Online Catalogue last updated 6th of June 2024
Timing can be everything in this world. Well, timing coupled with a bit of luck and a lot of innovation. Henry Ford seemed to have all of these things and more. Two of his inventions, the Model T car and the Fordson tractor, were paramount to the advancement of a growing nation in the early 1900s. ASAE's latest book, A Century of Ford and New Holland Farm Equipment, follows the agricultural side of Henry For's inventions. It begins with the Fordson tractor which sent millions of horses to pasture and doesn't end until after Ford and New Holland combined in 1986, added Versatile in 1987, and finally became New Holland North America Inc.
But Henry Ford is just half the story of this new book. Abram Zimmerman has also had some pretty good timing. A master machinist, he opened his New Holland Machine Works in 1895 to help his neighbours ease their chores with basic farm tools. The company prospered until the Depression, but by a stroke of luck and good timing New Holland acquired the rights to build Edwin Nolt's self tie baler in 1940. This baler made all others obsolete and allowed New Holland to lead the hay and forage equipment industry.
Author Norm Swinford concentrates on the North American operations as he goes model by model through the tractor line. But he doesn't stop there. From Fordson to four wheel drive, from feed mills to forage harvesters, from corn shellers to giant combines, they are all covered in this comprehensive new book.
To complete the Ford and New Holland story, Swinford has included specifications, Nebraska test results and serial numbers that the collector will find useful. With 775 photos (230 in colour) this hardcovered book would be a valuable addition to any collection of tractor books.
Code No. 009320, 288 pages, $89.00