In 1974, White Farm Equipment was rolling out it's new line of White Field Boss Tractors. These tractors featuring a brand new color scheme, design, and decals set out to combine the Oliver and Minneapolis-Moline brands into one new brand - White Farm Equipment. But during this time, White was still producing meadow green Oliver branded tractors like the Oliver 2255 in the same Charles City tractor plant. During this transitional stage, a few Oliver 2255 tractors got fitted up with the new White Field Boss paint scheme and badges. Everything from the hood to sheet metal and fenders was Oliver on this tractor shown above, which is interesting because White designed a new hood, sheet metal, fenders and grill for the Field Boss line of tractors. Was White considering releasing the Oliver 2255 as a White model? Or was this a prototype of the later White 2-180 tractor (the successor to the Oliver 2255) in disguise? If you look closely, you will notice a few differences in the four pictures which begs the question if all the pictures are of the same tractor or if multiple of these Oliver 2255's in "White clothing" were made? One difference is that the grill appears white in one picture and silver in the rest. Additionally, the side of the dash is different on the right side in one picture than the left side of the dash shown in another photo.
Unfortunately, the real story behind this tractor is likely lost to history. Regardless, these awesome pictures did survive and give us proof of this one of a kind tractor existing at some point in time. Knowing that Oliver commonly repainted and rebadged tractors after their display or advertising purpose had been served, these tractors most likely got re-painted back to meadow green and sold to a customer as Oliver 2255's. So check your 2255's - if there is a layer of silver paint hiding underneath the green, you just might have this tractor in your fleet! Photo Credit: Oliver Tractor Plant Archives at the Floyd County Museum If you were a dealership, you wanted your customers to buy parts for their machines from your business. Oliver used the slogan "Genuine Parts" to encourage customers to only use original equipment parts from dealers instead of aftermarket or generic farm store brands. In order to get more parts in front of customers while the visited a dealership, Oliver began using "merchandiser" displays in the 1960's. These merchandiser shelving units were placed on showroom floor and were stocked with fast moving parts which allowed self service by the customer to select and bring what they needed to the parts counter for purchase. In mid 1960's, Oliver Corporation rolled out a program offering merchandisers to their dealers. The merchandiser shelving units and topper signs were made by the Paul Williams company of Chicago. In fact, dealers could get these displays for free in some circumstances using their "POP" points. POP was an acronym for the "RePair Stock Order Program" (although maybe not a very good one!) in which Oliver corporate offered dealers a discount/credit on their orders of repair parts to have in stock. Dealers could then use their "POP" points they accrued from repair part stock orders to buy the merchandisers.
The 4 foot wide merchandiser shelving units were painted gray and used a clover white pegboard backer. Adjustable shelves, wire bins, peg hooks were offered with them to fit a huge variety of repair parts. The units could be topped with signage - either a 36" wide GENUINE PARTS sign or 1 of 23 smaller 24" signs listing parts such as: Plow, Paint, Engine, Chain & Links, Tractor, and others. Their design allowed the dealer a variety of options for placement. They could be put along walls, placed back to back with another unit, or even arranged into 4' x 8' "islands" using 4 units (2 back to back and one unit each end). These displays gave dealers an attractive way for customers to actually see some of the repair products and maybe even save the parts guy some time! Today, they are great item sought after by Oliver collectors to display their treasures! If you need a GENUINE PARTS sign for your collection, we offer one in the same design used on the merchandisers - CLICK HERE to order. When Oliver introduced the Three-Digit Series tractors (440, 550, 660, 770, 880, 950, 995) starting in 1958, a new color scheme and decals appeared on the tractors. Clover White replaced the red and yellow colors on the tractors. The yellow decals were changed to a new "oval logo" with the word "Oliver" in red on a white oval with a gold outline. Somebody at the Oliver Corporation must have decided that the new nameplate logo used on the decals and grill emblem of the tractors should be the identifying symbol for advertising. So the "New Oliver Signs" flyer was created to promote the new signs to Oliver dealerships. In fact, 2 sizes of the new sign with the Oliver "oval logo" nameplate were planned: - The 8' wide x 4' tall single sided sign could be used as a Road Sign or a Wall Sign - The 6' wide x 3' tall double sided sign