Before there was such a thing as highly modernized machinery, tractors operated as the undeniable backbone of agriculture. Tractors helped farmers expedite their plowing efforts in the fields, transport crops, and revolutionize food production as the world knows it. This collection of vintage photos can capture the evolution of tractors near and far.
1. Frank Zappa on a tractor, Laurel Canyon, 1968
As far as vintage photos of tractors go, this one is in a league of its own.
2. Dressed up in the blazer and on a tractor, no less? That’s a power move if I’ve ever seen one right there
Just imagine pulling up to a meeting in your tractor, and while wearing a blazer.
3. Zetor 3511 Tractor, 1968
You can tell this little dude is able to more than pull his weight when it gets down to it.
4. The Farmall tractor certainly did not mess around when it came to getting things done on the farm
She looks like she’s having far more fun than the rest of us.
5. Lamborghini 2241R Tractor, circa 1960
The colors really are something else here.
6. Nothing quite beats popping some wheelies on a tractor
If you thought you knew how to have a good time, you didn’t consider a world where you could be popping wheelies on a tractor.
7. You’ve got to strike the pose when you grab your first tractor
What a wonderful wholesome tractor photo we have on our hands here.
8. NE Wisconsin farmers with a steam-driven tractor, circa 1900
These lads know how to put in a hard day’s work. There’s no doubt about that.
9. A legend of a kid rolling in his tractor, Romania, ’30
This kid is going places.
10. Hornsby Steam Crawler Tractor (ca. 1910)
The steam-powered tractors were true behemoths.
11. Dogs certainly do love their time out on the farm
There are few things happier than a dog let free to roam out on a farm.
12. Johnny Cash driving a tractor, 1969
Johnny Cash loved his tractors.
13. Pribilof Islands, Alaska, circa 1917. Men dealing with a tractor in mud.
That looks like an unfortunate situation to have to navigate.
14. Harvesting potatoes with a single-row tractor-drawn digger on a farm near Caribou, Maine. Oct. 1940
They’re getting after those potatoes.
15. Someone’s stepfather and his favorite cat down on the farm, circa 1985
Cats can be so mischievous out on farms.
16. A farmer out plowing on an IH 560, circa 1960s
That’s a well-kept Farmall tractor if I’ve ever seen one.
17. Husband and wife swap poses on a small utility tractor. Somewhere in an orange grove in Florida, circa 1950s
Tractors and orange groves sounds like some kind of sun-drenched dream.
18. Orchard tractor demonstration, Fageol Motors Co. ‘Walking Tractor’, Oakland, Calif., ca. 1918.
It looks like he’s nailing that demonstration.
19. May 1940, Grant County, Illinois, FSA rehabilitation borrower operating tractor
Look at those big wheels.
20. Fageol heavy-duty tractor and trailers. Oakland, California, circa 1918
Yep, that’s definitely a heavy-duty tractor.
