PAT SWIGART

PATRICIA B. TREFZ SWIGART (1936-2026)

May You Rest In Peace, We Will Miss You!

Patricia Swigart or more familiarly "Pat" died peacefully on March 9 after a life time of dedicated and active involvement in the preservation of antique automobiles. She was a remarkable lady with enormous energy and huge enthusiasm for all the many aspects of the antique automobile world that she took part in. Her contributions to the hobby have been recognized by many richly deserved prestigious awards, most recently the Fiala Old Faithful Award presented to Pat at the AACA Annual Convention in February this year. 

But, Pat was more than this. She was a good friend to all who came to know her.

Murray and I were so lucky to have had the privilege to have Pat as a true friend for over thirty years. 

I recall on my first visit to the Hershey Fall Meet in the very early 1990's looking for automobile radiator emblems for my handicapped son, Murray's emblem collection, and someone saying "if you want to see auto emblems you have to go to the Swigart Auto Museum". The following year, Murray came with me to Hershey and we made our first visit to the Swigart Auto Museum and were stunned by the amazing displays of radiator emblems and to see so many very rare antique cars too. A visit to the Swigart Auto Museum became a key event on our subsequent annual visits to Hershey. 

We met with Pat and William Swigart, who both took a keen personal interest in Murray and over time we became close friends and met with Pat's family. 

We especially remember our Revival Glidden Tours with Pat when first myself and then Murray were Tour Freshmen with Pat as Dean of Freshmen, a role that she carried for many years with great enthusiasm. 

One year, I rode with Pat in a Duesenberg Model J, which was a great experience until the day came when Pat said "Mike, it's your turn to drive now"! Driving the Duesenberg was hard work anyway, but I was so tense, intent on avoiding an accident in such a precious and valuable car, that, when we reached the next stop on our tour, my hands were gripping the steering wheel so tightly I could not let go! 

Each year from my very first visit to the Swigart Auto Museum, I took photos of as many of the emblem boards as possible and it became my regular and most enjoyable Christmas vacation task to spend some time at home studying my Swigart emblem board photos with a magnifying glass trying to identify the emblems. Most of my photos from the early years were taken before I had digital photography, so I had to work from photographic prints. However, over the years, I produced a fairly extensive "catalog" of the Swigart emblem collection but I needed to get closer to some of the more distant emblem boards to see these emblems more clearly. 

I met with William Swigart and showed him the result of my cataloging work to date. He was very excited and said he had always wanted to make a catalog of the emblem collection but the task had seemed too daunting. He agreed to let me visit when the museum was closed to get closer to the emblem boards to complete my emblem catalog. This was done and Murray and I came to the Museum in October 2000 with the completed emblem catalog. Unfortunately, William had passed away a few months before our visit, so, sadly, he did not see the catalog. 

Over the following years, several more emblem boards were found in the Swigart collection, which had not been on display previously. Pat Swigart encouraged me to include these new emblem boards in the emblem catalog. I spent more time at the Swigart Auto Museum taking a full set of better quality photos of all the emblem boards and later produced a revised Swigart Emblem Catalog, which was presented to Pat in October 2016.

I mention all this because, as you will find, many of the emblem photos on this website are taken from the Swigart emblem collection, so there is a strong link between William and Pat Swigart and this website.

Anyone visiting at this website and interested in automotive emblems should also visit the Swigart Auto Museum or more correctly, the William E. Swigart Jr. Automobile Museum near Huntington, Pennsylvania to be amazed by and enjoy the Swigart emblem collection, as well as their fabulous antique cars, and meet the friendly and most helpful resident staff there.

MOYER

H. A. Moyer (1908-1915)
Syracuse, New York 

This is a Moyer radiator emblem (1912-c1916)    mjs
Size: 63mm wide 29mm high    MM: None

Harvey Allen Moyer established himself as a wagon builder in 1876 in Cicero, New York and moved his business to Syracuse, New York in the early 1880's. He built an experimental four-cylinder four-passenger tourabout automobile in 1908 and decided to manufacture automobiles as well as carriages and wagons. 

In 1909, Moyer had a new automobile factory built close to his carriage factory and, while the auto factory was under construction, he built Moyer car #0, a prototype runabout with a “mother-in-law” rear seat and, most likely a few production models of this first generation Moyer car design as well.

Moyer announced in December 1909 in automobile trade journals that full production of the Moyer automobile would begin in January 1910 and expected to produce about 200 cars. It is believed that only around fifty or less Moyer automobiles were produced in the first year. The first three cars, Car #s 001, 002, & 003, to come out of the new factory and be delivered, were announced in the Syracuse Post Standard newspaper on July 2, 1910.

