SCRIPPS-BOOTH

Scripps-Booth Cyclecar Co. (1912-1914)

Scripps-Booth Co. (1914-1922)

Detroit, Michigan

This is a Scripps-Booth radiator emblem (1914-1922)     mjs
Size: 44mm diameter  MM: Bastian Bros

James Scripps-Booth was the designer of several interesting motor vehicles. His first was the Bi-Autogo, which was a three-seater vehicle that was rather like a massive elongated motorcycle. The Bi-Autogo was powered by a 75 hp V-8 engine and could travel at speeds of up to 75mph. It had auxiliary stabilizing wheels to ensure stability at speeds below 20mph. Booth's V-8 engine was the first built in Detroit and was three years ahead of the Cadillac V-8. The prototype, which was completed in 1912, cost $25,000 and did not go into production.

The next idea of James Scripps-Booth was a tandem-seat cyclecar called the Rocket and a light delivery version called the Packet. Both were powered by a 10 hp two-cylinder engine and went into production in 1914. It was an exemplary cyclecar but after producing 400 units production was discontinued because by 1914 the fashion for cyclecars was over in America. But Scripps-Booth was already planning his next creation, a luxurious light car.

The Scripps-Booth Company was established in late 1914. The first car was a three-seat 18 hp four-cylinder roadster which was in production in early 1915 with a coupe model available later that year. The Scripps-Booth was an excellent car and was bought for the Queen of Holland, the King of Spain and Winston Churchill in England. A 35 hp V-8 model was introduced in 1916 and a 40 hp six-cylinder model appeared in 1918. But there were some reliability problems with the Scripps-Booth and decisions made by the company after it went public upset James Scripps-Booth and he left the company.

By the end of 1917 the Scripps-Booth had been absorbed by Chevrolet and became part of General Motors but was discontinued in 1922 after a total production of 60,000 cars. James Scripps-Booth had by now thought up a new and innovative automobile design to be called the Da Vinci (see Da Vinci).

Emblem

The white, red and black enamel Scripps-Booth radiator emblem shown above is scarce, as is the red painted Scripps-Booth hub emblem shown below:

This is a Scripps-Booth hub emblem (1914-1922)    mjs
Size:57mm diameter  MM: None