Text from antique catalog page reads as follows :
Harvester – A strictly high grade mower and one of the most beautiful and graceful designes ever produced.
Posts Tagged ‘history’
Mt. Vernon, Ball Bearing, Antique Reel Mower
May 26th, 2009
Mt. Vernon, Ball Bearing, Reel Mower
9 INCH DRIVE WHEELS, FOUR KNIVES, WITH GRASS GUARD
This mower is the same as the Mt. Vernon, but has ball bearings. The reel knives are made of oil tempered tool steel and shelf-sharpening. Knives are carefully ground to insure best of kind work positive ratchet and patent cone adjustment. For a medium priced machine it did excellent work and gave universal satisfaction. This machine was thoroughly tested with above results.
Mt. Vernon, Ball Bearing, Antique Reel Mower
Mt. Vernon Antique Reel Mower
May 25th, 2009
Mt. Vernon Reel Mower
9 INCH DRIVE WHEELS, FOUR KNIVES, WITH GRASS GUARD
This mower was built on the same lines as the Badger, but stronger, having larger and heavier driving wheels. The reel knives are made of oil tool steel and self-shaarpening. Knives are carefully ground to insure best of kind work and give universal satisfaction. This machine has been thoroughly tested with above results.
Mt. Vernon Antique Reel Mower
Commonwealth Antique Reel Mower
May 24th, 2009
Commonwealth Antique Reel Mower
9 INCH DRIVE WHEELS, THREE KNIVES, WITH GRASS GUARD.
Same Machine as the Mt. Vernon, but this mower has three oil tempered tool steel reel knives, in place of four, shelf-sharpening, and positive ratchet and adjustable plain bearing box. This machine gave excellent satisfaction. Very easy to adjust.
Commonwealth Antique Classic Reel Mower
Badger Antique Classic Reel Mower
May 23rd, 2009
Badger Classic Reel Mower
8 INCH DRIVE WHEELS, FOUR KNIVES, WITH GRASS GUARD
This machine was highly recommended for quick action, having four tempered cast steel reel knives, self-sharpening and positive ratchet and adjustable plain bearing box. For a low wheel mower this machine gave excellent satisfaction. Very easy to adjust.
Badger Old Fashion Reel Mower
1924 Historic Reel Lawn Mower Advertisement
May 22nd, 2009
Reel lawn mowers used to be very very popular – remember? For many of you and especially those of you ages 12 to 40, you may know manual push reel mowers as, “that old mower my grandfather used have”. We recently discovered a fantastic and informative old magazine advertisement for The Genuine “PHILADELPHIA” Lawn Mowers. You can tell by reading the ad that reel lawn mowers once had a passionate following.
The advertisement reads:
Lawns or Links – Sun or Shade
That Grass thrives best which receives the best care and no factor plays a greater part in the development of fine lawns than does the Lawn Mower. Now, to the casual observer, all Lawn Mowers look pretty much alike. Paint and varnish, gilt lettering and fancy designs cover a multitude of Lawn Mower sins. That is why it pays to buy Mowers of known reputation. That is the reason why experienced buyers ask for The Genuine “PHILADELPHIA” Lawn Mowers.
They stand for fifty-five years of undivided efforts in one field. We originated, developed and improved, until to-day every “PHILADELPHIA” Mower is sold under the unqualified guarantee that they are of the highest standards in workmanship and materials.
Progressive Dealers the world over will show you any models. There are twenty-five styles all told, in Hand-Horse- and Motor-Mowers.
The Philadelphia Lawn Mower Company
31st and Chestnut Streets, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.A.
1924 Philadelphia Lawn Mower Advertisement
A Brief History of Lawn Mowing
May 6th, 2009
The practice of mechanical mowing is less than 200 years old; before our modern era, grassy areas were maintained by grazing animals (in fact, sheep, in particular, are still used across the globe for this purpose). Turf was also maintained in earlier times with hand-held scythes for cutting and brooms for sweeping.
An English engineer named Edwin Budding invented the first mechanical mower in 1827. His prototype lawn mower was inspired by a carpet-trimming machine in a textile factory. The basic principle used in his mower is still found today in reel mowers: curved blades produce a cutting action alongside a stationary steel plate. The first machines, designed by Budding, were so heavy that they required three people to operate. Draft animals were also used to pull the first lawn mowers.
Manufacture of lawn mowers for general use began in the 1860s. By 1862, John Ferrabee (who bought the rights to manufacture lawn mowers from Edwin Budding) was making eight models in various roller sizes up to 36 inches. His company manufactured over five thousand machines until production ceased in 1863. Gasoline-powered mowers finally became available to a wide market in the 1920s when Colonel Edwin George popularized Moto-Mowers, built in a Detroit factory.
This information is summarized from Fundamentals of Turfgrass Management, by Nick Christians: Ann Arbor Press, Chelsea, Michigan: 1998, (chapter 8) and Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawnmower.
