Bidspirit auction | Walter A. Wood Mowing and

Walter A. Wood Mowing and Reaping Machine Co. Antique Linen Backed Advertising Banner - This antique advertising banner for the Walter A. Wood Mowing and Reaping Machine Co. of Hoosick Falls, New York, is constructed of linen-backed paper mounted to a black-painted wooden roller with turned finials. The large-format lithograph features a central illustration of the manufacturer's factory complex and a detailed reproduction of the Ehren-Diplom (Diploma of Honor) awarded to Walter Abbott Wood at the 1873 Vienna World's Fair. Six individual panels illustrate various horse-drawn farm implements: a Sweep Rake Self Delivery Reaper, Chain Rake Self Delivery Reaper, Enclosed Gear Mower for One Horse, Enclosed Gear Mower for Two Horses, Wire Self Binding Harvester, and Twine Self Binding Harvester. The banner is identified as an Eastern Edition in the lower left corner and bears the lithographer's mark of The Hatch Lith. Co., 32 and 34 Vesey St. N.Y. in the lower right. The graphic includes references to awards from the 1867 Paris Exposition and the 1873 Vienna Exhibition. Paper width: 29.5 inches Wooden rod length: 32 inches. The item is in poor to fair condition with significant signs of age and wear. There is extensive paper loss and tearing along the top edge where the paper meets the wooden rod, and smaller losses along the bottom edge. A prominent large brown water stain is visible on the left side, extending through the main header and the one-horse mower illustration. The paper is brittle with general age-toning, numerous horizontal creases, and multiple tears, some of which extend into the central imagery. The linen backing is visible and frayed at several points along the edges.