MARATHON

Southern Motor Works (1908-1910)
Jackson, Tennessee
Marathon Motor Works (1910-1914)
Nashville, Tennessee

This is a Marathon radiator emblem (c1912-1914)    mjs
Size: 76mm wide 38mm high   MM: Unknown

The Marathon began as a conventional 30/35 hp four-cylinder car produced in Jackson, Tennessee and offered in touring and roadster body styles in 1908 and 1909. The Southern Motor Works moved to Nashville in 1910 and became the Marathon Motor Works. The Marathon remained a four-cylinder car throughout but was offered in a variety of engine sizes, model designations and body styles over the next few years.

Everything seemed to be going well and the Marathon was outselling its competitors in the Nashville area with sales reaching about 200 cars a month by 1912. Marathon also built a range of trucks in sizes from 1/4-ton to 5-ton capacity in 1912 and 1913.

But all was not well. The company had been mismanaged and was bankrupt by the early summer of 1914. By the end of 1914 the Herff-Brooks Corporation, which had been set up in 1913 specifically to handle the national sales of the Marathon, took over and built a Marathon-like car of its own called the Herff-Brooks (see Herff-Brooks).

Emblems

I cannot confirm whether the first Marathon cars built in 1908 carried an emblem but it is believed that by 1909 the Marathon did carry a large oval shaped radiator emblem displaying the "Marathon" name and depicting the Greek soldier Pheidippides running from Marathon to Athens.

This Marathon emblem can be seen on some original period photos, see examples shown below:

Marathon car showing large oval radiator emblem (date unknown) bwc

Marathon fire chief's car with large oval radiator emblem (1910) bwc

Marathon car with large emblem in Glidden Tour (1911)  dpl

Close-up showing large oval radiator emblem (1911)    dpl

This Marathon radiator emblem is more clearly seen on the following restored 1912 Marathon race car:

This is a restored Marathon race car (1912)   justcars

Close-up showing the radiator emblem (1912)  

This emblem is the brass, oval shaped Marathon radiator emblem shown below, which was originally painted black and (possibly) white. This Marathon radiator emblem is extremely rare.

This is a marathon radiator emblem (c1909-1912)   sam
Size: 150mm wide 74mm high    MM: Unknown

From about 1912, the Marathon radiator emblem was changed to a smaller oval emblem finished in blue and pink enamel, see example shown above at the top of this post and again below. This Marathon radiator emblem is very rare.

This is a Marathon radiator emblem (c1912-1914)    mjs
Size: 76mm wide 38mm high   MM: Unknown

NIAGARA

Mutual Motor Car Co. (1915)
Niagara Automobile Co. (1915-1916)
Buffalo, New York

This is a Niagara radiator emblem (1915)    mjs
Size: 55mm wide 51mm high   MM: Unknown

There were several companies in the Buffalo area involved with the Niagara automobile but the main sponsor was the Mutual Motor Car Company of Buffalo. 

The Niagara was a 20 hp four-cylinder open car offered as a five-passenger touring or a two-passenger roadster. The Niagara was not built in Buffalo but in Elkhart, Indiana, by the Crow company, which provided entrepreneurs with a quick and easy way to enter the automotive market by putting their emblem on a car produced by Crow. Not surprisingly, the Niagara was similar to the Crow Four, except for the emblem.  

Production of the Niagara began in 1915. The Mutual Motor Car Company and the Poppenberg Motor Company, a dealership in Buffalo, teamed up to form the Niagara Automobile Company later in 1915, but it was all over in 1916, after a total production of about 500 Niagara cars.

Emblem

The pale blue and black enamel Niagara radiator emblem shown above has the Niagara Falls in detail in the background. This Niagara radiator emblem is very rare.

The following color variation is a blue and white enamel Niagara radiator emblem. This Niagara radiator emblem is also very rare.

This is a Niagara radiator emblem (1915)     sam
Size: 55mm wide 51mm high    MM: Unknown

I can find no evidence that the Niagara Automobile Company ever produced an emblem for the Niagara.  If you are aware of such an emblem, please let me know, in order to update this post. It is likely that the Niagara radiator emblems shown above were used until production ceased in 1916, although I cannot confirm this.

