This circa-1919 advertising sign for the Titan tractor was issued by International Harvester Co. The original ads were printed on 20- by 26-inch poster paper for display in dealerships. Just three originals are known to survive.
The image shows a soldier in uniform returning from World War I. The whole family – including father, mother, sister, younger brother and even the dog and chickens – seems to be very excited that the soldier will soon be farming with Dad’s new IHC Titan 10-20 tractor. The caption under the sign reads, “Look what Dad bought for you, Bill.”
From its introduction, the Titan 10-20 tractor was phenomenally popular and was the first tractor for many farmers. Between 1916 and 1922, IHC built more than 78,000 of these tractors. They were sold primarily at Deering Division dealerships. FC
Grateful acknowledgement is given to David Schnakenberg, who contributed this image from his collection of pre-1910 chromolithographs of farm machinery advertising. For more information, contact him at 10108 Tamarack Dr., Vienna, VA 22182; (703) 938-8606; dschnakenberg@verizon.net; view the Schnakenberg Collection online at http://stores.ebay.com/Farm-Machinery-Advertising-Art.
To submit a vintage advertisement for publication, send it to: Iron Age Ads, Farm Collector, 1503 S.W. 42nd St., Topeka, KS 66609; or submit high-quality digital images by e-mail: editor@farmcollector.com.
