Archival materials

Photographs

Trattore SAME 240 in risaia / SAME 240 Tractor in rice-field, 1963

The collection includes more than 60,000 images (prints, slides and negatives) in total related to the history of the company, extending from 1918 to the present day.

11,880 images have been catalogued and are available for online consultation.

They are divided into three categories:

  • the first contains images related to products (from design to field demonstrations);
  • the second includes events, fairs, press conferences, visits and inaugurations;
  • the third relates to photos of production sites and of work in the factories.

Press review

This series collects the more than 3,100 articles published in the daily and periodical press, Italian and foreign, about SAME and SDF brands starting from 1928.

Library – Periodicals – Company newsletters

This library specialises in the history of farming and the mechanisation of agriculture, with 530 volumes from the twentieth century.

The Historical Archives are gradually gathering the degrees thesis produced over the years relating to brands and products or industrial processes of the company. To date, there are 122 titles recorded in the information system and available for consultation. This is heritage of particular interest, which highlights SDF’s role in academia and research.

The collection of technical journals in the sector includes 42 specialist publications, Italian and foreign, starting from 1954.

The company’s newsletters are important in reconstructing historic events, particularly SAME informazioni (1959-1966), SAME 4 Ruote Motrici (1966-2007) and Deutz Verkäufer Post (1968-1972).

Video archive

Deutz

This includes 1,254 videos – institutional, commercial, documentary, advertising and for events (fairs, conventions, press conferences) – produced on various media (VHS, U-MATIC, CD-ROM, DVD) starting from 1953.

Advertising material

The advertising material (more than 6,900 records) includes: multi-page catalogues, leaflets, adverts, posters, commercials, postcards and calendars, extending from 1927 to the present day.
The series of advertising catalogues includes lavishly illustrated documents in various languages that present the products, how they are used and their technical characteristics. The catalogues are significant documents when it comes to reconstructing history in terms of imagery and habits.
The collection of calendars, some of which illustrated by celebrated photographers (George Tatge, Franco Fontana, Max Salvaggio, Tiziana Bertacci, Fabio Proverbio, Pepi Merisio), includes significant examples of the development of graphics and habits in Italy.

Technical publications

The collection of technical documentation includes 6,332 publications in total, published in various languages and dating back to 1945. The catalogued material is divided into use and maintenance booklets (4,162), workshop manuals (780), spare parts catalogues (1,160), sales related documents (152) and flat rate manuals (79). These documents are very important to owners of both historic tractors and more recent ones. They are also essential in reconstructing the development of technology applied to agriculture.

Awards, certificates, honours

Founder Francesco Cassani, SAME and the brands of SDF and their products have received many awards and honours over the years. This category brings together the more than 250 awards, certificates and trophies received from as early as 1939, when the Italian National Research Council awarded a silver medal to SPICA-Cassani for inventing injection pumps for diesel engines.

Financial statements

The collection includes the Group’s financial statements as of 1969 and is a detailed snapshot of all business carried out and analysis of the results achieved.

Technical drawings

The more than 260,000 technical drawings are ordered in drawers and folders suited to long-term preservation. 647 significant designs from among these have been restored and digitised and can be observed on the website.
The collection is a testament to the quality of technical development and origins of products, starting from the pioneering Cassani 40 HP of 1927 and progressing to the 1930s designs for ship and aircraft engines, in the war period to the design of engines, fire pumps, cranes and hoist tackles, up to the design and construction in 1946 of the Autofalciatrice, which was then to become the Trattorino, in various versions. Finally, the first four-wheel-drive machine marked the definitive transition to the tractor, and the ceaseless development that gave rise to the reality that we experience today.

Scale models

The Archives include an extensive collection of scale models of tractors and harvesters from the SAME, Lamborghini, Hürlimann and DEUTZ-FAHR brands, starting with the model of the SAME Cassani 40 HP tractor of 1927.

Documents archive

Agenda personale di Francesco Cassani / Francesco Cassani’s personal pocket diary, 1931

This category includes documentation produced from 1919, stored in more than 340 files. In particular, there are the files related to the foundation of SPICA-Cassani and SAME (Società in Accomandita Motori Endotermici). The Archives also preserve the articles of association, reports of the Board of Directors and minutes of the shareholders’ meetings of Group companies.

The technical documentation (calibration tables, assembly standards, testing and work notebooks, registers of drawings, technical reports and inspections) concerning the design and production of engines, components and machine tools is also a part of this series.

The documentation collected in the Cassani Album is of particular interest with respect to the history of the company. It includes letters, telegrams, agreements, technical reports and articles by the company’s founder.

The series of Registration Logs for SAME, Lamborghini and Hürlimann tractors (1952–1986) is also significant, as well as the Employee Registers (1943–1969).

Finally, the collection of spoken accounts, comprising of video interviews of former employees, helps capture the human side of the job, personality and lives of those who worked at the company.