Old Pond publishing days

New Claas combine harvesters DVD advance information

Top of the Claas: from SF to Lexion 780, Stephen Richmond and Jonathan Whitlam (Tractor Barn). DVD, approx 90 minutes. ISBN 978-1-908397-49-2. To be released November, distributed by Old Pond at £16.95 inc VAT.

 Information and advance orders: [email protected].

German farm machinery manufacturer Claas has been producing self-propelled combine harvesters since the 1950s. In this programme we chart the story of the various Claas combine models from the very first SF type to the latest, top-of-the-range Lexion 780.

Mainly concentrating on the bigger models in each range, the story develops over the decades as we see machines at work still gathering in the cereal harvest many years after they were produced.

Models featured include the Matador Giant, Senator 70, Dominator 85, Commandor 115CS, Lexion 480, 600, 770 and many more besides.

Four smaller Lexion combines are shown at work in one field in Lancashire while a similar output is achieved by a sole Lexion 770 model in Suffolk, and we also see how the combines are moved around from field to field and prepared for different crops.

The story is brought bang up to date as we watch the Lexion 770 break the world record for harvesting the most wheat in an eight-hour period in 2011 and then the introduction of an even larger combine – the  Lexion 780 in 2012, a machine that without doubt deserves the title of Top Of The Claas.

Seddon Atkinson by Patrick W Dyer new book advance information

Seddon Atkinson at Work: 400, 401 & 4-11, Patrick W Dyer. Hardback book, 210 x 265 mm (landscape), 144 pages inc. 208 photographs. ISBN 978-1-908397-43-0. Now available from Old Pond at £19.95.

In 1970, Oldham-based Seddon took over the struggling Atkinson, based in Preston, merging two of the greatest companies in British truck manufacturing. It was a partnership that would later see substantial backing from International Harvester in the mutually beneficial takeover of 1974.

In this book Patrick Dyer looks at Seddon Atkinson’s premium range from the period 1975–88. The new range, which began as the 400, was designed to provide a British-built alternative to the European products – led by Volvo and Scania – that were dominating the market at the time.

Equipped with a luxurious tilt cab made of steel and strong drivelines comprising proven proprietary components, the 400 was an immediate hit and soon took the top spot for heavy-weight trucks in the UK. The 401, introduced in 1981, sparked an evolution process with Seddon Atkinson producing a truck that included new features suggested by drivers. The 4-11 saw production through to its end in 1988.

The book charts the development of the 400, 401 and 4-11 over the thirteen years of production. The fine selection of photographs, a quarter of which were sourced from the Seddon Atkinson Historic Archive, is supported by Patrick Dyer’s informative text.

Although Patrick Dyer’s day job is in motor sport, he holds a Class One licence and drives whenever the opportunity arises. Patrick grew up during one of the most notable and exciting periods of development for heavy trucks and also the last of the real glory days for trucking as an industry. This is reflected in his subject matter. His previous books covered the LB110, 111 and 141 from Scania, the 2800, 3300 and 3600 from DAF, the Ford Transcontinental and the F88 and F89 from Volvo. They are all available on the Trucks and Heavy Loads section of the Old Pond website.

Seventy Years of Farm Tractors by Brian Bell new book in stock

Seventy Years of Farm Tractors, by Brian Bell, is a 304-page hardback book with 350 photographs. It deals with over a hundred marques from Allis to Zetor, the manufacturers and brands of the tractors which were to be found on British farms in the period 1930-2000. Encyclopaedic in scope and detail, it deals in particular with the great days of tractor development 1965-90.

It is now in stock at Old Pond at £24.95.

Harry Ferguson inventor & pioneer book back in stock

Colin Fraser's biography, Harry Ferguson inventor & pioneer, is unquestionably the finest book of its kind in the tractor world. Partly this is because Ferguson was such an exciting and complex man whose achievements were enormous. Partly this due to Colin Fraser's expertise in going through the Ferguson archives and drawing out all the features of the man and his dealings. Colin wrote the book in the very early 1970s when memories of Ferguson - who died in 1960 - were very much alive.

Old Pond first reprinted this book in 1998. For our latest reprint we have re-set the text in clearer type, but have very much kept to the look of the original. The sixteen pages of black-and-white photographs are once again included.

Harry Ferguson inventor and pioneer by Colin Fraser, paperback, 320 pages is now back in stock at £14.95.

Know Your Rare Breeds new book in stock

Know Your Rare Breeds, Jack Byard's ninth book in the paperback series for novice enthusiasts is now available from Old Pond at £4.99.

Agriculture in North America Volume 3 in stock as DVD and Blu-ray

Jörn and Tammo Gläser's new DVD Agriculture in North America Volume 3 is now available at £19.95 (inc VAT) from Old Pond.

We also have a Blu-ray version in stock. This is not at present on our website. Please phone (00 44) (0) 1473 238200 for details.

Ax Men Season Four DVD now in stock

There are still some trees left in North America for the competitive Ax Men to bring down - or in the case of the Louisiana swamps - dredge up. The History Channel's complete Season Four, running for about ten hours, is now available from Old Pond at £19.95 (inc VAT).

New annual catalogue from Old Pond Publishing

Old Pond's latest annual catalogue, 40 pages including details of just under 300 DVDs and books, is due in to stock this Thursday. Customers should receive their copies by post next week, 8-12 October.

For further information please email [email protected].

 

Ax Men Season 4 DVDs advance information

Ax Men Season Four,The History Channel. 4-DVD set, approx 10 hours. ISBN 978-1-908397-53-9. Now available from Old Pond at £19.95.

Welcome to the forests of  North America, where money really does grow on trees. Across the wide continent, from the wilds of Alaska to the steamy bayous of Louisiana, and from the heat of Florida to the vast and untamed Pacific Northwest, eight crews compete for the title of King of the Mountain in the latest and greatest season of Ax Men.

Each location poses its own threats to our fearless loggers, from the deadly snakes and alligators of the swamps down south to the black bears of the Pacific coastline, and that’s before you even consider the day-to-day dangers involved in bringing down and transporting mammoth pieces of timber. Technical malfunctions, equipment failure or a simple lapse in concentration are each enough to spell the end for any one of our tree-felling heroes.

Featuring a host of familiar faces as well as an injection of new blood, this logging season proved to be the most fiercely contested to date. So strap in tight and get ready for the most exciting run yet of History’s smash-hit series Ax Men, where the stakes – like the trees – could not be higher!

Earlier seasons of Ax Men and other forestry DVDs can be found on the forestry section of the Old Pond website.

Agriculture in North America Vol. 3 DVD advance information

Agriculture in North America Vol. 3, Jörn & Tammo Gläser. DVD, approx 90 minutes (plus 15 minutes of Extras). ISBN 978-1-908397-51-5. Now available from Old Pond at £19.95 (inc VAT).

In the third part of their American travels Jörn and Tammo have visited the Midwest states of Iowa and the Dakotas in spring when enormous machinery prepares the ground for corn and soybean planting. In this 90-minute film they show us more than 25 different modern and sometimes very unusual agricultural machines associated with seedbed cultivation, drilling and slurry technology.

The scenery and weather phenomena are also stunning.

The motive power is provided by 4-wheel drive and tracked tractors from John Deere, Case IH, New Holland and Versatile among others. Interviews and narration provide insights into the farm equipment, crop farming and the stories behind the machines. There is an English-language voice-over.

This programme will also be available in Blu-ray at a price still to be determined.