IH Logo PNG
The IH logo lets you look at the company’s equipment from above and appreciate the miracles it can perform on the field, embodying harmony, completeness, and compactness. The emblem tells about the ability to design and create new machines.
International Harvester traces its roots to 1831, when Cyrus McCormick developed a mechanical reaper for American farmers. By the 1880s, McCormick Harvesting Machine Company and Deering Harvester Company were locked in a price war across the Midwest. Both firms had large production capacity, aggressive sales networks, and growing losses from competition.
After years of failed merger talks, J. P. Morgan’s banking house helped settle the deal. On August 12, 1902, McCormick, Deering, Milwaukee Harvester, Plano Manufacturing, and Warder, Bushnell & Glessner merged to form the International Harvester Company. The new firm had $120 million in capital and controlled about 85% of the U.S. harvesting-machine market.
That dominance brought legal pressure. In 1912, the Justice Department filed an antitrust case, and in 1914, the Supreme Court ruled against IH under the Sherman Act. A 1918 settlement forced changes to dealers and merged the McCormick and Deering lines under the McCormick-Deering name. At the same time, IH expanded into trucks with the 1907 Auto Wagon and, later, full-truck production in Fort Wayne in 1923.
In 1924, IH introduced the Farmall tractor, built for row-crop farming and small family farms, while John Deere remained a major rival. The company supplied trucks for the Hoover Dam in 1931 and produced military equipment during World War II. Later, Scout and Travelall moved IH into civilian utility vehicles, but finances weakened. After selling Cub Cadet, construction assets, and the farm division to Tenneco, the remaining company became Navistar International Corporation in 1986.
Meaning and History
The logo is filled with a game of spatial models, pointing to drawings, diagrams, and construction. The emblem shows the company’s ability to create compact, stable, and productive equipment models, offering the most thoughtful and multifunctional machines. The emblem shows the scale of the view and the assessment of problems, creating effective proposals for their resolution.
What is IH (International Harvester)?
This well-known American manufacturer has influenced the automotive and agricultural industries, producing everything from tractors and agricultural equipment to pickup trucks and SUVs. The company’s headquarters is located in Chicago. It produced durable vehicles, such as the well-known Scout SUV, and remained a significant player in the agricultural machinery market, offering a wide range of tractors and harvesting equipment. Through an extensive manufacturing network, it created equipment and vehicles known for their reliability and practical design, suited for both urban and agricultural needs.
1902 – 1938
The logo is a fancifully arranged initial letter of the company name. Manufacturer’s first registered name: International Harvester Company.
- The largest letter, C, creates an unfinished circle around the sign. She represents openness to new ideas. It looks like a sickle that helps to harvest. The manufacturer’s first machine was the Reaper mower.
- Inside C, a wide H is inscribed, like a car chassis. Most models had four wide-spaced wheels.
- The largest letter was in the center of the composition, representing the engines for the company’s equipment.
Three letters indicated the emergence of a firm from the merger of three parties:
- McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, which produced the Reaper harvester.
- Deering Harvester Company developed the first version of the tractor.
- Three small partners who produced tools, equipment, and mowers.
Directly on the letters’ glyphs is an inscription with the company’s full name. The word “International” is placed in the foreground, highlighting the manufacturer’s large-scale claims.
1938 – 1985
The company acquires a defense plant in Kentucky and sets it up to produce modern modifications of its A, B, and 340 series tractors. American industrial designer Raymond Loewy developed the appearance of the machines and the new logo.
The sign consisted of two letters, H and I, superimposed. The word Company was gradually removed from the company’s name, and the organization was increasingly called simply International Harvester.
According to Loewy’s design, the tractor’s working part had an elongated, narrow shape in red. The wheels were large and black. Therefore, in the center, two black stripes, H, and a red stripe, I, resembled a view of the tractor from above.
Red is the color of progress and development that the conglomerate was striving for. The all-purpose tractor for farmers, Farmall, became a bestseller for the next 50 years.
Below the abbreviation was the company’s full name.
1973 – 1985
In 1973, IH stopped producing its famous Farmall series, marking a new stage in the enterprise’s life. In most areas, new lines have appeared. The Pro Ag tractor model, the Axial-Flow rotary harvester, and the CO-4070/4090 tractor were presented.
The logo has also been updated, but has changed slightly. The red color became darker, and the letter H was divided into two halves, between which an I was inserted. In general, the image and concept were preserved. Innovations showed:
- Several areas of work.
- Separation of past models and new ones.
- Extensive experience in their field.
The letter I was the prototype of trucks and tractors; when viewed from above, they looked like a rectangle with a dot-cab in front. The two halves of H looked like caterpillars.
In general, the sign demonstrated the company’s ability to adapt to new conditions to offer special equipment that stands out from other brands.
In 1985, all manufacturer divisions were sold, and the company ceased to exist. Trucks and buses continued to be produced by Navistar International Corporation under its brand, and Tenneco bought the rights to the name, turning it into the Case IH brand.
Font and Colors
The main colors of the logo are contrasting black and red. They convey style and innovation, which lies at the center of the company’s work. They talk about large equipment, its dimensions, and its strength. In shades, an indication of leadership and superiority over all competitors. In the 1930s and 50s, the company’s technology was second to none. Up to 12,000 dealers from all over the country came to the presentation of new models, and every 2-3rd farm had equipment from IH.
The font of the acronym is strict with rectangular shapes and sharp corners, which indicates machines capable of overcoming any obstacles. The title is done in Akhbar Bold.