It is 14 1/2 inches tall and 15 1/2 inches deep. It is in excellent condition save for a few broken blades. There is no rust or corrosion whatsoever to the working parts - none whatsoever.
The wood is gorgeous and the craftsman ship meticulous - every last pully, weight, counter-weight, and mill works perfectly. Every part is also perfectly viewable in its full range of motion. The model is so elaborate that it is likely that it was a salesmans sample.
Because so few windmills have survived, information on them is generally limited to pictures. This is a unique opportunity to own a working model of the invention that--by giving railroads access to underground water and farmers the ability to live on land where there were no rivers, streams, or lakes-- more than any other helped to settle the American west.
This is an exquisite model maker's piece, one probably made for the inventor/patent holder himself. This is not something someone made to simply replicate a windmill. It fully demonstrates the windmill's functionality. It may well, in fact, have been made to demonstrate that functionality to the inventor/patent holder.
The model makers skill was so advanced that even the minature nuts, bolts and screws were cast - probably of plated brass. The veined wheel is a cast hub and the mechanism plate was also cast specifically for this purpose. The pump parts are cast as well.
In order to better explain the windmill's operation: a wind activated arrester folds the directional vane parallel with the mill vanes. The shaft drive runs to the cam driver pump and a lever at the base of the piece activates the arrester system.
This is truly a museum quality piece.
| Last updated 03/03/2017 |
Text and images © Mark Berry,
1997-2017 -
Portions © 1999 - Theresa |