General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

3

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

WOOD/ CAST IRON/ LEATHER/ ROPE

Dimensions

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

Length

577.0 cm

Width

234.0 cm

Height

295.0 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Agriculture

Category

Crop handling

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

MACDONALD MACPHERSON

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

City

Stratford

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

Period

1869-1927

Canada

Macdonald MacPherson & Co. was formed in Stratford, Ontario circa 1869. The "Standard" thresher was its first product; beginning in 1884, it began production of the "Decker," a thresher with improved grain-separation technology. By the 1890s the company was known as the Macdonald Manufacturing Company and was also producing horse powers. In 1905, it began manufacturing steam traction engines under licence and by 1905 steam traction engines, also known as "Deckers."

Function

Threshers separate or "thresh" grain from the head. They also separate grain kernels from the straw and chaff, cleaning the grain. Threshers were first developed in Europe in the late 18th century and mechanized the separation of grain, which was previously done by hand with tools such as flails. The first threshing machines were stationary: powered by hand or treadmill, they increased the amount of grain a farmer could separate in a day. Wheeled threshing machines began to replace stationary threshers in the 1860s and further mechanized grain harvesting. Threshers were initially built of wood and powered by horse-powered windlasses; they were later built of steel and powered by steam traction engines and gas tractors. Threshers were in turn replaced through the twentieth century by combine harvesters, which merged harvesting and threshing operations in one machine.

Technical

Wheeled threshing machines were first introduced in the 1860s. Replacing stationary ground threshers, they further mechanized grain harvesting and increased the amount of grain a farmer could process in a day. The Macdonald MacPherson "Standard" thresher is an apron-style thresher, which were common before vibrating decks were adopted in the 1880s. The "Standard" also features a straw stacker, an adjustable conveyor that deposited the waste straw in a pile at the machine's rear. The "Standard" was replaced by the "Decker" in 1885, which replaced canvas aprons with vibrating wood decks to improve grain and straw separation. Threshers of all-wood construction, such as this one were replaced in the early 20th century with threshers of all-steel construction; through the mid-20th century, wheeled threshers were replaced by combine harvesters, which merged reaping and threshing operations in one self-propelled machine.

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

N/A

Missing

VERY FEW, ALMOST COMPLETE From CA of 07/23/1997 by Tony Missio: Undetermined

Finish

PAINTED: PRINCIPLE COLOUR- RED; FRONT SIDE PANELS & SIDE ELEVATOR BLUE

Decoration

YELLOW & WHITE LINE DESIGN- WIDE YELLOW & FINE WHITE LINES; SOME BLACK TRIM; HAND PAINTED LEAF MOTIFS IN GREEN, ORANGE & GOLD; 'STANDARD' IN BLUE LETTERS BORDERED WITH YELLOW; MFR'S NAME IN CREAM COLOURED LETTERS ON A BLUE BACKGROUND; SMALL DOORS IN FRONT SIDE PANELS DECORATED WITH HANDPAINTED SCENES - 1- LAKESHORE SCENE; 2- RIGGED SHIP AT SEA