Description
M.T. Publishing Company is proud to announce the upcoming publication of The Graham-Bradley Tractor: A History by Michael Keller. This hardcover book details the fascinating narrative of the farm tractor built by Graham-Paige Motors Corporation in the late 1930s. A brief survey of American agriculture puts the Graham-Bradley story in proper context. The book details the involvement of the Graham brothers in tractor design from 1915 through the post-war Frazer prototypes. Seven chapters reveal the development of the tractor, its manufacture at the Graham-Paige plant in Michigan, and its problematic merchandising by Sears, Roebuck & Company. Appendices include the mechanical features of the various models; detailed class comparisons, a sales literature compilation, the Nebraska Test results, a listing of surviving examples, a reproduction of the 74-page shop manual, and toys based on the Graham-Bradley.
Keller is a past president of the Graham Owners Club, International and currently serves as the organization’s Official Historian. He is the author of the award-winning volume The Graham Legacy: Graham-Paige To 1932, and The Graham-Legacy: Graham-Paige From 1932.
Kurt Aumann (verified owner) –
Congratulations to Michael Keller, Chad Elmore, James Fred and all who helped on the new book about Graham-Bradley tractors. What an incredible job! It is without a doubt one of the most complete, well researched and all encompassing books I’ve ever seen on any antique tractor. Very, very well done! So much new information! I’ve always considered the Graham-Bradley to be one of the most forward thinking, innovative, and well-engineered tractors of all time. The book equals the tractor. I would highly recommend.
Kurt Aumann
Former Editor of Belt Pulley magazine,
vintage tractor historian, author,
and owner of Aumann (tractor) Auctions
Kent Jansen (verified owner) –
The Graham-Bradley Tractor: A History is not just about Graham-Bradley tractors. It includes American agricultural history, Graham cars, Graham-Bradley toys, Graham-Bradley pedal tractors, and Kaiser-Frazer tractor history. The list goes on and on. A must read for any antique tractor collector. Great photos of never seen before tractors.
Kent Jansen Adviser to Classic Tractor Fever Television Network as a vintage tractor expert. Owner of Jansen Brothers Garage, a respected and well-known restoration facility for antique tractors.
Rick Mannen (verified owner) –
The book arrived today. Wow! That is a gorgeous book. I am looking forward to reading it. It looks to be the definitive history book on Graham-Bradley tractors. Congratulations.
Rick Mannen Editor, Antique Power magazine, author, vintage tractor historian
Dave Schulte (verified owner) –
[Keller’s] latest masterpiece! It is beautiful…
Dave Schulte Noted Durant motor car historian
Arlan Ensz (verified owner) –
I received my copy of Graham Bradley tractor history book. I am so amazed by this book. I can hardly stop reading it. What an awesome account of farm tractor history. I wish my dad was still alive to experience it. He would have loved everything about it. Just wanted to say thank you…and that I am enjoying it very much.
Arlan Ensz
X (verified owner) –
Fantastic! [Michael Keller] has set the bar for all future tractor history books.
X
XX (verified owner) –
I received my copy of the Graham-Bradley history. You’ve done a super job and it is much more than expected. Great!
XX
Dave Kruse (verified owner) –
Just shooting you an email to let you know that USPS delivered the two GB books that I had ordered. Quite honestly, it had been awhile since I had even remembered ordering them. I haven’t been able to sit down and thoroughly look at the book, but my wife has been glued to it for several hours now. I’m sure you spent many hours gathering information on the book and I wish to thank you for all your time that it took. It appears to be a very well put-together publication
Dave Kruse, member of Graham- Bradley Tractor Club
Dale Robbins (verified owner) –
Michael: Can’t put it down! I have been letting things slide since your book arrived! Your pages on early farming practices and machinery were all new to me and fascinating. Your new book will be read and cherished by many G-P and tractor enthusiasts. I will spend many an evening reading it. A great addition to our club! I am totally in awe of the research and writing time involved.
