EARLY 1900'S (JOHN) DEERE CATALOGUE, # 30, FOR "PLOWS, HARROWS AND CULTIVATORS" WITH A LITTLE BIT EXTRA PROVENANCE
FORMER CONFEDERATE ARMY COLONEL, OWNED CATALOGUE, PURCHASED AFTER ACQUIRING "PIONEER FARM," IN FORT MACLEOD, ALBERTA
We purchased a Victorian era portrait, back in late November, of a young woman by the name of Vanderburg, who once resided in the Gravenhurst area. There was a wood slat missing from the back of the picture, and I could see some writing on the back of the matted original photograph. I assumed, at a passing glance, that the penned notes had something to do with the Vanderburg family. When I made a small repair to the back, later in the day, I realized the notes had been made by the photographer instead. I had never before, in photographer's terms, known the coloration procedure for "hand tinting," which was quite an art, when color first came to black and white photography. All the notes about tinting Ms. Vanderburg's face, were indicated in these few directives, possibly to a studio apprentice. While not a great enhancement to the value of the photograph, it did make the piece much more interesting and unique. It pays to investigate. You would be shocked to find out how little is put into basic research, to properly identify antique pieces; art in particular. The internet provides a great wealth of reference material, that although not the end-all, for research, definitely cuts the amount of time it used to take, to conduct similar investigations. Believe me, it is necessary to run down these tidbits of available information. Money wise, it pays dividends over the long haul, to put some effort into researching the pieces you have, that, in your opinion, possess some type of unique provenance, or, as in art, were painted by artists who can be, with a little due diligence, identified. I will give you a case in point.
If it had been possible, and not altogether inconvenient, I would have hopped on Hugh MacMillan's shoulders, after I first met the man, so that I could have been up close and personal, to every heritage-themed conservation he had, with thousands of folks from all walks of life, all regions of Canada, all cultures, and from all places on this planet. Hugh was a freelance archivist, historian, and one of the most revered "old paper sleuths" in our country. I will never feel that I had access to more than a tiny fragment of his experience and hunting savvy, as a master-gatherer of historic records, journals, letters and photographic heritage. The fact that he was highly accomplished at his mission, of almost perpetual adventure, and treasure hunting, made him the mentor of choice, of people like me; who mistakenly thought (prior to meeting him) they knew it all. I don't know of any antique dealer or historian who wouldn't have benefitted from running into someone like Hugh MacMillan, for say, a wee dram, and then getting abruptly startled back to the reality, there's so much more to learn!
I have written a lot about my old historian friend, and tutor, Hugh MacMillan, who died a while back, having had, what I would suggest, was a truly remarkable life. I had, and continue to possess, a great admiration for his dogged determination to improve historical knowledge in this country, one document, one journal, one letter at a time; if that's the patience it took, to acquire a full collection, belonging to a particularly important estate. What Hugh taught me, as both an historian and as a collector / dealer, and part-time hobby archivist, was to never accept face-value of anything, that has the potential of even the most obscure, hard-to-piece-together, remote, and unlikely provenance. What he taught me, most of all, was to hone my skills of detection, in order to ferret-out the good stuff. When I met Hugh back in the mid 1980's, I felt comfortable, that as both a dealer and regional historian, I had as much knowledge as required to get the job done. It didn't take too long in Hugh's company, before I felt like a first year student in both professions. Yet he never made me feel this way, at least on purpose, and was only too willing to share his wealth of knowledge, and his treasure-chest full of amazing stories of heritage recovery in, and, for the benefit of this country.
I got to know Hugh MacMillan well, because of my friendship with three exceptional Canadians; one being author / historian, Wayland "Buster" Drew, and then Dave Brown and Charlie Humber, both men, willing to share their heritage experiences with an underling. If you were a friend of Hugh MacMillan, you automatically gained access to all of his associates, and for any historian, this is often, a make or break situation; there were no dead ends with Hugh. He might have agreed with the word "stalemate," as relates to a sort of "temporary pause int he action," because he had lots of proof things could change quickly, for someone like him; who had left his phone number with so many people over the decades, just in case they changed their minds or found something else of interest. He always had a way to gain access, despite what appeared a long line of closed doors, and denied access. I was thinking about Hugh just now, because it was his passed-on expertise, that helped us on the weekend, rescue a very interesting turn of the 1900's farm equipment catalogue, with a little extra provenance, beyond what was a rare find on its own. There was an inscription, you see, that Suzanne, my long suffering assistant, was able to search online, and it turned out to be a pretty significant find overall. Suzanne and I both listened carefully to Hugh MacMillan talk about the importance of running down all available matters of provenance, when afforded the opportunity. A simple name of a former owner penned onto the inside cover page of a book, identifying a previous owner, can have a massive impact on valuation. Here is a case in point, and it may explain why I have such praise for my former mentor, who influenced a life-long impatient man, "me" to change his ways. It slows us down as antique hunters, but what we sleuth-out is always worth the extra effort.
