Images(4)

Model of Horse Drawn Mower

Period1875

Place MadeIthaca, New York

MediumPainted and enameled brass, steel, iron

Dimensions11 × 12 in. (27.9 × 30.5 cm)

MarkingsEngraved, "C.M. CLINTON / MODEL MAKER / ITHACA N.Y."

ClassificationsPatent Models

Credit LineMuseum Collection

Object number2018.504

DescriptionA finely crafted and detailed patent model or salesman's sample of a horse-drawn field mower. The cast iron body frame is painted red, with black and yellow pinstripe detailing and scrolling; the frame includes a varnished wood singletree, gear box, and cast and molded green painted iron seat, with "BRADLEY / SYRACUSE" included in design, atop a metal spring strap bracket. Two brass wheels, with yellow painted spokes and red pinstripe detailing have front clutch arm. At left, a long mower bar with individiually riveted teeth includes a guide arm assemby, mower bar height adjusting clutch, and hinge assembly allowing mower bar to swing up and rest against wheel for storage. A small brass plaque is nailed to the top of the singletree, stamped "C. M. CLINTON / MODEL MAKER / ITHACA N.Y."
Curatorial RemarksThe precision, detail, and beauty of this model field mower indicates the skill and talent of model maker Charles M. Clinton. Because the molded iron seat includes the name "BRADLEY SYRACUSE," it is most likely that this highly detailed model served as a salesman's sample for the agricultural firm of Bradley & Company of Syracuse, New York. Many companies, from large manufacturers of mechanical equipment to furniture makers and retailers, relied upon working miniature salesman's samples to sell their wares. In addition, those seeking patents from the United States Patent Office were required to submit a working model of the invention along with their applications. Model makers such as Charles M. Clinton made a livelihood creating these miniature reproductions. C. C. Bradley & Company of Syracuse was founded in 1832 by Christopher Columbus Bradley (1800 - 1872) as a foundry and machine shop. Bradley's sons Christopher Coluimbus Jr. (1834 - 1916) and Waterman Chapman (1832 - 1902) assumed management of the firm, making wagon parats, hammers, forges, and other equipment. By the 1860s the company branched out into agricultural equipment, including harrows, field mowers, and other items. During and immediately after World War II, Bradley & Company was making soft drink vending machines. The firm later merged in 1949 with Edlund Machinery Company.NotesCharles M. Clinton was born on January 24, 1834 in Newark Valley, Tioga County, New York. His father Samuel Clinton (d. 1858) moved the family to Candor, New York, in 1841, and then relocated in 1845 to Ithaca, New York. Charles Clinton appeared annually in the Ithaca city directory from the late 1870s to 1907. In the 1901 directory, Clinton listed himself as "model maker and experimenter." Clinton seems to have taken out several patents for agricultural accessories and other types of machinery, including a binding attachment for a harvester (1870) and a railway time signal (1887). He married Adelaide Rolfe in 1864, and the couple had one child, a son named Frederick, who was born in 1866 and died at the age of six in 1872. Clinton operated his model and machine shop at the corner of Cayuga and Green Streets in downtown Ithaca for many years. His business was small. The 1880 Federal Census Manufactures information indicates that Clinton regularly employed two persons besides himself year round, paying his skilled workers $2.50 a day. The information also noted that Clinton estimated his "value of supplies" at $500, and "value of product" at $2,000. His obituary, which appeared in the 18 June 1909 Elmira Star-Gazette, included the headline "Ithaca Mourning Charles M. Clinton," noting that "well known model maker and designer" Clinton had been in poor health for the past four years.

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