Between the Bookends: Art of the John Deere Tractor, Josephine Roberts Hits the Road & Kid Stuff

Enlarge Image Image Gallery The Art of the John Deere Tractor by Lee Klancher

A lot of books have been published on John Deere tractors but The Art of the John Deere Tractor stands in a class by itself. In author/photographer Lee Klancher’s unique volume, the finest and most collectible John Deere tractors get glamour girl treatment, photographed in a studio against plain, seamless backdrops. 

The result is a selection of 250 very, very fine photographs showcasing decades of carefully considered industrial design. By placing each tractor on an identical stage, one with virtually no visual distractions, Klancher trains the spotlight on the specimen. Multiple views of each tractor and detail shots lend full dimension and clarity. For those interested in the magic behind the curtain, Klancher describes the process of constructing a temporary studio – one big enough to accommodate an 8010 – inside a building at a collectors’ museum in Wisconsin.

The tractors – 30 in all – are from the renowned Keller collection, which leans heavily toward first built and last built, often from production runs of exceedingly small numbers. Collectors Walter and Bruce Keller contribute extensive detail, rarely heard anecdotes and invaluable historical insights. Some of the tractors are in their original dress; others have been flawlessly restored. All are significant in the design evolution of John Deere.

Klancher sprinkles fascinating details with a sure hand. Here you’ll read about the tractor that belonged to a Deere heiress, the impact of Deere recalls, the John Deere series nearly clad in brown paint and the Cinderella-like 8010. Intriguing tales to be sure, but it’s the photos that carry the day – the photos and the enduring art of the tractor.

The Art of the John Deere Tractor by Lee Klancher, hardcover, 192 pages, color photography, Voyageur Press, $35, available through Farm Collector Books, click here to order.  

And now for some titles off the beaten path, starting with Gwen and the Art of Tractor Travel by Farm Collector’s own Josephine Roberts. Based on notes from her journal, the book is a first-person account of our intrepid columnist’s solo tractor trek through the Welsh countryside – six weeks before she gave birth to her firstborn – at the wheel of her Massey Ferguson 35. The title of the book may seem a bit confusing to readers in the colonies, but we are advised that it is a bit of a play on words referencing both another journey tale (“Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”) and a familiar nickname (Gwen) for a Welsh housewife.