could be used a Hang Down Sign and included a pole and mast for mounting above the main or service entrance at dealerships. Additionally, two options were available for the top portion of the sign - dealers could choose from either "FARM MACHINERY" or "INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT" according to the flyer. So, why won't you find one of these dealer signs? Well, the reason is no one has ever seen one. The flyer above is the only proof that this sign design ever existed! Our best guess is somebody in sales or marketing thought this new Oliver "oval nameplate" was here to stay and started the process to update the signage and branding to match. But, they must not have been aware of the work going on in the experimental department at Oliver because a new tractor design, logo, and grill emblem was already in the works on a brand new series of tractors - the models 1800 and 1900. ![]() The well known Oliver "Keystone" logo officially showed up shortly after White Motor Corporation purchased Oliver as a wholly owned subsidiary on November 1, 1960. The "Keystone" logo was centered around an updated version of Oliver's long used shield shape, but used orange and black colors for a fresh, new look. This was the final logo for Oliver - sticking around all the way under the final Oliver tractor was built in 1976. But before the "Keystone" logo became the trademark for Oliver, there was a period of time from late 1959 - 1960 when the new model 1800 and 1900 tractors seemed to start the transition to a new logo. Since its formation in 1929, Oliver Farm Equipment had used a "shield" as their main logo. The shield got some adjustments over the years, but the concept stayed the same. To see all the logos and their history, visit our Logo Archive page. ![]() So in November 1959 when the 1800 and 1900 tractors were showcased to Oliver dealers at the Hippodrome in Waterloo, Iowa, the decals and grill emblem on the tractor did have an Oliver shield. No, it wasn't the green and red Oliver shield logo or even the "oval nameplate" this article is about! Instead, it was a shield in the colors of orange and white. It was placed on a black "keystone" shaped background. As you can see, this style and colors was apparently the direction Oliver was heading and this 1959 era emblem for the 100 series tractors sure looks like it provided quite a bit of inspiration for the "Keystone" logo that rolled out a year later. This made the "oval nameplate logo" basically outdated almost from the start. It did hang around for about 3 years on the three digit tractors, but the Oliver 770 had new decals with the keystone logo by 1962 to match the newer 100 series line of tractors. A beautiful logo and sign that's fate was cast by bad timing. So, until somebody finds one of these signs out there in the wild, it's the "New Oliver Sign" that doesn't really exist! Lucky for you, we decided to re-create the sign design using the information and drawings on the flyer. You can order the sign in your choice of two sizes: 48" wide by 24" tall or 36" wide x 18" tall with your favorite old time Oliver Dealer's name or one line of any other text you like! You won't find this sign anywhere else! Dealership signs are a prized treasure to find for any collector, but are pretty commonly found in various conditions from years of use. These metal signs survived because they were tough and made for outdoor, long term use. Banners on the hand, were not! Oliver used banners from time to time to introduce new tractors, product lines, or for a new sales promotion. They were made from lightweight cloth material and designed to be used in the dealership showroom or for temporary use at a show or fair. Because of this, very few banners survived making them one of hardest items to find for a collector to find. If one of the few that still exist does come to auction, the large banners such as the 10' x 3' Oliver 880 banner, commands an even bigger price - one recently selling for over $3,000! Oliver Archives is proud to offer high quality replica banners using these great designs from the 1950's. The banners are available in the 10' x 3' size just like the originals or a half size version (60" x 18") if you are limited on your space to display the banner. You can also choose from either 18 oz. heavy duty vinyl for outdoor and indoor use OR a polyester fabric which gives your banner beautiful, vibrant colors for perfect for indoor use or short-term temporary outdoor use. So now you don't have to wait years to find one of these banners or spend thousands of dollars to own one. Just choose a size and material and it will be shipped to your door! Perfect for your man cave, garage, shop, or to display next to your tractor at a show, you know you want one!
One piece of equipment that some people are surprised to see wearing the Oliver name are outboard motors. Although it was a short lived endeavor, the farm and Industrial equipment manufacturer was willing to make anything they thought could be a profitable piece of equipment.
