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> Antique windmill weight bull cow vintage fairbury 12 ft
Antique windmill weight bull cow vintage fairbury 12 ft
Item: Windmill counterbalance weight (used with 12 foot diameter windmill wheel)
Design: bull (cow) with tail separated from body; it is painted (I do not believe it is original paint but old paint)
Size: 24 wide x 18 tall x 1 1/8 thick
Manufacturer: Fairbury Windmill Company (Fairbury, Nebraska) no name on bull
Location: from a collector in central Nebraska
Condition: great condition, some wear to paint
Please email me if you have any questions.
Great for farm collectors and folk art enthusiasts.
Windmill weight background: Vintage farm-style windmills that pumped water came in two varieties. Vaned and vaneless windmills. Vaned windmills used a tail (or vane) while vaneless windmills depended on a counterbalance weight which was positioned at the end of a wood beam. The windmill weight was used to guide the wheel into the wind to keep it from tipping over.
Counterbalance weights represented a short-lived but stylish variation of tail technology in windmill production. Counterbalance weights mainly began in the 1880s. As a general rule, counterbalance weights were used on folding wheel windmills while tails were used on both folding wheel and fixed wheel windmills.
I have more vintage items for sale so please visit my other listings.
If an item arrives damaged or is lost in the mail, please notify me immediately so a solution can be worked out.
Also, at the tip of both ears there is a silver shine to the metal. I do not believe the ears have been replaced or had significant damage, but I'm wondering if they were repaired (just the top part of the ear). It may not be anything at all, but I did want to note that on this item. Please look at the new photo I posted of the close-up of the ears for review. Thanks.
Please note: I have had a couple questions about any wear on this weight - it is in great shape, but since it is 100 years old there is some wear to the paint (not original paint) on the body and base. The rest of the body is intact (note my thoughts about the ears). Please let me know if you have any other questions, thanks.
