Salesman’s Sample: Milwaukee No. 5 Chain Drive Mower

Hi Lynn,

This is Dave Howell in Upland, CA. It must be about a year since we discussed my “salesman’s sample” chain drive mower.

It turns out that the Stuhr Museum in Grand Island, Nebraska, has a full size Milwaukee No. 5 chain drive mower. So I recently had a friend, who is also a professional photographer, take a dozen pictures that clearly show the details of my chain drive mechanism. The Stuhr people sent me 14 pictures of their mower. I can tell that their machine is quite a bit newer than mine because they have the attached toolbox and the holder for the oil can. The lid of the toolbox says “MILWAUKEE HARVESTER, CO. MILWAUKEE, WIS.” And on the frame, “No 5.”

Before I got my new pictures I examined my model for the hundredth time and discovered what may be a primitive maker’s logo that appears just to the right of the cast-in “206” that appears on the chassis frame. (It also appears faintly to the left of the 206 number. ) The possible logo is certainly not the usual one for International Harvester, but I’m wondering if it might be an early version of the IHC logo before the more common logo was published.

The pictures have high resolution and things like the possible logo can be seen best if you zoom in on the picture. The logo, by the way, seems to be added with ink to the model. Lots of pictures show the chain and the spring-loaded roller that was used to keep the chain tight when it goes over the small-diameter sprocket wheel.

I’m hoping you can look at the strange collection of lines that suggests a manufacturer’s logo to me.

Anything come to mind? Thanks for your thoughts!

Best regards,
Dave Howell