A picture always tells a story more accurately than a verbal
description. You will be interested in this large picture of the A.
Gaar & Company threshing outfit which we have taken from their
catalog of 1870. This through the courtesy of S. G. Sunday, R.D. 1,
Modoc, Ind. To me it is very interesting and you may want to frame
it.
The thresher is of the ‘Apron’ type, which was very
popular with all machines of that time. Of course it is a hand
drawn picture. I can nearly always find fault with an artist –The
engine in the picture is most likely an 8 hp and surely not more
than a 10 hp. However, judging by the size of the man firing and
the boiler compared it is about a 100 hp. You western fellows would
say they are setup the wrong way. Note the smoke going toward the
grain stack.
I like very much the human element in the picture. Note the man
taking a rest on a pile of sheaves and the youngsters at play in
the right hand corner.
The engines of that day all had a long stroke. Gaar’s 8 hp
cylinder was 5 x 11 and the 10 hp was 6 x 13.
It is interesting to note that A. Gaar & Company were in
business more than 20 years when on April 1st 1870 they were
organized under the laws of the State of Indiana into an
Incorporation Company, under the name of ‘Gaar, Scott &
Company’.
We are giving you some other pictures from the 1870 catalog
which I know will be of interest to know what they were doing so
long ago.
