Daisy Self-Rake Reaper, circa 1895
- Description
- The reaper replaced the hard manual labor of harvesting grain with a sickle with a drivable machine. The operator sat on a seat mounted on the left wheel axel, driving the two horses or mules that pulled the reaper. Its reciprocal cutter bar was more than five feet long with three triangular sickle blades oscillating through guard teeth. Three rotating arms with three-inch projections raked, bound, and shocked the grain.
- An earlier model of the McCormick reaper, "Old Reliable," had required two men to operate. The second man sat behind the driver of the team, next to the apron, and raked the grain out as the reaper drove along. The "Daisy" eliminated the need for this second operator. The McCormick Machine Company, founded in 1847 by Cyrus McCormick, later became the International Harvester Corporation.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Object Name
- rake reaper
- date made
- ca 1895
- patent date
- PATD. U.S. / FEB. 12TH 1895 / MAR. 16TH 1897
- inventor
- McCormick, Cyrus
- manufacturer
- McCormick Machine Company
- maker
- McCormick Machine Company
- Physical Description
- wood (overall material)
- metal (overall material)
- ID Number
- AG*58A05.04
- accession number
- 213356
- catalog number
- 58A05.04
- subject
- Agriculture
- See more items in
- Work and Industry: Agriculture
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
- Credit Line
- Gift of the New York Historical Association, Cooperstown, New York
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