Massey-Harris, “No. 2” Combine Harvester

Current Location:

Collection Storage Facility

Provenance:

Acquisition from Victoria, Australia

Technical History:

The combine harvester, also known earlier as the reaper-thresher, combines in one machine all the operations associated with cereal-grain harvesting: reaping, threshing, and winnowing. First conceived in the late nineteenth century, combine harvesters were more widely produced in the twentieth century as grain farming expanded, particularly in western North America. Combine harvesters came in towed and self-propelled models, with self-propelled models dominating production after the 1940s. The Massey-Harris “No. 2” combine harvester was a pull-type ground-drive combine, and could be drawn by horse or tractor to harvest up to 25 acres a day.

History:

Massey-Harris was founded in Brantford, Ontario in 1891, the result of the merger of the Massey Manufacturing Co. and A. Harris, Son & Co. Massey-Harris became a globally important manufacturer of agricultural implements with exports to countries such as Australia. The No. 2 model was first produced in 1910 and was designed specifically for the Australian market.