Model threshing machine, 1886

Made by August P. Moehrs, Ames, IL
Wood, metal, red and black paint

August Moehrs made this working model of a threshing machine when he was fourteen years old and working on a threshing crew on his family's farm. It illustrates how children in rural areas relied on homemade toys and how the toys they played with reflected the roles they were expected to assume when they were adults.

Gift of heirs of August P. Moehrs, Chatham, IL (1989.71)

Toys | Wood

© Illinois State Museum 31-Dec-96