1867 LARGE FITCHBURG MASSACHUSETTS Farming MOWER Catalog KNIVES SICKLES Rare
Specifications
| All Returns Accepted | ReturnsNotAccepted |
| Country/Region Of Manufacture | United States |
Offered is a quite large oblong illustrated catalog for the Fitchburg, Massachusetts agricultural implement manufacturer Whitman & Miles, published in 1867. Catalog bears the title, LITHOGRAPHIC ILLUSTRATIONS of KNIVES, SICKLES & SECTIONS, Made by THE WHITMAN & MILES MANUFACTURING CO., W. FITCHBURG, MASS., 1867. Book measures about two feet long by one foot high, and is bound in original wraps. Plates are confusingly numbered. The first plate appears to be absent, but then there are consecutive plates until 23, at which point the numbering skips to 37, then 72, and then 118, but no plates appear to be absent between these. Descriptions of plates on the "DIrections for Ordering" page in front list plates up to 146, divided into sections such as "Smooth sections" "Sickle Sections," "Mower Knives," and "Reaper Sickles" among others. Plates are heavily weighted toward the Smooth and Sickle Sections, and the "Heel and Tip Blanks." Pages have some waterlines, and spotting, but nothing too terrible. Frontispiece is in color and depicts the West Fitchburg factory as it appeared in 1867. A train runs along the ridge in the back of the factory, and a hill rises up behind the entire scene. An extremely rare item which does not appear to have another example for sale, or even in a public institution. Whitman and Miles was one incarnation of this agricultural implement manufacturer, which later became better known as Whitman and Barnes. But even under this name, details about the company are scarce. Good luck on this rare item!