Sepia Saturday has asked for a contraption. A contraption is a mechanical device. That’s a beautiful description of a contraption – mechanical – not a single mention of it being governed by some computerized component.
So here is my contraption, my offer of a rather large mechancial device, which was probably known by the name of a Self-Raking Reaper back in in the 1800s.
So, what can I tell you. The photo belongs to a family member and came from someone who was born in 1873 and lived all her life in the Carisbrook area of Central Victoria. It could have come from her husband’s family, Butler, or her own family, Fricke..
I can date crinolines similar to the one in the photo at least from 1859-1866 in the Carisbrook area.
It’s a horse drawn contraption with the man sitting behind two horses on what appears to be a sprung seat, holding the reins in his hands.
The reaper is behind the driver. So far the best that I can explain it is that a cutting edge sticks out low down to the right of the driver positioned so that the material to be cut is pushed against it by the rotating paddles as they drop down . The cut material falls onto the platform and the rake pushes regular accumulations to the ground to the left of the driver, enough at a time to be tied into a sheaf, then several sheaves are stacked together to form a stook.
.Here are some images which bear some resemblance to the above.
Thanks to Flickr we have this John Manny’s Self- Raker and Mower, not exactly the same but viewed from the opposite side we can get a better understanding of how it probably worked. It was available c 1855.
And from YouTube we can watch a re-enactment of a slightly later Walter Wood reaper
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iN8jLLp0xMk&feature=player_detailpage
Thanks to Backtracking, her hubby, and their friend Eric for help in deciphering the photo.
And do go to Sepia Saturday for links to more contraptions.
Bound for Australia 
What a great contraption! And proud they must have been to have such a wonder (of the times.) Also loved the details on the crinolines. For my great-great grandfather James P. McPherson, he was inordinately pleased when he finally could afford a “cradle.” I thought it was a baby cradle for quite a while, and then figured out that it was a devise attached to the handheld scythe, which cradled the wheat in such a way that the sheaves could then be tied more easily. Wondrous things of the time. Thanks for an interesting and entertaining post.
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The English language certainly keeps us guessing at times, with different meanings for the same word, or a change in meaning over time. Did you feel like singing “Rock-a-bye baby, in a wheat field…. 🙂
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Oh my that’s really does look like a contraption I am so pleased you knew what it was for as I would have had no idea
Jackie
Scrapbangwallop
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I didn’t have a clue to begin with. I googled all the words that I could think of but it wasn’t until someone suggested the word rake that things started to look more promising.
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That is indeed a contraption! I’m glad for the video to see it in motion. It looks like something you’d want to keep your head and hands clear of.
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I found the video quite hypnotic. Watching just once was never enough.
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I’ve seen footage of those mower/reapers in action, and they really are a delight to watch. Thanks for the interesting photograph.
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I hadn’t seen one before and I thought it was great. I loved the business-like clacketty clack sound.
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And what is that construction in the tree? is a water tank? A playhouse? A pigeon coop?
Great photo. I reckon the driver of the contraption would have a smoother ride than than the one in the video. And quieter. I was surprised at how noisy it was.
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The experts say that it is a water tank, which would make sense. The photo is so unclear that it isn’t possible to say with any certainty that the marks to the right of the tank are a pipe taking water to the house. But, it has also been pointed out to me that the house has no eaves, possibly ready for the addition of a future verandah, and there is no guttering to take rain water from the roof to a tank ! So then it would come down to a well or a windmill.for their water supply. Is it a tank ? I don’t know.
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I wouldn’t want to get near that device with a big crinoline.
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I don’t think I’d want to go anywhere in a crinoline, let alone near machinery !
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Loved the video! I always wondered how that was done. What a machine!
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The photo has been a learning experience for me too.
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A classic Sepia Saturday post – you start with a fascinating old photo and then you analyse it, disect it and extract some very interesting information from it.
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Glad to hear that I’ve done the right thing !
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Love it! Although my ancestors were farmers we have very few photos of the old gadgets and machinery they must have ‘developed’ and built to ‘get by’ in the new country.
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Looks like it did the job quite well!!
:)~
HUGZ
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I can vouch for similar but more modern ones from the 1950s as I was involved in setting up the stooks and later loading them. sheaf by sheaf,onto a trailer. Great old machine.
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Perhaps I should have asked you to write the commentary as I was right out of my comfort zone with this machinery.
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A very modern family for the time. The contraption, water tank and even the house looks ahead of its time.
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That’s a great contraption – and I don’t mean the crinoline, although it does fall into that category. I think it may have been even less practical on the farm than in the town; what women had to put up with in those days!
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I missed this post last week. So interesting. I’m glad I caught up with it. I have one of those frames that they wore to create the crinoline. just amazing.
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