Victorian Lawn Mowers
Victorian Lawn Mowers
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Nineteenth century Americans loved their gardens. They loved lawns and flowerbeds, bird fountains and fences, rosebushes and daffodil bulbs.
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For ages, men cut vegetation (including lawns) with a scythe
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The scythe was invented in about 500 BC and appeared in Europe during the 12th and 13th centuries. Initially used mostly for mowing hay, it had replaced the sickle for reaping crops by the 16th century. [source]
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ADVENT OF “PUSH” LAWN MOWERS
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Invention
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The first lawn mower was invented by Edwin Budding in 1830 in Thrupp, just outside Stroud, in Gloucestershire, England. Budding’s mower was designed primarily to cut the grass on sports grounds and extensive gardens, as a superior alternative to the scythe, and was granted a British patent on August 31, 1830. [source]
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Note: 1830 (the patent date of Budding’s mower) predated the Victorian Era by a mere seven years. Close enough. We’ll call it a Victorian Invention. One of the many that made life easier, more enjoyable, and reduced the time and physical energy expended in daily living.
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Quote: Ashtabula Weekly Telegraph of Ashtabula, Ohio. August 14, 1869.
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Ashtabula Weekly Telegraph of Ashtabula, Ohio, on August 14, 1869.
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HOW TO MAKE A LAWN
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Last paragraph of an article titled “How to Make a Lawn”, published in Detroit Free Press of Detroit, Michigan on March 30, 1867. Transcription of this paragraph follows.
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TRANSCRIPTION of paragraph cited above:
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After once fairly started it will be managed by top dressing, rolling, and frequent cutting. The proper top dressing for a lawn is old, finely-rotted manure, spread on evenly, and raked in with a fine-toothed iron rakes, working the rake back and forth, so as to get the fine manure down around the grass roots, and all the coarse parts of the manure taken off again directly and removed from the lawn. No coarse manure should remain on the lawn, and no manure should remain to make coarse and uneven patches. Finely-rotted manure, worked in as indicated, will give you a lawn as soft as velvet in two or three years, and one that will be beautiful from the first. Then, after a turf is formed, shave it with a lawn-mower once a week, or ten days, during the summer.
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~ How to Make a Lawn, Detroit Free Press of Detroit, Michigan, on March 30, 1867.
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CARING FOR A LAWN
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1 of 2). White Cloud Kansas Chief of White Cloud, Kansas on May 27, 1869.
2 of 2). White Cloud Kansas Chief of White Cloud, Kansas on May 27, 1869.
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VICTORIAN-AMERICAN LAWNMOWER NEWSPAPER ADVERTISEMENTS
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Pittsburgh Daily Post of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on June 3, 1869. “A lot of Swift’s celebrated Lawn Mowers for sale…”
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The Evening Telegraph of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on March 19, 1870. Advertisement for The Philadelphia Lawn Mower.
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Illustrated ad for The Philadelphia Mower. Democrat and Chronicle of Rochester, New York on April 29, 1871.
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Star Mower advertised in The Titusville Herald of Titusville, Pennsylvania on May 3, 1871.
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Advertisement: Lawn Mowers Repaired and Sharpened
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Advert in Oakland Tribune of Oakland, California on June 19, 1883. Lawn Mowers repaired and sharpened by gunsmith, machinist, locksmith and bell hanger.
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MOWERS FOR SALE BY SEARS, ROEBUCK & CO.
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1 of 3). Acme Lawn Mowers for sale in Sears, Roebuck and Co. Catalogue 1897.
2 of 3). Acme Lawn Mowers for sale in Sears, Roebuck and Co. Catalogue 1897.
3 of 3). Acme Lawn Mowers, including catcher, sold by Sears, Roebuck and Co. Catalogue 1897.
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LAWN MOWERS FOR SALE BY MONTGOMERY, WARD & CO.
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1 of 3). New York and Imperial Lawn Mowers sold by Montgomery, Ward and Co. Spring and Summer 1895 Catalogue.
2 of 3). Imperial High Wheel Mower and Imperial Low Wheel Mower. Montgomery, Ward and Co. Spring and Summer 1895 Catalogue.
3 of 3). Grass Carrier for lawn mower, and Grass Catcher for mower. Montgomery, Ward and Co. Spring and Summer 1895 Catalogue.
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Related Articles
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Other Victorian-era Inventions
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Bathing Machines!
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Updated May 2022
Copyright © 2016 Kristin Holt LC
Victorian Lawn Mowers Victorian Lawn Mowers