Dale Robbins, Editor of The Supercharger quarterly publication of the Graham Owners Club, International
Lauren Taladay (verified owner) –
Dear Michael,
A few days ago my husband (Steve) walked into our house carrying a package that had been delivered to our front door. I didn’t remember ordering anything so I was puzzled. And then I opened the box and saw your beautiful book!
I have just started to read it but have paged through it all. What a splendid accomplishment! It’s gorgeously produced and laid out. I also love some of the little touches, like the tractor image that contains the page number. Kathy (my twin) also got a copy and had many compliments about the production — and she was a long-time editor at WW Norton.
I have read some of Chapter One. It’s very well written and engaging; the End Notes are as interesting as the text. The Thomas Jefferson reference made me smile! I grew up in a city and never thought about tractors — but now I will.
Congratulations many times over. It’s a wonderful labor of love.
Lauren Taladay, University of Michigan, Research Associate, Curator Emerita, Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, Adjunct Professor, Department of Classical Studies
Arlan Ensz’s son (verified owner) –
I received my copy of the new Graham-Bradley book. It is an amazingly well put together book of so much information about farm history. I couldn’t hardly put it down.
Arlan Ensz’s son
Glen Heim (verified owner) –
Undoubtedly one of the finest tractor books ever written. The book is beautiful and the text is incredibly informative. The bar for tractor books is now incredibly higher.
Glen Heim, tractor and truck conversion authority
Matt Habjan (verified owner) –
I received my book today! It looks great and it’s so fun to see [my] LEGO model in there. I’m excited to read all of it. There was sure a lot of research that went into [describing the Graham-Bradley] tractor models. Thank you.
Matt Habjan, LEGO MOC artist and engineer
John Graham (verified owner) –
My books arrived last week and I can’t believe the detail. There is even a picture of Thomas Graham, my great great grandfather that I don’t remember ever seeing before. Thanks for keeping the history alive!
John Graham, grandson of Robert C. Graham
Ben King (verified owner) –
I got a big surprise in the mail when my Graham-Bradley book was delivered. It’s beautiful and filled with so much important information. I’m so glad I ordered it. I’m sure it will give me years of enjoyment. Thanks again for all the hard work of all involved.
Ben King, G-BSSFTC
Susan Raitch (verified owner) –
The book is fabulous–and so easy to read!
Susan Raitch, Executive Director of Raitch Family Archives
Robert Gabrick (verified owner) –
Keller offers a heavily illustrated, impressively researched account of the “creation, the introduction, the sales, and the evolution of the venerable” Graham-Bradley tractor. The book’s seven chapters provide an overview history of early implement and tractor development; the story of the Graham brothers’ early efforts to develop tractors; Graham Brothers trucks; the relationship between Graham-Paige Motors Company and Sears, Roebuck & Company; the streamlined Graham-Bradley tractor introduced in 1937; tractors produced in World War II, and finally, Frazer farm tractors and implements. Along the way, the books covers Graham automobiles.
{The book) also includes nine fact-filled appendices covering model designation, serial numbers, production figures, and retail prices; Graham-Bradley sales in Canada; comparisons with other brands; sales literature and manuals; toys, models, and pedal tractors; Sears and Graham Stores; Nebraska Test #296; survivors; and the Graham-Bradley and Sears Sold Tractor Club.
The final word: The book represents an exemplary model for specific tractor marque histories.
Robert Gabrick
Reviewer for Antique Power magazine.
Rick Mannen (verified owner) –
The book arrived today. Wow! That is a gorgeous book…. It looks to be the definitive history book on Graham-Bradley tractors. Congratulations….Excellent…. a great history of the tractors accompanied by wonderful photos. It is heartening to see these comprehensive histories in book form. They will be keepsakes and permanent records of our great heritage in farm tractors.
Rick Mannen
Editor, Antique Power magazine, vintage tractor historian and author