March/April 2025 Antique Power
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Roger Bezold’s David Brown 885G
The March/April 2025 issue of Antique Power magazine is available in our gift shop and will be available in subscriber mailboxes and on newsstands soon. For this issue we feautre Roger Bezold’s David Brown 885G.
007 Tractor
If James Bond had been a farmer, he would have wanted Roger Bezold’s David Brown 885G!
Story by Chad Elmore, Photos by Brad Bowling
The story of David Brown—the company and the man—cannot be made into a movie without a cast comprising Harry Ferguson, J.I. Case, and especially “Bond, James Bond.”
In the 1964 movie Goldfinger that starred Sean Connery as Bond—the fictional British Secret Service agent created by author Ian Fleming—Bond’s co-star was an Aston Martin DB5 sports car that had been equipped with a long list of non-standard options, including an ejector seat. Today, the silver DB5 is considered the most famous car ever driven by the world’s most famous spy on the big screen.
The “DB” in the “saloon’s” model name stands for David Brown, the industrialist long credited with saving the car manufacturer after he acquired the cash-strapped company in 1947.
David Brown & Sons Ltd. was started in England in 1860 to make patterns for foundries; by the turn of the century, it was an established gear specialist. After the eponymous founder of the company died in 1903, sons Percy and Frank took over. The next several decades saw the company expand its gear-making expertise to include complete drive units, including transmissions, for a wide range of applications.
The David Brown who is key to our featured tractor’s story was Frank’s son, born in 1904. It was the original David Brown’s namesake grandson who took control of the family company in the 1930s…
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the March/April 2025 issue of Antique Power magazine!
Other articles in this issue include:
From the Editor
Letters to the Editor
The Canada Connection: Cathedrals of the Prairies
The Prairie Icon, the Tractor and the Family FarmPaper Farming: Truman Funk and the Origin of the Moline Universal
Dr. Dan’s Tractor Clinic: Chevron Footprints
Getting new-age rubber on your antique tractor.Photos from the Attic
The Best Tractor Ever Invented?
Tractors do not get any scarcer than the Jansen family’s left-as-found 1917 Elgin 9-18.
Story by Candace Brown • Photos by Brad Bowling007 Tractor
If James Bond had been a farmer, he would have wanted Roger Bezold’s David Brown 885G!
Story by Chad Elmore • Photos by Brad BowlingUnstyled D
Don Hughes’ 1939 John Deere D has unique orchard equipment!
Story by Madison Nickel • Photos by Carrie NickersonClassifieds
Show Guide
The Book Shed
Tech Tips: “Essential” Tools
Of Grease & Chaff: The Bucket and the Beak
Gallery: Photo by Fred Hendricks
If you can't find Antique Power on a newsstand near you, call 800-767-5828 or visit our Gift Shop to order current or back issues. To subscribe, call 888-760-8108 or click here.
