Wolfe wrote:BEFORE YOU GET TOO SMUG!!
That might have brought a lot of joy to some people. Some poor farmer's family or what have you.
You are right.
It is easy for today's collectors to forget that,in the not too distant past,such a machine would have been considered valueless and originality would not have been considered at all. Anything which could be done to extend it's useful life would have been acceptable, and the thought that it might one day be a collector's item would never have entered the owner's head.