The International Harvester (IH) Company was an agricultural company formed in 1902, with products including trucks, refrigerators, and agricultural equipment. One of the best remembered IH products was their tractor line, especially the Farmall tractors.

Young Boy Inspects Bird Nest on Farmall H Tractor, 1952

Young Boy Inspects Bird Nest on Farmall H Tractor. View the original source document: WHI 11282

International Harvester used a lot of advertising campaigns to sell their tractors to the public, but one of the most talked about in the collector community is the Mid-Century White Farmall Demonstrator Tractor campaign. One of the reasons for this lively discussion is that there is no known documentation on which specific tractors were painted white. Unfortunately, we do not have a lot of information in our collection to help clarify some of the issues around the White Farmalls.

Farmall Super A White Demonstrator Tractor, 1950

Farmall Super A White Demonstrator Tractor. View the original source document: WHI 46226

The common belief in the IH collector community is that White Farmalls for the "Mid-Century Sales Promotion" were made in the first three months during 1950. For this campaign demonstration tractors were painted white instead of the usual Harvester Red color. IH hoped that the white tractors would stand out, and draw customers into dealerships.

It is believed that white demonstrator tractors included Farmall Model As, Cs, and Cubs. We do have serial numbers for these models of tractors, and they can be seen here.

[link to http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/u?/ihc,2084].

This can help tell if a tractor was made during the first three months of 1950, but doesn’t say if it was a White Demonstrator or not.

International "Mid-Century Promotion" Advertising Poster, 1950

International "Mid-Century Promotion" Advertising Poster. View the original source document: WHI 4641

Unfortunately, we don’t have a list of serial numbers or any other way to tell if a tractor was a white demonstrator. We do have advertising material from the campaign that can give some clues, but nothing definite. Advertisements can be found by going to the IH Collection search page here

[link to //www.wisconsinhistory.org/libraryarchives/ihc/search.asp]

and searching for mid-century.

Farmall Cub Tractor with Mid-Century Placards, 1950

Farmall Cub Tractor with Mid-Century Placards. View the original source document: WHI 24097

Patrons who have more questions about the Mid-Century sales campaign, White Farmalls, or other matters related to IH or the McCormick Family can contact the McCormick-International Harvester Collection staff at askmccormick@wisconsinhistory.org.