The featured belt buckle for the 1987 Steam Power & Engine Show in Sycamore, Illinois featured barbed wire, a Sandwich gas engine and a Chanticleer gas engine (The Chanticleer line was Haish's most recognizable line.)
The backside reads "This is the sixth buckle in a series for the Northern Illinois Steam Power Club. This buckle shows two small engines that were made in this area and have been exhibited at the show for several years. This is the club's 31st annual show, and the 21st year to be held on the Taylor Marshall Farm near Sycamore, IL."
Double-sided Chanticleer Gasoline Engines (Manufactured by Jacob Haish Company, DeKalb, Illinois) postcard. This is marked as number 3 in a series of three cards. Click on photos to enlarge.
I recently attended the 52nd Sandwich Show in Sandwich, IL. This show featured Haish built engines, some of which I captured in photo and video and posted below. Haish's involvement in engine manufacturing is pretty varied: his earliest engines were part of "Cock O' The Walk Line," then the "Chanticleer" line.
According to JacobHaishMfg.org: "Haish would manufacture engines not only for sale by his own dealer network, but also developed engines for the Appleton Mfg. Co., of Batavia, Illinois, Sandwich Mfg. Co. of Sandwich, Illinois & Rock Island Plow Co. out of Rock Island, Illinois. Haish's engine he built for these other companies were almost entirely the same as his own, with modifications to the said horsepower rating, engine tags or paint schemes, etc. Additionally, Haish manufactured an engine line for the Smith Mfg. Co. out of Chicago under the trade name "Great Western" from about 1905 until 1911. Rock Island Plow Co. purchased the "Great Western" line, which included the engine division, on October 1, 1911 from the Smith Mfg. Co. Haish would then build the "Great Western" line exclusively for Rock Island Plow Co. until about 1916. However, Rock Island Plow discontinued the "Great Western" engine division in about 1912 in favor of Haish's "Chanticleer" line. Rock Island would continue to market the "Great Western" trade name with its famous manure spreader and cream separator divisions for many more years. Sandwich Mfg. Co. stopped marketing "Chanticleer" engines in about 1912 as they had began to develop their own engine with a distinctive "tulip" style water hopper. Jacob Haish sold his entire "Chanticleer” engine division in April 1917 to the Appleton Mfg. Co. of Batavia, Illinois."
This photo, noted with "probably taken around 1914" on the reverse side, shows a Haish Chanticleer engine powering a Sandwich hay press. While there aren't any more details about this particular image, it's a fantastic snapshot of agricultural history. Thanks to Shawn Rogers for sharing with us. Click the image to enlarge.
Chanticleer engine powering a Sandwich hay press | Photo provided by Shawn Rogers
To learn more about Chanticleer engines, click HERE
To learn more about Sandwich Manufacturing, click HERE
Orrin Merritt shared this fascinating pamphlet with us: Chanticleer Gasoline Engines by the Jacob Haish Company. I've attached most of the images below; click to enlarge. Haish's "Chanticleer" line was his most recognizable.
"My grandfather was a farmer and was a part of a group of farmers that collectively worked the fields together," Orrin said. "He had the thrasher and others had other equipment. The pamphlet was in paperwork that he kept."
Thanks to Orrin for sharing such a great piece of history! Learn more about these engines by clicking here
