COUNTRY FAIR TIME

Doug Harke

 During the early days of farm toys, dealerships ordered toys for sale either at the county fair and for Christmas.  It was not unusual, before 1980, for farm dealerships to have their toys out for only the Christmas season and than put them away in early January.  Leftover toys were often given to the buyer of a new tractor.  The first order of the year, which was usually in March or April, was timed so that the toys would be on hand during the summer fair season.  As a result, many of the early farm toy catalogs were dated either March or October.

Early 1950’s Allis-Chalmers toy ad emphasizes year around toy sales including fair time.  Note the very rare orange plastic flarebox wagon.

Case 400 pedal tractor ad is pitched for fair time and birthdays.

John Deere 1954 toy catalog and promotion package emphasizes year around toy sales.

John Deere 1963 toy promotion package includes the complete 3010 toy line.

International 1964 toy catalog with the C-series pickup and the early TD-25 crawler for sales promotions.

County fairs were a much more significant event when a greater proportion of the population was directly involved in farming.  One of the most frequent comments that I overhear from collectors who were kids during the 1950’s and 1960’s is that I got “that and that” when we went to the fair when I was nine years old.  Dealers would haul as many new tractors and implements as possible to the county fair.  Even twenty years ago, I remember a local Allis-Chalmers dealer commenting that he hauled six truck loads of new equipment to the fair in the neighboring county.  He had a small dealership in which he was the manager and salesman and employed two mechanics.  During the 1950’s and 1960’s the only farm toys available were the 1/16 scale but, beginning in the 1980’s, a good selection of 1/64 farm toys were available and that is what dealers stocked at the fair to provide a good supply of inexpensive merchandise.

Oliver produced a special brochure for toy sales at country fairs.

Toy related items that Oliver features for fairs.

Order form for Oliver fair materials.

First year of Massey Ferguson toy production, in 1965, promotes sales including country fairs.

Later Massey toy catalog from the 1970’s shows complete toy line.

By now, many of you have deduced that one of my collecting passions is farm toy sales literature.  My more prized items are the color toy catalogs that were sent to dealers but I also have a number of ads and general catalogs from farm supply companies.  Many of these feature Christmas but some feature fair time and I will include as many samples as possible.  I have also included some promotions for giving farm toys as birthday presents as I will reserve the Christmas promotions for the December issue.

TTT September 2003 Page 6

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