, including a chapter on early farm crawlers. I
haven't
read this one yet but I like previous books by the authors and think
this
one looks pretty good.
The
American Farm
Tractor: A
History of the Classic Tractor. Randy
Leffingwell,
1991.
Hardbound, 190 pages.
This is the first
"tractor book" I bought, and it remains a favorite.
Well-researched
and well-written
chapters on
Deere, Cat, Allis, Case, IH, Ford, Massey, White, and "the Orphan
Tractors."
Not a definitive study of any one brand, but a very good general
history
of each brand covered. Great photos, mostly of less-common
types
like high-crops or orchard models.
Classic
Farm Tractors. Randy
Leffingwell, 1993. Hardbound, 192 pages.
Extremely similar
to The American Farm
Tractor, above,
but with
a substantially less-detailed text. I suspect this was a
marketing effort, condensing and repackaging Leffingwell's original
classic into a less-expensive version to generate some more sales
without really having to write a new book. Originally
published in a
hardcover
edition in 1993, it was re-released in paperback in 1996. Not
a bad book, but buy the other one.
Classic
American Streamliners.
Mike Schafer and Joe Welsh, 1997. Hardbound, 160 pages.
Not exactly a
tractor book, but there are a lot of
interesting parallels
between the classic streamlined trains and the classic streamlined
tractors.
And this is a very enjoyable book--lots of historical photos and ads,
and
well-written, detailed text. I particulary enjoyed reading
about
the design work done for the New York Central by Henry
Dreyfuss and for the Pennsylvania Railroad by Raymond
Loewy--the same industrial designers who created so many
classic
designs
for John Deere (Dreyfuss) and International Harvester
(Loewy).
Original
Allis-Chalmers 1933-1957. Guy Fay,
2001.
Hardbound, 128 pages.
Guy Fay is a meticulous researcher.
I don't yet have this book but his Farmall Letter Series Tractors
is an outstanding reference on original design and detailing of those
machines, and this looks like the counterpart for the classic
Allis line. Expect good photos, interesting technical
details, and concise writing.
Full
Steam Ahead: J. I. Case
Tractors
and Equipment 1842-1955. David Erb and Eldon
Brumbaugh,
1996.
Hardbound, 343 pages.
Comprehensive history of Case, one
of the
pioneers of the
steam tractor industry and a long-time builder of agricultural
equipment.
I don't have this book yet but intend to buy a copy--the Case VAH we
had
when I was a kid was a wonderful and dependable old tractor, and this
book
looks to be well done. It's published by the American Society
of
Agricultural Engineers.
Good photos, very brief but decent
text, mostly
written
as captions to photographs.
About
Cockshutt. William H. Cockshutt, 2004.
Softbound, 151 pages.
A history of the Cockshutt Farm
Equipment company of Canada and the tractors, trucks, and equipment
they manufactured over the company's 85-year history. The
Cockshutt 30 (pictured on the book cover) was the first production farm
tractor with a successful "live" power takeoff, and, like only a few
other tractors, seemed to just get everything right and become a
lasting classic.
Ford
Farm Tractors.
Randy
Leffingwell, 1998. Hardbound, 192 pages.
A great history
of Henry Ford's long
involvement
with farm tractors, his partnerships with Harry Ferguson and others,
and
a lot of other great stuff. Like other Leffingwell books,
this
one
is thoroughly researched and superbly photographed. In some
cases
the writing and editing doesn't seem as smooth as in the author's books
on John Deere or on farm tractors in general, but this is still the
benchmark
book on Ford tractors. Released
in paperback in 2004.
Ford
Farm Tractors of the
1950s.
Randy Leffingwell, 2001. Softbound, 96 pages.
I haven't read
this but it looks like
another
case where the publisher re-edits material originally developed for a
more
comprehensive book (Ford Farm Tractors, above,
which covers the
entire run including the 1950s) into a less-expensive
edition.
The
photos are probably ones not used in the earlier book but are bound to
be great anyway, and Leffingwell's text is usually well researched and
well written.
Ford
N Series Tractors.
Rod Beemer and Chester Peterson, 1997. Hardbound, 128 pages.
Looks like just the thing if you
have, want, or
are otherwise
interested in a 9N, 2N, or 8N. These little tractors rank
among
the
great ones, with their "Ferguson system" 3-point hitch and practical
design.
Minneapolis-Moline
Farm
Tractors.
Peterson and Beemer, 2000. Hardbound, 128 pages.
Another that I
need to purchase--I've
got an
earlier MM book by Wendel and Morland and it's a good basic survey, but
it's out of print now. This newer one looks like an excellent
history.
Starts at the beginning with the Moline Plow Company and the
Minneapolis
Threshing Machine Company, and continues through the company's entire
run.
The definitive
Oliver history, with
lots of
great historical photos and behind-the-scenes text from author Morrell,
a former chief engineer at the corporation. Out of print now,
but
available used.
Oliver
Tractors.
Robert
Pripps and Andrew Morland, 1994. Softbound, 128
pages.
Good photos,
brief but decent
text. I
like this series of books by Pripps and Morland--their books were among
the earliest to cover specific makes of antique and classic tractors,
and
they're inexpensive and enjoyable to read.
A
Farm Boy's Dream:
The Story
of Versatile. Jarrod Pakosh, 2003.
Hardbound, 120
pages.
A history of
Versatile founder Peter
Pakosh
and his company, this new book has been in development for several
years
by the founder's grandson and is just now in publication.
Looks
like
it'll be an excellent tribute to the founder, his company, and the
dedication
of the author. Visit the book's
website for a preview.
