The pictures on this page came from an I.H.C. dealer’s
showroom book. According to the catalog’s owner, LeRoy A.
Baumgardner, Jr. of 1710 Hanover Pike, Littlestown, PA 17340, these
books were strictly for the dealers’ use as they are serial
numbered. It is a 1916 edition issued by the I.H.C. branch house in
Baltimore, MD to Ensor and Gray-bill Hardware Co., New Windsor, MD,
serial number 55.
Several of the slides are marked ‘Grand Prize Winner San
Francisco Exposition.’ The Exposition was held in 1915, and was
very much like a World’s Fair; International Harvester Co. won
almost all of the awards that year given for farm machinery.
Detailed descriptions of the pictures are as follows:
A. This tractor introduced in 1915 and
built until 1922 was one of the most popular tractors built by IHC
up until that time with a total of 78,363 built during this
period.
B. This tractor built from 1915 to 1917
with a total production of 14,065 was IHC’s answer for the
small farmer’s tractor needs. At the time this tractor sold for
$675.00 F.O.B. Chicago. IHC also offered an Oliver model 62 mounted
plow for this tractor.
C. Almost 5,700 of these trucks were built
between 1915 and 1923 and sold for $1,450.00.
D. These engines are most likely one of
the better built engines for the time period they were produced.
You You will notice in the picture these engines were painted a
2-tone shade of green. The larger sideshaft engines were also
painted in this manner and striped in gold.
E. According to several original pieces of IHC
literature in Baumgardner’s collection, the name Titan was not
used on IHC engines until May, 1914. In 1914 the names Famous and
Victor were dropped and Titan substituted since this was the name
being used on the tractors. Also all Famous, Victor and Titan
engines except those sold by Osborne dealers, were painted Oxblood
Red and Brewster Green with Gold stripes. The engines sold by the
Osborn people were IHC Blue. ‘I have seen many people with IHC
engines painted Red with Black flywheels and they will tell you
that is the original color,’ writes Baumgardner. ‘I am not
saying they are wrong but I have never seen any literature to back
this color combination up. I feel that the Brewster green was a
very dark shade of green to begin with and over the years grease
and oil darkened the pigment in this paint to the point it appears
to be black. I would most certainly be interested in hearing
comments on this theory.’