Emblem collectors should beware as there are reproduction Niagara radiator emblems with less detail in relief and some finished in unusual colors, see examples shown below:

This is a reproduction Niagara emblem     pcc

This is a reproduction Niagara emblem     khc

POPE-HARTFORD

Pope Manufacturing Co. (1904-1914)
Hartford, Connecticut 

This is a Pope-Hartford radiator script (1906-1914)   flickr 

Colonel Albert A Pope established the Pope Manufacturing Company in 1876 and went on to become America's largest producer of bicycles marketed under the trade name of Columbia. In 1896 Pope entered the automotive field with an electric car also called Columbia produced in collaboration with the Electric Vehicle Company. The Columbia continued in production until 1913 but in 1904 the Pope-Hartford was introduced along with a number of other new Pope motor vehicles built in different locations (see Pope-Toledo, Pope-Tribune and Pope-Waverley).

The first Pope-Hartford was a 10 hp single-cylinder car offered in runabout and tonneau body styles. A two-cylinder model tonneau was added in 1905 and a four-cylinder touring model followed in 1906. It was 1911 before a six-cylinder model arrived. The Pope-Hartford was offered in a wide range of body styles, far too many for a production that was only in the 500 to 700 a year range. Commercial vehicles were also produced from 1906, including trucks of up to 3-ton and 5-ton capacity and some public utility vehicles, including ambulances and motorized fire apparatus. By 1913 Pope-Hartford was in receivership and the last vehicles appeared in 1914.

Emblems

The first Pope-Hartford cars, introduced in 1903 for the 1904 model year, and subsequent single-cylinder and two-cylinder models, did not carry an emblem. However, the Pope-Hartford name was displayed on a small brass nameplates usually attached to the rear of the vehicle, see example shown below. These Pope-Hartford nameplates are rare.

This is a Pope-Hartford nameplate (1904-c1906)   ms
Size: approx 78mm wide 40mm high

The Pope-Hartford name was also displayed on brass sill plates, see example shown below:

This is a Pope-Hartford sill plate (1904)   bonhams

The first Pope-Hartford hubcaps displayed the "Pope" name only, see example shown below:

This is a Pope hubcap (1903-1904)    ms

Although most restored Pope-Hartford models display an elaborate "Pope-Hartford" script mounted on the radiator core, similar to the script shown above at the top of this post, most original period photos of Pope-Hartford cars do not show a radiator script before 1906. This is so, even on cars taking part in well publicised events such as the Glidden Tour, see example shown below, when one might expect to see radiator scripts used for publicity purposes. 

Pope-Hartford taking part in Glidden Tour (1906)    dpl

The "Pope-Hartford" radiator script first appeared in 1906, possibly as an optional accessory, and the radiator script is seen on some Pope-Hartford advertisements, see example shown below:

Pope-Hartford Model F with rad script (1906)  ebay

Pope-Hartford Model F close-up showing radiator script (1906)

This radiator script is more clearly displayed on the following 1907 Pope-Hartford advertisement:

Pop-Hartford Model L with rad script (1907) ebay

Pope-Hartford Model L close-up showing radiator script (1907)

This Pope-Hartford radiator script is seen on the photo shown below of a 1906 Model F but the date of the photo cannot be confirmed:

1906 Pope-Hartford Model F with radiator script dragoneclassic

Other original period photos continue to show radiators without a script, see example shown below taken at the 1909 New York Auto Show:

Pope-Hartford cars at the New York Auto Show (1909)  dpl

The following are examples of Pope-Hartford radiator scripts displayed on restored models. Most Pope-Hartford radiator scripts on restored models are reproduction scripts. Original Pope-Hartford radiator scripts are rare.

Pope-Hartford Radiator script 

Pope-Hartford radiator script 

The small emblem at the top of the radiator shown above is the patent plate for the Pope-Hartford radiator design, see below:

Pope-Hartford radiator design patent plate

The following Pope-Hartford hubcap design is believed to have been used from about 1906:

This is a Pope-Hartford hubcap (c1906-1910)  bonhams

The Pope-Hartford had a change in nameplate from about 1906 to 1910, see example shown below, although I cannot confirm these dates exactly. This Pope-Hartford nameplate may have been displayed on the dashboard and is very rare:

This is a Pope-Hartford nameplate (c1906-1910) sam
Size: 54mm high 44mm wide

The Pope-Hartford dashboard nameplate design changed again from about 1911, see example shown below:

Pope-Hartford Model W dashboard with nameplate (1911) conceptcarz

This is the painted metal Pope-Hartford dashboard nameplate shown below, which depicts a Pope-Hartford radiator with a radiator script. This Pope-Hartford nameplate is rare.

This is a Pope-Hartford nameplate (c1911-1914)   mjs
Size: 64mm wide 50mm high

The following hubcap design is believed to have been used from about 1910:

Pope-Hartford Model 33 hubcap (1913)   bonhams

The face of this Pope-Hartford hubcap appears in many collections of early emblems:

This is a Pope-Hartford hub face (c1910-1914)    mjs
Size: 68mm diameter

DOWAGIAC

Dowagiac Motor Car Co. (1909)
Dowagiac, Michigan

This is a Dowagiac nameplate/serial plate (1909)    mjs
Size: 90mm wide 44mm high

The Dowagiac was the name used to replace the Lindlsey. 

