Art of the Draw: Advertising Posters
from the McCormick-International Harvester Collection
FARM TECHNOLOGY POSTER
The Tractor Comes of Age
he introduction of
gasoline-powered traction engines in the early 1900s
marked a revolution in American farming. Tractors
provided a cheaper, more versatile and reliable source
of power than the huge, self-propelled steam engines
introduced to American farms in the 1870s. This poster
captures a moment in tractor evolution just before the
industry settled into the basic design familiar today,
and sales exploded. In 1915, 25,000 tractors were in use
on American farms and by 1920 the number had mushroomed
to 246,000.
Photolithograph, 1915
Unknown Printer
for Illinois Tractor
Demonstration
(Chicago)
30" x 18"
WHI 3577