The Moyer was a big car and was very well built. The first Moyer automobiles included tourabout and roadster models.  By 1911, the Moyer was a 29 hp four-cylinder model offered in runabout and touring body styles. This was followed in 1912 by a 38 hp six-cylinder model, which was increased in size to a 49 hp six-cylinder model by 1913. 

Financial problems led Moyer to sell his automobile factory in November 1915. He moved his automobile manufacturing machinery into his carriage factory and a few more cars may have been built in 1916 but this cannot be confirmed. Total lifetime Moyer automobile production is believed to have been just over 400 cars.

In 1917, Moyer sold most of his carriage factory buildings but retained the main office and showroom building with sufficient space to continue to service his automobile customers and to service other makes of cars. 

Moyer then incorporated his business as an automobile sales dealership for Stearns-Knight, Velie and Elgin.

Emblems

The first Moyer radiator emblem was a stamped brass emblem riveted and soldered to the radiator tank top and, from photo evidence, is believed to have been first used in 1909.

There are original period photos of early Moyer cars showing the radiator with a radiator emblem and, although the emblem details in most early photos are unclear, they are clearly not the better known red, white and blue enamel oval-shaped radiator emblem shown above at the top of this post.

One of H. A. Moyer's first experimental cars built in 1908 is seen in the newspaper article shown below but the print quality is too poor to see a radiator emblem, if any.

Moyer experimental car (1908)  gsc/mfa

However, the following original photo taken on September 14, 1909 shows what is believed to be the first Moyer roadster registered as car #0. A radiator emblem is present but the design cannot be clearly identified from the photo. However, it is certainly not the later white centered oval Moyer emblem.

Moyer roadster showing a radiator emblem (1909)  gsc/mfa

Close up showing Moyer radiator emblem (1909)

The following period photo shows a Moyer touring model labeled 1912 on the front of a postcard date stamped March 17, 1911, so the car was likely built early 1911. This Moyer also displays a radiator emblem but again not the later white centered oval emblem.

1912 Moyer with radiator emblem (March 1911) 

 Close up showing radiator emblem

As an aside, it is noted that most early Moyer factory photos and illustrations of Moyer cars display the "Moyer" name and sometimes the model year painted on mahogony plaques mounted beneath the running boards, see following examples:

Moyer roadster close up showing name plaque (1909) 

Moyer Model B close up showing name plaque (1911)

Original mahogony Moyer name plaque (c1911)   gsc/mfa

Returning to the Moyer radiator emblem, the following newspaper photo from February 9, 1912 shows a Moyer car offered as a prize. The car was most likely built in 1911 and clearly has a radiator emblem, which has an unusual shape that is also certainly not the later white centered oval shape:

Moyer car offered as prize (1912)  The Syracuse Herald

Close up detail showing radiator emblem (c1911)

The following photo shows a surviving 1912 Moyer Model 5 touring car taking part in the Glidden Revival Tour in 1950. This is Moyer car #145 believed to have been built in 1911. The car carries the unusual shaped radiator emblem seen in the earlier photos but is now more clearly visible. The car also displays a reproduction brass "Moyer" script attached to the radiator core.

Moyer car with early rad emblem on Glidden Tour in 1950  gsc

Close up showing Moyer radiator and emblem (c1911)

The following close up photo shows the top of the radiator and the emblem on Moyer car #145:

Close up showing the Moyer radiator emblem (c1911)  gsc

This is the stamped brass Moyer radiator emblem. This Moyer radiator emblem is extremely rare and very possibly ultra rare.

This is a Moyer radiator emblem (1909-1912) 
Size: 49mm wide 36mm high    MM: Unknown (poss None)

The next surviving Moyer car after the Moyer Model 5 touring car #145 shown above with the stamped brass radiator emblem is a Moyer "Small Six" 5-passenger touring car #173 bought new from a Moyer showroom on August 14, 1912, so built sometime before this date. This Moyer car carries the later enamel oval radiator emblem, which appears to have been introduced in early to mid-1912, see below: 

Moyer Car #173 radiator & emblem (1912)   gsc

The following very rare original period photo shows a Moyer car under construction in the Moyer factory in about 1912. The Moyer car clearly displays the new oval shaped radiator emblem.

Moyer car manufacturing factory (c1912)    gsc

Close up showing radiator emblem (c1912)

This is the red, white and blue Moyer radiator emblem shown above at the top of this post and again below. This Moyer radiator emblem is very rare.

