Model tractor collection sells for record-breaking prices

More than 800 pieces of Ferguson memorabilia went under the hammer last weekend, as a late Warwickshire farmer’s family sold the collection of a lifetime. 

Owned by Jim Russell, the collection – believed to be one of the largest and most comprehensive of its kind – was sold on 25 November at the Cheffins machinery sale ground in Cambridgeshire.

Formed over a 50-year period, Mr Russell’s collection started with the purchase of Marklin and Basset Lowke O-gauge railway locomotives in the 1970s.

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By the 1990s, his focus had turned to agricultural machinery, when he began buying models of the County tractors that he was running on his farm.

Despite his early County collection, however, Mr Russell’s real love was for Fergusons.

After an introduction to Irish inventor Harry Ferguson – the man responsible for the development of the modern machines – Mr Russell was asked to drive an early Massey Ferguson tractor as part of a demonstration.

This kickstarted his admiration for all things Ferguson, and so began Mr Russell’s collection of Massey Ferguson memorabilia.

The vast display encompassed toys, catalogues, instruction manuals, models and, of particular note, a 1936 Ferguson Brown Type-A, which was previously owned by well-known Massey Ferguson historian, Ben Sergeant.

At the sale, this sold for a staggering £35,736.

One of the most important lots to sell was the final signature written by Harry Ferguson’s hand, dated 6 April 1954, prior to his resignation as the honorary chairman at Massey-Harris-Ferguson Engineering Ltd on 20 July 1954.

This sold to a collector for £3,248.

Harry Ferguson’s final signature © Cheffins

In addition, a Ferguson Sherman Plough catalogue also went under the hammer, which was used by Harry Ferguson to set out headings for a proposed tractor catalogue, and which had been annotated by him.

Other special models to sell included a Ferguson demonstration model by Mills Bros, dated between 1949-50. It accompanied a 1933 Ferguson “Black” tractor model, which Mr Russell built with permission from the

Science Museum, enabling him to measure and photograph the original version. These one of a kind pieces fetched £11,220 and £13,440 respectively. 

A word from the auctioneer

Tom Godsmark, an associate at Cheffins, admired the dedication of Mr Russell in maintaining and preserving such a collection.

He said: “This is certainly the largest private collection of Ferguson models, tinplate toys and memorabilia to ever have come to auction, and is most likely to be the largest in existence in the world.

“The sheer scale of it is quite breathtaking, as is the condition of these pieces, which have been displayed for more than half a century.

“Jim has to have been one of the most devoted enthusiasts we have come across to date, even making major modifications to his house to fit his collection, with a dedicated room packed with display cabinets and even a specially built extension to the house with provisions to allow the Ferguson tractor to be run inside the house.”