JOHN DEERE EVOLUTION

This visually stunning work blends tractors photographed in custom-built studios with concept drawings and behind-the-scenes looks at how the machines were designed and built. The beautiful book also is encyclopedic, containing examples of every model line built by John Deere since 1919.

The book includes dozens of drawings and images from the archives of the Henry Dreyfuss Archives housed at the Cooper Hewitt Museum in Manhattan, many of which are from a newly-uncovered and previously unlabeled box of materials showing tractor design and development. In-person research was also done at the Theo Brown Archives kept at Wooster Polytechnic Institute. Period images from the Smithsonian, the Library of Congress, and other notable historic archives add visual depth to the history. Matching the strong visuals is an in-depth history that includes interviews with John Deere engineers, industrial designers, dealers, and farmers who created, sold, and used the machines, many of whom provide insight into developmental evolution and secret prototypes.

This work features more than 300 images, including many depicting one-of-a-kind machines and serial number ones. The stunningly restored 6030 you’ll find on the cover is the first example built, and you’ll also find a working 4020, which was the second built and the first power shift model. These and dozens of others in the book are some of the most valuable tractors in existence.