(John) DEER & COMPANY, MOLINE, ILL., U.S.A., CATALOG 30, PLOWS, HARROWS, & CULTIVATORS - AND ITS FORMER OWNER
There is a brief inscription on the title page, of the (John) Deere & Company Catalog, # 30, circa 1906-07, that, on initial examination, seems quite ordinary, and I've seen similar notations on other books. Usually, it doesn't pan-out to be anything that would increase the collectable value of the text. On one percent of these finds, there is a connection to someone, or some event in history, that gives a rather striking provenance to what was a pretty ordinary find. Now, to start with, there are certain books and catalogues, that I will buy without hesitation, if the price falls within budget. I will, for example, buy any catalogues on "Stanley Tools," even a newer price guide, because there is a huge collector-base out there, and their vintage print materials sell well, and quite rapidly; and usually for a sizeable profit. The second, is any vintage "John Deere" ephemera, including parts catalogues. I might be an old book collector, but I'm also interested in turning a profit now and again. I've always had amazing fortune, selling anything we have of an antique or collectible nature, regarding "Deere & Company," as it began in the mid 1800's, or the modern era "John Deere." I just want to footnote here, that as a media type, with Muskoka Publications, back in the 1980's, we published a number of feature articles on the work of Muskoka artist, Doug Dunford. Doug actually became a full fledged member of the "Herald-Gazette Rink Rat," hockey team, for a couple of years, so I got to play alongside this talented artist. Of all Doug's many art works, I was always fascinated by one he did, in the early 1980's, entitled "Minnesota Moline," which was a painting of a vintage tractor in a farm yard. I can't really explain why I wanted that original, because I've never even ridden on a tractor, but it just appealed to me, because of its rural significance and that was right up my alley, at the time. I didn't have the money to buy the painting then, but I sure do remember it!
The inscription in the catalog reads as follows (see pic above); "Found at the Pioneer Ranch, Fort MacLeod, Alberta, 1974." Not a lot to work with, or names to find family association. I've given Suzanne less than this, as information to search, but admittedly, this was pretty thin to start with. It took her less than a half hour, including the time to make notes, to come up with a provenance that is quite remarkable; and frankly, would have made Hugh MacMillan chuckle, that an apprentice had put his advice to good use.
First of all, "Pioneer Ranch," was well known in Alberta, so it wasn't difficult to get into a heritage base site, in Alberta, to find that it was originally owned by Edwin Wipple. Here's where the researcher gets most points.
Pioneer Ranch, according to museum records, was purchased from Mr. Wipple in 1907, by Paul Booker Reed, a rather curiously appointed character, to become a Canadian land owner at this time in history. Mr. Reed arrived to take possession of the ranch, near Fort MacLeod, in 1907, with his son, Paul, and the rest of the family arrived from United States, in 1911. Mr. Reed, who had been born on October 7th, 1842, in Frankfort, Kentucky, studied medicine at Tulane University, and would serve later, as a Colonel in the Confederate Army, in the American Civil War. He would go on to become mayor of Louisville, Kentucky, from 1885-1887. He married Ida Camerer in 1885, but had been previously married to her sister. She died sometime earlier, having had four children, one son (Paul), and three daughters. In 1900 the family moved to Seattle, Washington, and then north, in 1907, to the Pioneer Ranch. The catalog in our possession, was acquired at this time, of the family being newly situated on the large Alberta homestead. Colonel Reed, died in Alberta, on the ninth of November, 1913, and his son, Paul, committed suicide on the sixteenth of February, 1915. The farm property was eventually leased out, but record shows, that the Colonel's daughter, Hettie and her husband, lived on the ranch until her husband's death. She moved to Fort MacLeod following his death, and she died on the twenty-fourth of March, 1972. At the time of her death, she had been in the process of donating records, and artifacts, to an Alberta museum. Some materials, following this, were given to an estranged sister, and other records were donated to the Alberta Provincial Archives. All this from a very basic, short inscription on the title page, of a vintage catalogue. But then, this is precisely what Hugh MacMillan had instructed us to do, as researchers-in-training, chasing down every crumb of information, that just might prove to be an important bridging to, as they say, "the rest of the story."
The catalog on its own is quite rare, and although it has suffered some water damage, and cover tears, has an almost perfect condition directory inside, of all John Deer equipment available for order. We are still researching the valuation, of the 1907 catalog, which has proven a little more difficult than we thought. There is large number of John Deere booklets on the market, but not much dating this far back, when it was still "Deere & Company."
THE CATALOG CIRCA 1907
In the year 1837, "three plows were made by hand, by John Deere, the first steel plows the world ever saw. It (one of the plows) was recovered by us (Deere & Company), some time ago, from the original purchaser, and we still have it in our possession," reports the opening "greeting," in the #30 catalog, as illustrated above.
