Books covering prominent farm-machinery manufacturers abound—in part because their subjects are well-known, and there is abundant documentation available for research. People are willing to buy the books in quantities that make publishing profitable. I recently reviewed a book that sold over 100,000 copies. Antique Power Editor Rick Mannen’s latest book—the fifth—proves he is on a mission to write the history of smaller, lesser-known Canadian farm equipment manufacturers. If Mannen did not, it is most likely no one would. This one covers the history of Goold, Shapley, and Muir (GS&M), of Brantford, Ontario. Mannen offers an affectionate, engaging, and very informative 10-chapter chronological account based on extensive in-depth research chronicling GS&M that dates to its founding in 1892 and ends with its demise in 1934. The text is enhanced by the 355 generally small vintage black-and-white illustrations and photographs of people and the equipment the company produced, including windmills, pumps, engines, heavyweight and lightweight tractors, as well as beekeeping supplies, saws, concrete mixers, sprayers, grinders, hoists, and stable and barn equipment. Mannen ends with this tribute: “The legacy of the machinery it produced, stands GS&M among the great farm machinery builders of another age.”

Book Review by Robert Gabrick