Chalmers-Detroit Motor Co. (1908-1910)
Detroit, Michigan
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This is a Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem (c1909) ms
Size: Unknown (poss 57mm diameter) MM: Unknown |
In 1906, Erwin Ross Thomas, who was successfully building 50 hp four-cylinder Thomas Flyer cars in Buffalo, New York, agreed to finance Howard E Coffin and Roy Chaplin from the Olds Motor Works to establish the E. R. Thomas-Detroit Company to produce a smaller but similarly high-quality 40 hp four-cylinder car in Detroit to be called the Thomas Forty initially and later the Thomas-Detroit.
The Thomas-Detroit business was successful but Coffin and Chaplin were unhappy with the marketing and sales of the Thomas-Detroit being controlled by Erwin Thomas and persuaded Hugh Chalmers of Detroit to buy a controlling interest in the E. R. Thomas-Detroit Company. Hugh Chalmers became President of the company in December 1907.
The Chalmers-Detroit Motor Company was formally established in June 1908 and the first 40 hp Chalmers-Detroit cars appeared that month marketed as 1909 models. Initially, the Chalmers-Detroit Forty was essentially the Thomas-Detroit Forty with a new emblem and a new name. A new smaller 24 hp Chalmers-Detroit model was also offered and this became the 30 hp Chalmers-Detroit for the 1909 model year.
Following the earlier success of the Thomas-Detroit in auto events, the Chalmers-Detroit was also very successful in racing car events, endurance and reliability contests and tours and quickly gained a reputation for performance and endurance winning numerous major competitions. The Chalmers-Detroit claimed sixty-nine major auto competition wins in its production period through 1908 and 1909.
The Chalmers-Detroit became a popular and highly regarded motor car attracting the interest of some of America's wealthiest businessmen and car owners, including the Vanderbilts and the Rockefellers.
Chalmers-Detroit reorganized as the Chalmers Motor Company in January 1910 and the new name appeared in about July 1910 at the start of the 1911 production cycle and, thereafter, all cars were known simply as "Chalmers" (
see Chalmers).
Emblems
Original photos of Chalmers-Detroit cars taking part in contests in 1908-1909 indicate that some cars carried a round radiator emblem, some only a radiator script, some with both a radiator emblem and radiator script and some without any emblem or script at all, see examples below showing a variety of different brass radiator scripts. It is noted that some early period photos of Chalmers-Detroit cars show painted radiators, perhaps to brighten the appearance of the car to would be buyers.
The use of large brass radiator scripts was helpful in clearly showing the name of the car in publicity photos and in newspapers. Original brass Chalmers-Detroit radiator scripts as shown in the photos above and in the example shown below are very rare.
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This is a Chalmers-Detroit radiator script (1908-1909) mjs
Size: 510mm |
Most but not all of the period photos of Chalmers-Detroit cars show a round radiator emblem, see another example shown below. However, the detailed design of the radiator emblems cannot be seen with any clarity in these photos.
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| Chalmers-Detroit at Long Island Sweepstakes (Oct 1908) dpl |
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| Detail showing radiator & emblem |
These early Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblems are believed to have been simple round, painted stamped brass emblems.
A brochure detailing the 1909 Chalmers-Detroit models includes what appears to be an illustration of the Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem on the cover, see below:
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1909 Chalmers-Detroit brochure cover (1908)
chucks toyland |
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1909 Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem illustration (1908)
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This Chalmers-Detroit emblem illustration is likely to have been made in mid-1908 for printing ahead of the 1909 production cycle, which began at the same time as the formal establishment of the Chalmers-Detroit Motor Company. It is noted that this illustration appears to indicate a gold finish to at least some parts of the emblem.
It is likely that this emblem illustration was intended to show the first Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem planned for use from about June 1908. However, I cannot yet confirm that this illustration is totally accurate.
The following photo shows a part view of an early Chalmers-Detroit radiator with a much corroded radiator emblem but it is clear enough to show the basic design, which is very similar to the radiator emblem illustration shown above, although some of the detail is obscured by corrosion.
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| This is a Chalmers-Detroit radiator & emblem (1908 or 1909) ms |
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| This is the Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem (1908 or 1909) ms |
The following photo shows another early Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem soldered to a radiator. This Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem is closely similar to the corroded emblem shown above, although some of the detail is obscured in the corroded emblem photo.The emblem is also similar to the Chalmers-Detroit brochure illustration shown earlier, although some details are different, for example there is no dot after the letter "A" in "USA".
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This is a Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem (c1908) chalmersregistry
Size: Unknown (likely 57mm diameter) MM: Unknown (likely None) |
The following stamped brass Chalmers-Detroit emblem appears to be the same as the emblem shown above apart from some very slight font differences in the lettering, for example the letter "R" in "DETROIT". The font differences may be due to the Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblems being produced by more than one emblem maker.