"From the three plows made by John Deere at a single forge in 1837, in the 300,000 plows and kindred tools made by Deere & Company in 1906, is a stupendous jump. All the world knows how the great John Deere Factory has continued to grow to its present proportions, at Moline, Illinois, with its immense distributing branches, in nearly all the large cities of this country. It is the largest plow factory in the world, with a floor space equal to a forty acre farm, turning out two implements every working minute in the year, and employing 1,400 men, many of whom are skilled workmen, who have spent a lifetime making plows better.
"Although there are now engaged in the implement business but few who are permitted to cherish the memory of a personal acquaintance, with that great old man, John Deere, the founder of this factory, his fame and his business still live and continue to grow until it has just come to be said, that 'the sun never sets on the John Deere plow.' In winter or summer, sunshine or rain, whether it be noontide or midnight, somewhere the sun heats down, on the new turned furrow of a John Deere Plow, whose polished moldboard reflects the glory of its maker. To the progressive farmers, and dealers of home and foreign lands, we are under the greatest of obligations. In their desire to employ the highest, and most advanced type of plow goods, they have patronized the John Deere line, to such an extent, that we are now making one-third of all the high grade steel plows, as made by any other factory, and more than are made by any other five factories combined. Improvement is the order of the day. Since the issuance of our last general catalog, two years ago, (1905), we have added more to our line of new and up to date goods, and improvements on old goods, than we have ever been able to accomplish, in any two of the seventy years, since John Deere made the first steel plow, that has always been held up on such a high standard, that it is known and approved by farmers the world over, as the 'plow of quality'!"
It is an interesting side-bar to this catalog, as evidenced in a photographic section, at the front of the book, where country-wide plants are illustrated, that special mention is made, without photograph, of the "Deere Implement Company, of San Francisco, California," reading as follows: "Burned to the ground in the great conflagration and earthquake of 1906, now occupying temporary quarters, but fully stocked with a full line of John Deere Goods, prepared to take care of every demand of the trade."
The text of the catalog, begins with the editorial inclusions of "The Indian's Soliloquy - A Tribute to John Deere, The Inventor and Pioneer Manufacturer of the Steel Plow by Clay Bowsher." The prologue reads, "When John Deere first made the famous John Deere Plow, he probably did not realize that he had commenced to make the plow of the world....No one can name a manufacturer who has been such a blessing, to the world as John Deere. The grand old man and great benefactor of his race, now sleeps the long sleep, and, while he rests undisturbed in the bosom of Mother Earth, protected from the storms of life, his great mind is moulded in the Plow of the world, and still lives on and on through the ages and ages."
Under the heading, "The Indian's Soliloquy," the following editorial is printed: (Note: Keep in mind, that for the time period, in the Post Victorian era, it was acceptable comment, despite being so seriously inaccurate to the point of fiction. It wasn't politically, culturally, or historically correct, and some might find it a rather sad inclusion, as it reflects on the people of aboriginal ancestry. Fundamentally, the editorial suggests, as if written by a native chief, that John Deere defeated the Indian "Braves," simply by the development and proliferation of the iron-bladed plow.
"I see the great white man, John Deere. His new Steel Plow turns up the soil that has produced the grass for our buffalo and deer. Our happy hunting ground has been turned into a great cornfield for the white man, and the ears of corn are as numerous as the leaves of the saplings, and the grains of wheat, as the sands of the mighty ocean. These hills are covered with the white man's great barns and houses; villages have sprung up, cities have been built; white babies are born here instead of our pappooses. The buffalo, the deer, and all our game, have travelled to where the day's great eye, seemeth to linger, before kissing the Mother Earth good night; and so, with sad hearts, we too, must bid our happy hunting grounds a fond and last farewell, for we are conquered, not by the white man's sword, but by the mighty plowshare made by the white man. John Deere." An unfortunate editorial, but it is, as they say, part of history.
The last editorial comment, reads, "As I linger by the side of the little mound, I say, sleeps the mortal John Deere. Here sleeps in peace the quietude, the grand old pioneer Plow Maker of the world. Here sleeps the genius who manufactured the plow that turned the virgin soil, into the great corn and wheat belt of the mighty Mississippi Valley; and as I raise my head and view the fertile valley lying at my feet, it seems to me that, as the proud sun's rays shine almost directly over this Garden of Eden, of the United States, she commands the old earth to stand still for a few moments, that she may honor the spot of ground which covers the remains of John Deere, and at the same time, bless the great Mississippi Valley with her rays, thereby causing the fertile land to produce more than any other spot on this planet, because it was plowed with a John Deere Plow."
The editorial content, as it refers to aboriginal peoples, and the credits bestowed to John Deere, for winning America simply by the invention of "the plow," is of course self-serving and arrogant, not to mention presumptuous. As for 1907, the writer can be forgiven somewhat for taking these liberties. I think it's worthwhile to reprint this material, to show just how history was viewed from a 1907 perspective; and obviously, it was substantially askew, and unmistakably biased in favor of the vested interest of fledgling industry, and America in a new century.
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