1919 International Pickup, Model 41
Owner: Bernie and Janice Taulborg Collection
Engine, etc.: 4 cyl.; 2 speed; 2-ton (appraisal states 1-ton)
The Classic Car Collection has International Harvester vehicles from 1907 (auto buggy), 1909 (auto wagon), and pickups from 1919, 1929, 1939, 1949, and 1959.
The McCormick Harvesting Machine Company was founded by Cyrus H. McCormick who invented the first commercially successful reaper to harvest wheat. When he died in 1884, his son, Cyrus Jr., became president of the company.
During the 1880’s and 1890’s the company retained its position as the leading agriculture equipment manufacturer. By 1900, however, it was facing increased competition from Deering Harvester Co.
International Harvester Company was formed in 1902 by the merger of McCormick Harvesting Machine Co. and Deering Harvester Company. Three other rival companies also joined the merger: Plano Manufacturing Co., Milwaukee Harvester Co., and Warder, Bushnell, and Glessner.
The founder’s sons, Cyrus Jr. and Harold Fowler McCormick presided over the company for its first 40 years.
Auto wagons were originally produced at the company’s McCormick Works in Chicago but in 1907 that was switched to the Akron, Ohio, Works.
By 1915, motor trucks began emerging as an important factor in the transportation industry. Production switched from Auto Wagons to a limited line of new trucks that were low-wheeled with increased power and speed.
In 1920, the motor truck industry began to claim victory over its traditional rival, the horse. An early issue of International Trail magazine quoted the Chicago Daily News as stating “efficiency in industry is supplanting the ‘neigh’ of the horse with the ‘toot’ of a horn and the ‘clatter of the hoofs’ with the ‘roar of the engine’.”
Between 1915 and 1925 when the Akron Works closed, a total of 56,685 trucks in ten different models had been manufactured there, including the first “heavy-duty” truck with a capacity of five tons.
Sources:
http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/ihc/id/4315/rec/15
http://tractors.wikia.com/wiki/International_Trucks
http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/ihc/id/34270 (Specifications, IH trucks, 1907 – 1929)