The Oliver Corporation entered the outboard motor business when it purchased Chris Craft's outboard motor line, consisting of the tooling and rights to two motors, in 1954. Oliver debuted its improved design of the outboard motor in 1955. It continued to make improvements with upgraded models in 1956. This division of Oliver operated out of Battle Creek, Michigan. The outboard business was extremely tough to gain market share in which led to Oliver selling off its outboard division to Perkins in 1960 who moved production overseas. Some Oliver Farm Equipment dealerships picked up the outboard products while new Outboard Dealers were added primarily near rivers and lakes with existing boat and outboard repair shops. The map shows Outboard Dealers that are currently known. If you know of any other Oliver Outboard dealers, use the Contact Us form to get them added to the map. Creating a list of the Hart-Parr, Oliver, and White dealers that were located in the state of Iowa has been a major goal of Oliver Archives. Unfortunately no dealers lists where available in any of the resources that we know to exist! I have heard a story told that each year, the dealer list was updated and the previous year's list thrown away. Probably made sense at the time, but today we are left with very little official information on dealerships. So, two years ago, I started doing research and asking around where dealers were located around the state. After spending way too much time on newspaper archive websites along with reviewing auction results, social media posts, and Oliver advertising for sale on Ebay, one mega find was a 1977 ad from the largest newspaper in the state that included nearly all of White Farm Equipment dealers at the time. I finally got close enough to where I felt it was ready to share. Is it complete? No, I am sure it is NOT and has dealers missing! But with over 220 entries, I believe it includes a large majority of the dealerships from the 80 plus years of Hart-Parr, Oliver, and White Farm Equipment. Whether it's a small Hart-Parr dealer from the 1920's like Center Implement Co. of State Center, Iowa or one of the largest dealers in the state like Happel & Sons of Cedar Rapids, Iowa - we hope you enjoy the history! If you know of an Iowa dealership not on the list or can update any missing or incorrect information, please use the Contact Us form to share your knowledge with us!
Want to support further dealer research? Support Oliver Archives by purchasing a replica sign with your favorite dealer's name on it! Visit our Online Store to place your order. Dealer signs are one of the most sought after items today by Oliver collectors. Unfortunately, not many of these dealership signs survived from the old Oliver and White dealers over the past 90 some years. When original signs do sell, they command a large price and it is extremely difficult to find one for a specific dealer or location. After extensively researching dealership signs, Oliver Archives is proud to offer replica signs made using the dealership sign designs used by Oliver and White from the 1940's - 1980's. These signs are NOT meant to be passed off as fakes of originals, although our designs are made to be an extremely close match to the originals! Instead, our signs are manufactured on modern aluminum composite sign material which is extremely durable, won't rust, and doesn't warp like thin sheet metal. Designs are printed directly on the signs and then covered with a protective laminate layer. Signs are machine cut to size with perfectly clean edges and include 1/4" holes in the top corners on small signs and all four corners on larger signs for easy installation. So here is your opportunity to have a sign featuring your favorite dealer's name that you haven't been able to find! Or maybe you don't want to spend $2,500 or more on an original Oliver "Cost Reducing" Farm Equipment sign, you can now have the sign for a fraction of the price! Maybe you want to have your farm name or your name on a sign to display at tractor shows. Since we offer customized text for a Name and Location on most signs, you can choose exactly what you want it to say. Some of our signs are offered in the exact size of the originals, such as the Cost Reducing Farm Equipment sign show below measuring 24" wide x 15'' tall. Some other signs we offer are half the size of the originals. For example, the sign shown at the top of this article was originally offered to dealers in 1960's measuring 8' wide x 4' tall. These massive signs are great, but many don't have the wall space or room to display a sign that large. By offering the same sign design in a half scale size (measuring 4' wide x 2' tall), your sign will fit almost anywhere, be much easier to ship and transport, and come at a much more affordable price. If you need help determining the name of a dealer in a certain location for your sign order, Oliver Archives has a database with nearly 200 dealer names and locations in the state of Iowa including Hart-Parr, Oliver, and White dealers. We will try to support finding dealership names for locations outside of Iowa if needed! Visit the Oliver Archives Store to shop and place your order today. |
AuthorJim Fitzgerald Archives
May 2024
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