This threshing machine was used to separate grain seeds from the heads and stalks, replacing the old technique of beating the stalks with sticks.
With the invention of steam power came the portable engine and later the traction engine, a multi-purpose, mobile energy source that was the ground-crawling cousin to the steam locomotive. This machine was made by Marshall Sons & Co, who were established in 1848 in Gainsborough. This machine likely dates from the end of the 19th century.
