Martin-Wasp Corp. (1919-1925)
Bennington, Vermont
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| This is a Wasp radiator emblem (1925) bmc 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.
Wasp motor cars are displayed at the Bennington Museum in Bennington, Vermont and at the Tupelo Auto Museum in Tupelo, Mississippi.
Wasp motor cars are displayed at the Bennington Museum in Bennington, Vermont and at the Tupelo Auto Museum in Tupelo, Mississippi.
Emblems
The Wasp on display at the Bennington Museum was one of the last cars built in 1925 and carries an unusual triangular radiator emblem mounted on a pyramid shaped block attached to the top of the radiator, as shown above and below. This Wasp radiator emblem is ultra rare.
It is not clear whether all Wasp motor cars carried identical radiator emblems. 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 below. This Wasp radiator emblem is well worn and may have been a one-off emblem for this car made at a later date or was possibly a prototype emblem. If it is an original Wasp radiator emblem, it is ultra rare.
The Wasp on display at the Bennington Museum was one of the last cars built in 1925 and carries an unusual triangular radiator emblem mounted on a pyramid shaped block attached to the top of the radiator, as shown above and below. This Wasp radiator emblem is ultra rare.
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| This is a Wasp radiator emblem (1925) bmc |
It is not clear whether all Wasp motor cars carried identical radiator emblems. 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 below. This Wasp radiator emblem is well worn and may have been a one-off emblem for this car made at a later date or was possibly a prototype emblem. If it is an original Wasp radiator emblem, it is ultra rare.
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| 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.
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| This is a Wasp hub emblem (1921-1925) mjs Size: 57mm diameter |
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| This is a Wasp hub cap showing the emblem in black ms |
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