Nice sales catalog from Johnston Harvester
Company of Batavia New York. No date but c1890s-1910. One of the largest and
oldest independent farm implement manufacturers in the country at the turn of
the 20th century was the Johnston Harvester Co. Located in Batavia, N.Y., the
Johnston line of farm machinery is unfamiliar to many today. In 1860, a man named Samuel Johnston (about whom nothing much is known)
began a long string of inventions in a tiny New York hamlet called West Shelby
by patenting a hand-held corn. In 1868, Johnston, Huntley & Co. was
established in Brockport to make the Johnston Sweepstakes harvester. In
1874, Johnston withdrew from the firm and apparently began to make harvesters
on his own. In the 1880s, a new factory in Batavia was soon in
business. Around 1910, the Massey-Harris Co., anxious to establish a
toehold in the U.S. and gain a ready-made overseas outlet, bought a
three-quarter interest in Johnston Harvester. At the time, Johnston employed
some 1,300 men and did an annual business of about $2.5 million, with about
one-quarter of that from export sales. Although the firm became a subsidiary of
MH, the factory’s name and local manager were retained for several years.
Distributed by George J Hoopes of Embreeville PA. 7” x 9” and 40 pages. Lots of
b/w photographs of machinery and equipment. Each item full described. Wonder
full color cover.