International Harvester Farmall Tractor Model: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

The nature of farming dramatically changed in the 20th century through what came to be known as the Green Revolution. From the 1920s-1950s farming productivity rose dramatically due to mechanization, fertilizers, chemicals (fungicides, pesticides, herbicides) and the hybridization of plants and animals. Agricultural innovations continue to be important to farming today. While the museum has over a dozen full-size tractors and other pieces of farming equipment, most technical developments of the 20th century are represented in the collection through toys and models.

The Ertl Company of Dyersville, Iowa, made this metal and rubber model of an International Harvester 1586 Farmall Tractor during the 1970s. The tractor model had a working hitch to accommodate attachments.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Object Name: tractor, International Harvester, "1586"
• Measurements: overall: 7 1/2 in x 9 1/2 in x 9 1/2 in; 19.05 cm x 24.13 cm x 24.13 cm
• ID Number: AG.78A01.09
• catalog number: 78A01.09
• accession number: 1977.0989
• Credit Line: International Harvester
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.