RECORDS OF INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER COMPANY OF GREAT BRITAIN LTD TR 2IHC Administrative History The International Harvester Company was founded in 1902 in Chicago, USA, the result of the merger of the two leading manufacturers of harvesting machinery in the USA. These were the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company and the Deering Harvester Company. Three smaller companies, the Milwaukee Harvester Company, the Warder, Bushnell and Glessner Company and the Plano Manufacturing Company, were also brought into the merged business. Of the constituent companies, McCormick traced its origins to 1831, when Cyrus Hall McCormick had developed his first successful mechanical reaper. He exhibited at the Great Exhibition at London in 1851, winning the show’s highest award, the Council Medal. By 1909 International Harvester had established branches in several European countries. The company shifted its focus from grain harvesting equipment to all lines of agricultural equipment. The company pioneered a light harvester-thresher in 1914. International Harvester’s first tractor went on sale in 1905 and by 1910 its Mogul and Titan models accounted for one third of the USA’s total tractor production. After the First World War the 10-20 became one of the company’s best-selling tractors. In 1924 the Farmall was introduced as a lightweight, all-purpose tractor. As well as agricultural equipment, International Harvester produced general motor transportation. Its first automotive vehicle, the two cylinder air-cooled Auto Buggy, designed by E. A. Johnston, was completed in February 1907 at the company’s McCormick Works in Chicago and the company went on to build auto wagons, cars, buses and trucks. Additionally, the company was the first in the USA to introduce a diesel engine into a vehicle, its TD-40 TracTracTor crawler tractor. In the 1940s the company reorganised into five divisions, the construction equipment, farm equipment, fibre and twine, motor truck and steel divisions. It consolidated its research into one plant in Chicago in 1946, which included a power research unit investigating gas turbines, free piston engines, fuel cells and nuclear energy. It also attempted to centralise its engineering activities in the same way. In 1960 IH acquired the Solar Aircraft Company of San Diego, California, which produced gas turbine engines. International Harvester set up 20 subsidiary companies to trade in its products overseas. Its first International subsidiary was the Hamilton Works in Hamilton, Ontario Canada (1903). The International Harvester Company of Great Britain Ltd was incorporated on 31 December 1906 with offices at 115 Southwark Street, London. In 1908 the company relocated to 80 Finsbury Pavement and finally to Harvester House, 259 City Road, London, EC1. Until 1939 International Harvester of Great Britain Ltd had no manufacturing facilities, instead importing and assembling products from the USA and Canada. The first International Harvester assembly plant in the UK was set up at Liverpool, close to the docks Orrell Park, in 1923. A large works for full-scale manufacturing was built at Doncaster in 1938. It was requisitioned by the UK government during the Second 1 World War, and only returned to IHC operation in 1946. It produced wheel tractors, crawler tractors and farm implements. In 1954 IHC purchased the Jowett Motor Car works at Bradford, which was converted to production of B-250 diesel tractors. By 1970 International Harvester had more than 10 per cent of the UK market for tractors and combine harvesters. In 1984 the company was taken over by Tenneco, which already owned JI Case, and through them, David Brown Tractors in the UK. Tenneco merged International Harvester into these existing subsidiaries to form a new grouping, Case-International Ltd. References Historical facts about early International Harvester automotive vehicles (undated second half of 20th century) History and development of International Harvester Wendel, Charles H., 150 years of International Harvester Sarasota, Florida, 1981 Accession The first accession of company publications (T72/43) was deposited in 1972 and catalogued as TR IHC. The main deposit of business records was made in 1981 following the closure of International Harvester’s City Road premises in London. It consisted of instruction books and operators’ parts lists, dealers’ catalogues, service manuals, photographs, USA journals and magazines and sales ledgers. Further deposits were made in 1981 and 1987, mainly through the public relations and merchandising departments of IH. Accession nos: T76/30, T81/14-16, T87/1 Catalogue mark TR 2IHC Scope and Contents In many cases the International Harvester publication reference number has been included, which was originally the organising principle of the publicity and technical materials within the collection. Abbreviations IHC International Harvester Company IHC GB International Harvester Company