General Information

Serial #

5311

Part Number

1

Total Parts

1

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

IRON & STEEL/ GLASS/ RUBBER WHEEL COVERING

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

485.0 cm

Width

210.0 cm

Height

280.0 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Agriculture

Category

Power sources

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Massey

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

City

Hamilton

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

Period

1918

Canada

The Sawyer Massey company of Hamilton, Ontario produced road-building equipment, reapers, mowers, separators, horse powers, and beginning in the early 1880s, steam traction engines. Prior to 1892, the company was known as the L.D. Sawyer Co. In 1892, the Massey brothers acquired an interest in the company and it was renamed the Sawyer & Massey Company. In 1910, the Masseys divested their holding and the company then became known as Sawyer-Massey. Sawyer-Massey continued to produce threshers and steam traction engines, and later manufactured gasoline-powered tractors.

Function

The tractor is a motorized vehicle used to pull and actuate other vehicles or implements that are not power-driven. Tractors are primarily designed for agricultural work: for cultivation, spraying, and harvesting operations. The first tractors, developed in the mid-nineteenth century, were steam-powered and were not very mobile: their main purpose was to power threshers and other equipment. The development of gas-engines in the late 19th century, and their integration into tractors, gave the machines more mobility and flexibility. Robert C. Williams writes in "Fordson, Farmall, and Poppin' Johnny: A history of the farm tractor and its impact on America" (1987) that "Of all the farm implements, the tractor has had the greatest impact on rural life...In one generation between 1920 and 1950, most farms in the United States changed from dependence on draft animals to dependence on mechanical power."

Technical

The Sawyer-Massey 20-40 was a large gas-powered tractor designed for use on prairie farms. In 1918, it retailed for $3,750 making it an expensive piece of agricultural machinery. Produced between 1910 and 1920, the 20-40 featured a 4-cylinder engine that generated a lot of heat. Gas-powered tractors such as this one replaced an earlier generation of steam-powered ones in the first decades of the twentieth century.

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

MFR'S NAME CAST INTO BOTH SIDES OF FRONT: 'SAWYER/ MASSEY/ CO. LIMITED/ HAMILTON/CANADA/ G564'/ MFR'S NAME & MODEL PLATE ON RIGHT FRONT SIDE: 'SAWYER-MASSEY/ 20-40/ NO 5311'/ MFR'S NAME STENCILLED ON BOTH ENDS OF KEROSENE TANK IN CIRCULAR FASHION: 'SAWYER/ MASSEY'/ STENCILLED ON BOTH SIDES OF CANOPY: 'SAWYER-MASSEY CO. LD. HAMILTON CANADA'/ HAND PAINTED ON BOTH SIDES OF REAR IN CIRCULAR FASHION 'SAWYER-MASSEY CO.' UNDERNEATH 'LIMITED/ HAMILTON CAN'/ MFR'S PLATE ON OIL PUMP: 'DETROIT LUBRICATOR COMPANY/ DETROIT U.S.A./ [LOGO] MODEL G NO 136823/ PATENTS PENDING'/ GAUGE [POSSIBLY OIL] ON RIGHT SIDE.

Missing

N/A

Finish

PAINTED GREEN WITH RED & YELLOW PAINT TRIM [RESTORED HERE]

Decoration

THE ENGINE HAS DECORATIVE RED & YELLOW PIPING [HAND DRAWN]/ YELLOW PAINT STENCILLING OF MFR'S NAME ON KEROSENE TANK & CANOPY