J. I. CASE THRESHING MACHINE CO., RACINE, WIS. U. S. A. SIXTY THIRD ANNUAL CATALOGUE, 1842 - 1905

Milwaukee: Meyer-Rotier Printing Co., 1905., 1905. First edition. First edition. Color, pictorial, stiff wrappers, encased in a 9 1/4" x 12" oblong cloth binder, with title stamped in gold gilt on the front cover, 72 pp., illustrated throughout in black & white with over 150 text woodcut engravings, photo-lithograph engravings and lithograph text illustrations. price lists. Color chromolithograph illustrated softcovers, splendid front cover art of Ceres blowing a bugle and holding Case globe & "Old Abe" bald eagle logo, and draped in the American flag, surrounded by sheaf of wheat. Louisiana Purchase Exposition Grand Prize Exhibition Ribbon & Medal for 1904 illustrated on rear cover for the J. I. Case Threshing Machine Company. First edition of this exceedingly rare salesman sample display catalogue for the Case Threshing Machine Company, issued just after the Company had won the Grand Prize at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition where they introduced their prototype gasoline tractor. This catalogue was designed by the Case Co. for their salesman to use, with ruled paper blanks for orders to be recorded, and for a cloth portfolio to better preserve the catalogue from wear and tear. Jerome Increase Case (1819- 1891) began building threshing machines in 1847 in Racine, WI, and by 1869 had engineered and built Case Steam Engine Number One. Subsequently, Case began producing a whole line of self-propelled traction engines, portable engines, twine binder machines, separators, stackers, and more. This catalogue also illustrates and includes such attachments as weighers, loaders, baggers, clover hulling attachments, and even for plowing with steam. The splendid color chromolithograph covers were printed by the Gugler Lithographic Co. in Milwaukee, founded originally by German-American Henry Gugler (1816-1880), and then operated by his sons. They printed labels for Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, as well as billboards, broadsides, and advertising across the country. Worldcat locates no copies; See: Case Construction Equipment History (2013); Leffingwell, Classic Farm Tractors: History of the Farm Tractor, Chapter 2; Bill Ganzel, Wessels Living History Farm, York, Nebraska (2014). Spine of stiff wrappers has been replaced, pages 41 through 59 have a small corner crease to top edge of each page, slight edge wear to covers and a few pages, rear cover lightly soiled with a small corner crease at bottom, else a very good, solid copy. Housed loosely into the original cloth binder that has crayon marks to the rear pastedown sheet and is rubbed on the front and rear covers.