This is a Moyer radiator emblem (1912-c1916)  mjs
Size: 63mm wide 29mm high    MM: None

The "Moyer" name was also displayed on the bronze hub emblem riveted to the brass hubcaps, see example shown below. This Moyer hubcap design did not change throughout the production of the Moyer.

This is a Moyer hubcap (1909-c1916)   dkc

The following is a bronze Moyer hub emblem, which is very rare:

This is a Moyer hub emblem (1909-c1916)    mjs
Size: 49mm diameter   MM: None

For some Moyer models the background to the "Moyer" name in the hub emblem was color painted to match the body color, see the following original period photo of a light colored Moyer seven-passenger tourist phaeton with matching hubcaps:

Moyer seven=passenger tourist phaeton with color matching hubcaps   gsc/mfa

Close up showing painted hubcap

Hubcap collectors should beware as there are counterfeit Moyer hubcaps using a blank vintage hubcap with a fake "Moyer" hub script soldered on, see example shown below:

This is a counterfeit Moyer hubcap       ms

The "Moyer" name was also shown on a small brass oval shaped serial number tag riveted to the part of the chassis frame where the transmission system was held, see example shown below. These serial number tags were used throughout the production life of the Moyer.

Moyer tag serial number 203     gsc
Size: 36mm wide 28mm high

From 1913 to the end of Moyer production, an additional serial plate was mounted on the kick board under the front passenger seat giving the car number and engine number, see example shown below:

Moyer serial plate car number 235     gsc
Size: 89mm wide 38mm high

Some surviving Moyer cars also display the "Moyer" name on a reproduction brass script mounted on the radiator core, see example shown below:

Moyer Model C roadster with rad emblem & script (1914) ms

Reproduction Moyer radiator script    ms

This reproduction brass "Moyer" radiator script, most likely based on the design of the "Moyer" hub cap script, was first used to decorate the radiator of Moyer Model 5 touring car #145 shown earlier in a photo from the 1950 Glidden Revival Tour. The Moyer factory never did make or supply a brass "Moyer" radiator script for any of their car models.

I am most grateful to Moyer historian and registrar, Gary Smith of Sahuarita, Arizona for his very helpful advice and for access to his Moyer photo collection. Any errors in my interpretation of his advice are entirely down to me. It is noted that some items in the Gary Smith collection are copied from the Moyer Family Archives, courtesy of Mr Jeffery Moyer, g-g grandson of H. A. Moyer, Binghamton, NY.

MORA

Mora Motor Car Co. (1906-1911)
Newark, New York

This is a Mora radiator emblem (c1906-1909)    mjs
Size: approx. 120mm wide 57mm high

Sam H Mora established the Mora Motor Car Company to build the Mora motor car, which began in 1906 as a 24 hp four-cylinder model in touring and roadster body styles with a six-cylinder model being offered in 1908 and 1909. In 1907, a Mora was driven over 8,000 miles without its hood being raised. Thereafter the Mora was advertised as the "World's Record Sealed Bonnet Hero". The most popular model was the four-cylinder Racytype, which was announced as a limited production car but production figures probably did not exceed this for any Mora model.

In July 1910, it was reported that the creditors of the company were concerned over payments. Bankruptcy followed and, by 1911, it was all over for Mora. Sam Mora relocated to Cleveland and formed the Mora Power Wagon Company for the manufacture of commercial vehicles.

Emblems

The earliest original photo I have found of a Mora car is from The Automobile in March 1906 and appears to show a radiator emblem, see below:

Mora Light Four car showing radiator (1906) 

Close up showing possible radiator emblem

This "emblem" has not been seen elsewhere and given the poor quality of the photo it is likely that this dark mark on the radiator may have been caused by some distortion or reflection in the radiator tank top but I cannot confirm this. If you are aware of or have better details of a Mora radiator emblem in 1906, please let me know, in order to update this post.

There are several original period photos of Mora cars dated 1907. Most of these original photos do not show any "Mora" radiator emblem or radiator script, see example shown below:

Mora motor car showing no emblems (1907)   dpl

However, original photos of Mora cars from 1907 include examples showing the "Mora" name impressed into the brass radiator tank top, see the original 1907 photo of a Mora radiator shown below:

Mora radiator showing radiator emblem (1907)  hcg

This is the impressed brass Mora radiator emblem shown above at the top of this post and again below. This Mora radiator emblem is very rare.