The Lindlsey was a high-wheeler two-cylinder runabout built in small numbers in 1908. A few 3/4-ton delivery trucks and a 1-1/2-ton truck were also built as Lindsleys in 1908. In December 1908 the Lindsley factory was closed down. 

A new Dowagiac Motor Car Company was set up in 1909 to put together the last 15 Lindsley cars that remained to be completed. These were sold as Dowagiac or Doe-Wah-Jack cars. The company was finished later in 1909.

Emblem

The Lindsley and the Dowagiac that followed did not have a radiator and did not carry an emblem.

The Dowagiac or "Doe-Wah-Jack" name was displayed on a small painted brass nameplate/serial plate attached to the body of the vehicle. 

The Dowagiac serial plate shown above was used on a 1909 Model B runabout and appears to be car number eleven of the fifteen cars built in 1909 and is extremely rare.

MacDONALD

MacDonald Truck & Tractor Co.                                             )
Union Construction Co.                                                          )
MacDonald Truck & Manufacturing Co.                                )   (1920-c1952)
San Francisco, California                                                       )
MacDonald Truck & Mfg. Co., Div. Peterbilt Motors Co.      )
Oakland, California                                                                 )

This is a MacDonald radiator emblem (1920-late 1930s)    mjs
Size: 290mm wide 76mm high    MM: None

The MacDonald was a low-bed truck mainly intended for dockside and warehouse work, although highway models were also offered. There were two models, the 5-ton Model O with front-wheel-drive and the 7-1/2-ton Model AB. Both used four-cylinder Buda engines and hydraulic power steering. The Model O was particularly used for carrying plate glass, flour, cement and newspapers. The higher Model AB was more appropriate for use in furniture removal and with tipper bodies. 

In later years, MacDonald production was intermittent. After World War II a handful of MacDonalds were made by Peterbilt.

Emblems

The MacDonald truck carried a cast metal radiator emblem, see examples shown below:

This is a MacDonald truck showing radiator emblem (1920) atj

This is a MacDonald truck showing radiator emblem (1922)  hatm

MacDonald radiator emblem (1922)   hatm

This is the cast metal, painted MacDonald  radiator emblem shown above at the top of this post. This MacDonald radiator emblem is very rare.

On most MacDonald truck models, the same MacDonald emblem was also used as a nameplate attached to the side of the body in front of the driver's compartment, see photo shown below:

MacDonald truck showing body side nameplate (1920)  worthpoint

There are very few illustrations available showing later MacDonald trucks but the following photos show a MacDonald truck from 1947 with a close view of the emblem mounted on the radiator grille:

MacDonald truck with rad emblem & hood side plate (1947)
justoldtrucks

Radiator close-up showing the radiator emblem (1947)

The following MacDonald nameplate is believed to be the hood side nameplate used on the truck shown above and, possibly on later models, although I cannot confirm this. This MacDonald hood side nameplate is rare.

MacDonald hood side nameplate (c1940's dates uncertain) lktec
Size: 237mm wide 32mm high 

SHAD-WYCK

Shadburne Brothers Co.

Frankfort, Indiana (1917-1918)

Chicago, Illinois (1920-1923)

This is a Shad-Wyck radiator emblem (date unknown but possibly 1920-1923)   mjs
Size: 78mm wide 73mm high overall   62mm diameter center    MM: None

The Shad-Wyck name had an obvious association with the Shadburne brothers who decided to build this car but it was probably meant to sound like the well-known Chadwick car. Wade H Shadburne had been selling cars in Chicago since 1908 and in 1915 he was joined by his brother Leonard to take up the Moon car distributorship. Then in 1917 the Shadburne brothers announced that they had bought the Dixie Flyer and Bour-Davis car companies and a factory in Frankfort, Indiana in which to continue to build these cars along with a new Shad-Wyck car. The Dixie Flyer sale did not happen but the Shadburne brothers did build a few Bour-Davis cars at Frankfort in 1918 (see Bour-Davis).

The Shad-Wyck 6 DeLuxe was advertised in motoring magazines but the photo used in a Shad-Wyck advertisement in July 1917 was of a Roamer car. There is no confirmed record of a Shad-Wyck car being built at Frankfort and the factory was closed in February 1918. The Shadburne brothers moved back to Chicago where, in the early 1920's, they announced their plan to build a Shad-Wyck touring model powered by a six-cylinder Rochester-Duesenberg engine. The new Shad-Wyck was promoted up to 1923 but there is no record of the car being built. 

