WASP

Martin-Wasp Corp. (1919-1925)

Bennington, Vermont

This is a Wasp radiator emblem (1925)    daderot
Size: 105mm wide    MM: Unknown

Karl H Martin had designed the Roamer and Deering Magnetic cars before he set up the Martin-Wasp Corporation to build his Wasp automobile. The Wasp first appeared at the Hotel Commodore in New York in January 1920. It was a tasteful yet flamboyant looking touring car with a polished aluminum hood and black lacquered body powered by a 72 hp four-cylinder engine. 

In 1923 the 72 hp four was joined by a 70 hp six-cylinder touring model. But the money ran out and the last Wasp was built in 1925. Total production of the Wasp was only 17 cars.

Surviving Wasp motor cars are displayed at the Bennington Museum in Bennington, Vermont and at the Tupelo Auto Museum in Tupelo, Mississippi.

Emblems

The first Wasp automobile was displayed at the Commodore Hotel, New York in January 1920 and carried an unusual triangular shaped radiator emblem, see original photo shown below:

This is the first Wasp automobile displayed at the Commodore Hotel (1920)    wiki

The Wasp on display at the Bennington Museum was one of the last cars built in 1925 and carries a similar, possibly identical, triangular radiator emblem mounted on a pyramid shaped block attached to the top of the radiator, see photos shown above at the top of this post and below. This Wasp radiator emblem is ultra rare.

This is a surviving Wasp motor car with rad emblem (1925) daderot

Wasp radiator emblem & motometer (1925)  daderot

The Wasp car on display at the Tupelo Auto Museum was one of the first set of Wasp cars built in 1921 and carries a crude triangular radiator emblem, see photos shown below. This Wasp radiator emblem is well worn and may have been a one-off emblem for this car made at a later date. If it is an original Wasp radiator emblem, it is ultra rare.

Wasp radiator emblem (1921)  worldwideauctioneers

This is a Wasp radiator emblem (1921)      tam
Size: 102mm wide at top     MM: Unknown

The Wasp also had named hub emblems showing the wings of a wasp, see example shown below. This specific Wasp hub emblem is shown in Harry Pulfer's emblem reference collection with the hand-written annotation "When and where was this used?". This confirms that the hub emblem shown below is original but reproduction hub emblems were produced subsequently, so beware.

This is a Wasp hub emblem (1921-1925)     mjs
Size: 57mm diameter

The Wasp hub emblem has also been seen with the word "Wasp" in red and also painted black, see example below, presumably to match the body paint. Original Wasp hub emblems are extremely rare.

This is a Wasp hub cap showing the emblem in black   ms