This is a Mora radiator emblem (c1907-1909)   mjs
Size: approx. 120mm wide 57mm high 

The "Mora" name was also displayed on the brass hubcaps, see example shown below:

This is a Mora hubcap (c1908)    moroz

From about 1907, the Mora Motor Car Company used the slogan "Mechanically Right", which appeared in a ribbon under the name "Mora" in the style of a logo in advertisements, see example shown below:

Mora advertisement showing "Mechanically Right" logo (1908)  ms

From about 1908, Mora cars also displayed the "Mora" name in this logo style on a large brass script attached to the radiator core, see examples shown below. Original Mora radiator scripts are very rare.

Mora advertisement showing radiator script (c1908)   ms

Sam H Mora in his Mora car (c1908)  americanautomobiles

Close up showing rad emblem & script (1908)

The design of the brass Mora radiator script used on the Mora Four models changed to a finer more detailed style in about 1909, see original period photos shown below:

Mora Four cars at trade show with finer "Mora" scripts (c1909)  dpl

Mora Four car showing finer radiator script (c1910)   dpl

Close up showing Mora rad emblem & script (c1910)  dpl

Mora introduced the Mora Model 20 roadster in late 1909 for the 1910 model year. The Mora Model 20 had a new Renault style hood and radiator, which did not carry an emblem, see example shown below:

Mora 20 roadster with Renault style hood (1909)    sam

The Mora Model 20 did display the "Mora" name on the hubcaps and on Mora nameplates/serial plates usually located on the dash or under the driver's seat, see examples shown below:

Mora Twenty hubcap (1909)    sam

This is a Mora nameplate/serial plate (c1909)   sam

BOWMAN

Bowman Motor Car Co. (1921-1922)
Covington, Kentucky

This is a Bowman emblem (1921-1922)   tcc
Size: 65mm wide 36mm high    MM: None

The Bowman is listed as a conventional assembled motor car offered as a 5-passenger touring or a 3-passenger roadster but, unusually for a small independent company, it is reported that the Bowman Motor Car Company manufactured its own 4-cylinder 27 hp engine.

There is very little information available about the Bowman Motor Car Company in Covington, Kentucky and no photos showing the Bowman car radiator. Searches of the local Covington and wider Kentucky newspapers did not produce any information about the Bowman car or pictures of the Bowman car or the Bowman factory, if there ever was one, which is surprising if the company manufactured engines and assembled cars in this small community. It was usual in cases of local motor car manufacture for there to be a lot of publicity about the factory where the car was to be built, usually followed by advertisements about the car and invitations to buy stock in the company. However, there is none of this for the Bowman motor car and the available evidence suggests that the Bowman enterprises in Covington, Kentucky had very little available capital to support them.

There was a related Bowman Auto Sales Company in Covington, Kentucky owned by Robert L. Bowman in 1920 and there are motor vehicle sales advertisements from this company for Elcar automobiles and Commerce trucks. 

The Bowman Auto Sales Company was defunct by December 1920, when Robert L. Bowman, his wife Lillian and his brother Rice J. Bowman were arrested and charged with having issued worthless checks, forgery and conversion. Robert L. Bowman was dismissed as president, sales manager and director of the Bowman Auto Sales Company and the company name was changed to the Elcar Sales Company.

Members of the Bowman Auto Sales Company organised a new company called the Bowman Motor Car Company. The Articles of Incorporation of the Bowman Motor Car Company were filed in February 1921 and approved in March 1921. The company planned to engage in the manufacture and sale of automobiles and automobile accessories. However, the capital stock was only $5000, hardly enough for a motor car manufacturer and the only available evidence is that the company operated as an auto sales dealership. The company officers were Soloman Miller and Rice J. Bowman and Robert L. Bowman, the same previous owners of the defunct Bowman Auto Sales Company. 

In July 1921, Robert L. Bowman, president of the Bowman Motor Car Company, was taken to Ohio to face charges of obtaining money by false pretenses at the same time as several cases related to earlier automobile transactions were pending in the Covington Police Court. 

There is no recorded evidence I can find that the Bowman Motor Car Company ever built a car and I cannot find any further news about the Company after July 1921.

In September 1921, Robert L. Bowman, then reported as the former owner of the Bowman Auto Sales Company of Covington, was indicted on seven counts related to fictitious sales of automobiles in Ohio.

The Bowman roadster was shown together with other two, three or four-passenger cars in the January 1922 edition of The Motor, see below:

The Bowman roadster with other cars (1922) The Motor

Bowman Roadster (1922)    The Motor

This photo of a Bowman Roadster is, I believe, the only known photo of a Bowman motor car.

