Hello ODK members,

This is a curious article written under the pseudonym 'Greenleaf' for the Adelaide
newspaper, The Mail, in 1917. It captures, I think, a time capsule of thinking
about lawnmowers in the context of garden machinery.

Adelaide, very much a class-conscious city in the early 20th Century, had expensive lawnmowers
and the cheaper sidewheels for the working class. This article confirms my research that
Green's, Shanks' and Coldwell reel-roller mowers were the most popular machines that catered
the middle class in S.A., perhaps utilised to mow the suburban 'half-acre' upon which may have been
located a household tennis court.

[The popularity of tennis at that time probably propagated the popularity of lawnmowers].

This article, however, captures lawnmower maintenance from the average working-class perspective.
The example given is a Coldwell Gem sidewheel, one of the most popular machines in Adelaide at that
time. It was a working class machine that sold well in Australia.

The most interesting bit for me is the section "No Sharpening Necessary".
The comment made by Greenleaf that "Most mowers should never be sharpened" is of interest,
in that it must be explained in the context of the wide-spread practice of "back-lapping".

The reality was, however, that sharpening was necessary at some point, and consumer
sharpening kits (including Australian-made ones) were popular. Repairers advertised that they
were equipped with the latest sharpening machines.

I will now let the article speak for itself.
[Because the article was in poor shape, I have converted it into a modern format]

[Linked Image]
[Linked Image]