of Great Britain 2 Record Types Index Record types TR 2IHC AC1 Ledgers p. 4 TR 2IHC AC2 Cash books p. 5 TR 2IHC AC4 Journals p. 6 TR 2IHC AC6 Stock accounts p. 7 TR 2IHC AC7 Financial statements and annual reports p. 7 TR 2IHC AC8 Branch accounts p. 9 TR 2IHC AD1 Minutes p. 9 TR 2IHC AD2 General administrative records p. 10 TR 2IHC AD3 Labour records p. 13 TR 2IHC AD4 Premises records p. 15 TR 2IHC AD6 Agents’ and dealers’ records p. 15 TR 2IHC AD7 Commercial records p. 16 TR 2IHC AD9 Other administrative records: records of external p. 25 organizations TR 2IHC CO2 Company records p. 27 TR 2IHC CO3 External agreements p. 27 TR 2IHC CO8 Other legal records: legal opinion p. 28 TR 2IHC ET1 Test reports p. 28 TR 2IHC ET2 Technical reference records, IH p. 31 TR 2IHC ET3 Technical reference records, other p. 31 TR 2IHC MP1 Registers and lists of production p. 32 TR 2IHC MP2 Manufacturing working papers and details p. 32 TR 2IHC P1/A Compilations of publications, IH p. 33 TR 2IHC P2/A Individual advertising and servicing publications, IH p. 33 TR 2IHC P2/B Other firms’ literature p. 242 TR 2IHC P3 Posters and display material p. 254 TR 2IHC P4 House journals and technical bulletins p. 261 TR 2IHC P5 News and press releases p. 264 TR 2IHC P6 Sound recordings p. 268 TR 2IHC P7 Records of advertising campaigns and events p. 269 TR 2IHC P8 Printing proofs and artworks p. 269 TR 2IHC P9 Other records (including cuttings) p. 270 TR 2IHC PH1 Photographic negatives p. 275 TR 2IHC PH2 Compilations of prints p. 276 TR 2IHC PH3 Photographic prints p. 297 TR 2IHC PH5 Slides and transparencies p. 298 TR 2IHC PH6 Film p. 302 TR 2IHC SH3 Records of shows and exhibitions p. 302 TR 2IHC SP1 Company histories p. 303 TR 2IHC SP2 Records of events, societies and organisations p. 306 TR 2IHC SP3 Records of products p. 307 TR 2IHC SP4 Records of personalities p. 311 TR 2IHC SP5 General social records p. 311 3 TR 2IHC AC ACCOUNTS AC1 LEDGERS Note: some of these ledgers are currently locked and therefore unfit for production TR 2IHC AC1/1 International Harvester Co. USA – British Jun 1919-Dec General Ledgers 1948 TR 2IHC AC1/2-15 IHC of G. B. Ltd., London, general ledgers 1912-1960 TR 2IHC AC1/2 General ledger 1912 [1 volume] (Locked) TR 2IHC AC1/3 General ledger 1914-1915 [1 volume] (Locked) TR 2IHC AC1/4 General ledger 1916-1917 [1 volume] (Locked) TR 2IHC AC1/5 General ledger 1917-1919 [1 volume] TR 2IHC AC1/6 General ledger 1920-1922 [1 volume] (Locked) TR 2IHC AC1/7 General ledger 1923-1925 (Locked) TR 2IHC AC1/8 General ledger 1926-1928 [1 volume] (Locked) TR 2IHC AC1/9 General ledger Dec 1928- Nov1931 [1 volume] (Locked) TR 2IHC AC1/10 General ledger Dec 1933- Nov1934 TR 2IHC AC1/11 General ledger Dec 1934- [1 volume] Nov1936 TR 2IHC AC1/12 General ledger Nov 1937- Oct [1 volume] 1939 4 TR 2IHC AC1/13 General ledger Nov 1943- Oct 1945 and [1 volume] 1947-1949 TR 2IHC AC1/14 General ledger Nov 1956-Oct 1960 [1 volume] TR 2IHC AC1/15 Ledger unpaid accounts 1907-62 [1 volume] AC2 CASH BOOKS TR 2IHC AC2/1 General cash book 1912 [1 volume] TR 2IHC AC2/2 General cash book 1923 [1 volume] TR 2IHC AC2/3 General cash book 1929 [1 volume] TR 2IHC AC2/4 General cash book 1931 [1 volume] TR 2IHC AC2/5 General cash book Jun 1932-Nov 1933 [1 volume] TR 2IHC AC2/6 General cash book Dec 1933-Aug 1935 [1 volume] TR 2IHC AC2/7 General cash book Aug 1935-Oct 1936 [1 volume] TR 2IHC AC2/8 General cash book Oct 1936-Oct 1937 [1 volume] TR 2IHC AC2/9-15 Agents cash books – general accounts TR 2IHC AC2/9 Agents cash book Oct 1920-May [1 volume] 1922 5 TR 2IHC AC2/10 Agents cash book May 1922-Jul 1923 [1 volume] TR 2IHC AC2/11 Agents cash book July 1923-Aug [1 volume] 1924 TR 2IHC AC2/12 Agents cash book Sep 1924-Sep 1925 [1 volume] TR 2IHC AC2/13 Agents cash book Sep 1928-Aug 1929 [1 volume] TR 2IHC AC2/14 Agents cash book Aug 1929-Sep 1930 [1 volume] TR 2IHC AC2/15 Agents cash book Sep 1930-May 1932 [1 volume] TR 2IHC AC2/16-17 Agents’ cashbooks – tractor accounts TR 2IHC AC2/16 Agents’ cash book Dec 1919-Mar 1921 [1 volume] TR 2IHC AC2/17 Agents cash book Mar 1921-Nov 1922 [1 volume] AC4 JOURNALS TR 2IHC AC4/1 General journal Dec 1907-Nov 1908 TR 2IHC AC4/2 General journal Dec 1909-Nov 1910 TR 2IHC AC4/3 General journal Dec 1910-Nov 1911 TR 2IHC AC4/4 General journal Dec 1911-Nov 1913 TR 2IHC AC4/5 General journal Dec 1913-Nov 1915 TR 2IHC AC4/6 General journal 1914-1916 [1 volume – locked] 6 TR 2IHC AC4/7 General journal 1920s [1 volume- locked] TR 2IHC AC4/8-9 Agents’ journals TR 2IHC AC4/8 Agents’ journal – general May 1918-Nov 1921 TR 2IHC AC4/9 Agents journal – tractor department Sep 1919-Nov 1922 AC6 STOCK ACCOUNTS AC6/1 Number and value of goods in stock, IHC-GB 1924-1928 and supplied to dealers Tractors, motor trucks, farm implements AC6/2 Number and value of goods in stock, IHC-GB 1931 (Oct)- 1932 (Sep) AC7 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND ANNUAL REPORTS TR 2IHC AC7/1 Annual statement of profit and loss The 1905 Osborne Plano Co.