In the light of the documented "history" and shady nature of the owners and officers of the Bowman Auto Sales Company and the Bowman  Motor Car Company, the idea of the Bowman Motor Car Company being an automobile manufacturer making its own engines is fanciful and probably a story put forward by Robert L. Bowman or others to impress motor car reporters. The Bowman Motor Car Company was operating as an auto sales company at the time of the arrest of Robert L. Bowman and then nothing more was heard about the company or the Bowman car.

There was a quite separate Bowman Motor Car Company operating an auto sales business in Hartford, Connecticut at this time. This company appears to have had no links with the Bowman Motor Car Company in Covington, Kentucky.

Emblem

There is certainly a Bowman emblem, see the painted metal emblem shown above at the top of this post. This Bowman emblem appears to be original and is extremely rare.

This emblem may have been attached to cars sold by the Bowman Motor Car Company, as sometimes happened with other motor car sales dealerships.

Another possibility is that Robert L. Bowman had a badge engineering arrangement with Piedmont (see Piedmont) or a similar company which supplied a car they had built, to which a Bowman radiator emblem was attached but I cannot in any way confirm this. 

If you have any further information about the Bowman Motor car or the Bowman emblem, please let me know, in order to update this post.

BUCKMOBILE

Utica Automobile Co. (1902)

Buckmobile Co. (1902-1904)

Black Diamond Automobile Co. (1904-1905)

Utica, New York

This is a Buckmobile nameplate (c1902-1905) gsc
Size: 76mm wide 48mm high

Albert J Seaton had the idea of the Buckboard, which was then designed by William H Birdsall in 1901. 

The first Buckmobile cars were made in 1902 and were advertised by the Utica Automobile Company, which was an automobile dealership, see the Buckmobile advertisement shown below:

Buckmobile advert (1902)  ms

Plans to develop the Buckboard grew and with finance provided by A Vedder Bower, the Buckboard Company was incorporated in June 1902 to succeed the Utica Automobile Company. Albert Seaton was the Buckboard Company president and William Birdsall the general manager.

The Buckmobile was a small 15 hp two-cylinder, two-seat runabout, which could be had with either water or air cooling. The Buckmobile was introduced at the New York Automobile Show in January 1903 and was such a great success, that the company immediately decided to expand their production facilities to double their output. This was a bad mistake. The company overextended themselves financially, the anticipated flood of orders did not materialize and the company never recovered.

The name "BUCKMOBILE" was registered as a trademark in March 1903 and it was claimed that the name had been used since May 3, 1902.

In October 1904, the Buckmobile Company merged with the Black Diamond Automobile Company, which continued to manufacture the Buckmobile for a while but it was all over by August 1905.

Total production of the Buckmobile was only about 40 cars.

Emblems 

There are believed to be only three surviving Buckmobile cars and two of these carry a brass "Buckmobile" nameplate, see the 1904 example shown below which displays a brass "Buckmobile" nameplate on the front of the wooden firewall just above the hood:

1904 Buckmobile touring car with a nameplate (1904)  gsc

Close up showing Buckboard nameplate (1904)    gsc

It is known that this Buckboard nameplate was on this car long before any restoration work took place and is believed to be original.

The same Buckmoile nameplate is attached to the rear deck of another 1904 Buckmobile now residing at the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum in Alaska:

Buckmobile (1904)   fountainhead museum

Buckmobile nameplate (1904)  fountainhead museum

This is the painted brass Buckmobile nameplate shown above at the top of this post and again below, This Buckmobile nameplate is extremely rare.

This is believed to be a Buckmobile nameplate (c1902-1905) gsc
Size: 76mm wide 48mm high 

The following restored, surviving 1904 Buckmobile runabout displays a chassis serial number plate on the side of the body:

 

Buckboard runabout showing chassis serial plate (1904) rmsothebys

This Buckmobile chassis serial plate does not show the name of the car or the manufacturer simply the chassis number "244", see below:

Close up showing Buckboard chassis serial plate (1904)  bonhams

Elsewhere on this Buckmobile, the number "34" is chiseled into the wooden frame in Roman numerals, see photo below. This may indicate that this was the thirty-fourth Buckmobile built but I cannot confirm this.

Buckmobile "34" chisel mark (1904)   bonhams

This particular surviving Buckmobile no longer carries a "Buckmobile" nameplate but holes in the wooden firewall may indicate where the nameplate was once located:

Close up showing where a nameplate may have been located