By Rhonda Akey
For close to a year now, I have been working on cataloguing the various donated artifacts as part of my internship in Lang’s museum collections area. Yesterday, I began documenting a set of agricultural seed boxes that were donated last summer, before they moved to storage. The two boxes were slightly different in size and shape, and appeared to be well used.
Having no background in agriculture, I asked my colleagues if they knew anything about the objects. I always find some background information useful for distinguishing what is important to note when documenting a piece of machinery, especially one I am not familiar with. Originally, I was informed that the boxes were parts from a Peter Hamilton seed drill. The two components were most likely from the same piece of equipment. In fact I was shown a larger version that we already have on display and is, for the most part, complete. My colleague believed that the size suggested the newly donated boxes were from a smaller version, designed to be pulled by only one horse. Another colleague also mentioned we had a copy of an old Peter Hamilton Manufacturing Company catalogue for reference.
At this point I should explain the significance of this manufacturer. The Peter Hamilton Manufacturing Company was established in Peterborough, ON in 1848, and produced various farming implements. The close proximity of this company resulted in their products being extensively used by the farmers in the County of Peterborough area. As a result, our Museum, which represents the 19th-century rural past of Peterborough County, has developed an extensive collection of Peter Hamilton farm equipment. Some of the collection is presently on display in our Agricultural Barn in the village.
Image Above: Catalogue advertisement similar to the one previously existing in our collection, circa. 1899.
After writing up the documentation and applying the accession number to the two seed boxes, I asked if I could review the catalogue they mentioned. I thought it might provide some additional information that I could record, thus providing a more thorough document on the artifacts for future reference. To my surprise, there in the 1899 catalogue were the seed boxes I had just documented! What I discovered was that the seed boxes were not part of a piece of farming equipment. The seed boxes were actually attachments that retrofitted onto the Peter Hamilton Elastic Spring Tooth Cultivator, thus converting it into a broadcast seeder! They were sold either with the cultivator, or could be purchased separately at any time.
Images Above: Peter Hamilton Manufacturing Co.1899 catalogue advertisements for the Spring Tooth Seeder Seed Boxes (right) and Elastic Spring Tooth Cultivator (left) the seed boxes fit onto.
Needless to say, these seed boxes have instantly become a valuable part of the Peter Hamilton collection. With plans to further develop a Peter Hamilton exhibit in the future, I am thrilled about this discovery. But I am equally thankful for the existence of the old catalog for reference material. Without this information, we would have never known the real significance of the seed boxes.
Rhonda Akey is the Records Management Intern at Lang Pioneer Village Museum. She has been working and/or volunteering at the Village since September of 2010. Rhonda is fascinated by all things historic – and loves to share the neat tidbits she discovers behind the scenes in the Lang Pioneer Village Museum collection with everyone.