However, radiator emblems were made for the Shad-Wyck Six for both Frankfort and Chicago but whether a prototype Shad-Wyck car was ever made or the emblems were attached to another car is not confirmed. At least one automotive reference notes that some Bour-Davis cars built at Frankfort were rebadged as Shad-Wyck and that some Shad-Wyck cars may actually have been built after the Shadburne brothers moved back to Chicago.

Emblems

The Shad-Wyck radiator emblem shown below was clearly made for the Shad-Wyck intended to be built in the Frankfort factory in Indiana. This emblem came from the John Webster emblem collection and is an unused, new old stock emblem and is ultra rare.

This is a Shad-Wyck radiator emblem (1917-1918)     mjs
Size: 78mm wide 73mm high overall   62mm diameter center    MM: None

The Shad-Wyck emblem at the top of this post is the same design as the emblem shown above except for the lack of a reference to Frankfort, Indiana. I guess that this emblem was intended to be used for the Shad-Wyck to be built in Chicago following the Shadburne brothers departure from Frankfort. This Shad-Wyck radiator emblem is ultra rare.

This particular Shad-Wyck emblem came from the S. Ray Miller collection and had been used. The photo below shows this emblem before restoration:

This is the Shad-Wyck radiator emblem shown at the top of this post before restoration 

It is interesting to note that the Shadburne brothers had two sets of radiator emblems designed and manufactured but there is no confirmed evidence that a Shad-Wyck car was ever built. The fact that the emblem shown above had been used suggests that at least a prototype Shad-Wyck car may have been produced in Chicago, although this is not confirmed.

HERFF-BROOKS

Herff-Brooks Corp. (1914-1916)
Indianapolis, Indiana

This is a Herff-Brooks radiator emblem (c1915-1916)   mjs
Size: 57mm wide 53mm high    MM: Unknown

The Herff-Brooks Corporation was organized in 1913 to handle the national sales of the Marathon car  (see Marathon). When Marathon found itself in trouble, Herff-Brooks arranged to manufacture some models of the Marathon at the Wayne Works in Richmond, Indiana. Herff-Brooks then transferred about 200 Marathon men, machinery and available parts to the Wayne Works and proceeded to produce their own car, called the Herff-Brooks. 

The Herff-Brooks automobile appeared in early 1914 as four- and six-cylinder models in the medium-price range and was available in roadster and touring body styles. But Herff-Brooks soon had the problems that had affected Marathon. There was intense competition in the automobile industry and, although chassis changes and price-reductions for 1916 models were reported in mid 1915, Herff-Brooks gave up by the end of 1916.

Emblems

The first Herff-Brooks automobile in 1914 carried a shield shaped radiator emblem with a "Herff-Brooks" name-band running from top left to bottom right, see original photo shown below:

This is a Herff-Brooks automobile with rad emblem (1914)  tha

Close-up showing the radiator emblem (1914)

This is the red, white and blue enamel Herff-Brooks radiator emblem shown below. This Herff-Brooks radiator emblem is extremely rare.

This is a Herff-Brooks radiator emblem (1914)    cwc
Size: 56mm wide 48mm high   MM: Bastian Bros

There was a change in the Herff-Brooks radiator emblem, possibly for cars produced in 1915 for the 1916 model year, to an emblem framed by back-to-back eagles. This is the red, white and blue enamel Herff-Brooks radiator emblem shown above at the top of this post and again below. This Herff-Brooks radiator emblem is extremely rare.

This is a Herff-Brooks radiator emblem (c1915-1916)    mjs
Size: 57mm wide 53mm high    MM: Unknown

It is possible that this red Herff-Brooks radiator emblem was used on the six-cylinder Herff-Brooks models but I cannot confirm this. This possibility is suggested by the fact that there is also a blue version of this emblem, which may have been used for the four-cylinder Herff-Brooks models, although, again, I cannot confirm this. 

The blue version of the emblem is the blue and white enamel Herff-Brooks radiator emblem shown below. This Herff-Brooks radiator emblem is also extremely rare.

This is a Herff-Brooks radiator emblem (c1915-1916)   sam
Size: 57mm wide 53mm high      MM: Unknown

Emblem collectors should beware, as there are reproduction Herff-Brooks emblems. These reproduction emblems lack the in-depth detail of the original emblems, have shiny flat backs and no maker's mark, see example shown below:

This is a reproduction Herff-Brooks radiator emblem   cwc

This is a reproduction Herff-Brooks radiator emblem    kmc