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This is a Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem (poss 1908) tcc
Size: 57mm diameter MM: None |
This Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem was originally painted and is believed to be an original emblem and is extremely rare. There is no sign of any gold plating. The following photo shows this same emblem now repainted as it was originally:
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This is a painted Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem (poss 1908) tcc
Size: 57mm diameter MM: None |
The following photo of a surviving 1908 Chalmers-Detroit Thirty Model F Tourabout carries a similar radiator emblem, although the detailed design is somewhat different:
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| 1908 Chalmers-Detroit Thirty justacarguy |
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| Chalmers-Detroit Thirty radiator with emblem and script (1908) steve sexton |
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| Close up showing Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem (1908) |
The radiator emblem seen here is believed to be original, although the brass radiator script mounted on the radiator is most likely a reproduction made for the restoration of the car and follows similar radiator script designs seen on the original period photos shown earlier.
The following is believed to be a detailed photo of the very same stamped brass Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem shown above, which was painted originally with some paint remaining. The emblem differs from the Chalmers-Detroit radiator shown earlier above in the font used for some of the lettering and, more obviously, with the introduction of a hyphen in the name "CHALMERS-DETROIT" followed by a dot and the absence of a dot after the letter "U" in "USA".
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This is a Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem (1908-1909) kmc
Size: Unknown (probably 57mm diameter) MM: Unknown (probably None) |
This Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem is also believed to be original and is extremely rare.
There was a blue and white enamel version of this Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem, as shown above at the top of this post and again below.
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This is a Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem (1909) ms
Size: Unknown (poss 57mm diameter) MM: Unknown |
This Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem has, so far, not been seen on any illustrations or period photos of Chalmers-Detroit cars and may have been the first attempt at an enamel Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem produced in mid 1909 ready for the start of the 1910 model year production cycle. This Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem is extremely rare and possibly ultra rare.
The actual Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem chosen for the 1910 model year was an entirely new design, see example below. This Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem is very rare.
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This is a Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem (1909-1910) sac
Size: 58mm diameter MM: Unknown |
This Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem is seen on the following original period photo of a Chalmers-Detroit taken in 1909:
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| Chalmers-Detroit with the new enamel radiator emblem (1909) hcg |
Chalmers-Detroit advertisements from late 1909, show accurate illustrations of this radiator emblem, see the example shown below from The Automobile in December 1909, which shows two different illustrations of the Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem.
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| Chalmers-Detroit ad showing two emblems (1909) ta |
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| Close up showing emblem illustrations (1909) |
The emblem illustration on the left shows the new Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem seen in the photo shown above. The emblem illustration on the right shows the same emblem but with what appears to be a lighter and brighter finish to the metal adjacent to the enamel, possibly bright nickel or gold. The following photo shows a Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem, which may be gold plated. This Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem is extremely rare.
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This may be a gold plated Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem (1909-1910) ms
Size: 58mm diameter MM: Unknown |
The following photo shows the radiator emblem on a surviving 1910 Chalmers-Detroit Model K Thirty. This radiator emblem has the same "CD" central logo as the 1910 enamel finished Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem shown earlier above. It is not known if this radiator emblem was originally finished in enamel. However, this emblem appears to have lost any enamel that it might have had originally and is brightly plated all over. This may have been a relatively recent restoration of the emblem but I cannot confirm this.
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| This shows a domed metal Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem (1910) bonhams |
Most significantly, this Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem appears to be domed in the center. A detailed close examination carried out by Karla Maxwell has confirmed that this is indeed a quite different Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem set in a bezel and with a domed center area showing the "CD" logo. The lettering around the outer circumference uses a quite different font and appears to be recessed.
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| Chalmers-Detroit emblem comparison (1910) kmc |
It is not known when this domed Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem was made but, if it is an original Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem made in 1910, it would be extremely rare and possibly ultra rare.
Chalmers-Detroit was reorganized as the Chalmers Motor Company in January 1910 but the "Chalmers" name did not replace "Chalmers-Detroit" until the start of the 1911 production cycle. The following Chalmers-Detroit emblem illustration, which is date tagged 1911, is believed to have been taken from a 1910 Chalmers-Detroit advertisement ahead of the 1911 model year:
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| Chalmers-Detroit rad emblem illustration (1910) hperc |
Presumably, this monochrome illustration represents a dark blue on white enamel radiator emblem. The emblem illustrations used in 1909 Chalmers-Detroit advertisements for the 1910 model year were accurate representations of the emblem, as seen earlier above. It is most likely, therefore, that this illustration accurately depicts a real Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem, possibly planned for the 1911 model year. It is likely that this emblem did not proceed to manufacture but, if such an emblem was actually made, it would be ultra rare.
