STEARNS/STEARNS-KNIGHT

F B Stearns & Co. (1898-1902)

F B Stearns Co. (1902-1929)

Cleveland, Ohio

This is a Stearns radiator emblem (1923-1928)      mjs
Size: 57mm high 37mm wide    MM: Unknown

Frank Ballou Stearns built his first car in 1896 at home when he was just 17 years old. In 1898 Frank Stearns teamed up with the Owen brothers of Cleveland to form the F B Stearns & Company and began to produce a single-cylinder motor buggy. The Owens departed and the company was renamed F B Stearns Company and in 1902 the one-cylinder Stearns was joined by a two-cylinder touring model. The single-cylinder model was dropped for 1904 and a four-cylinder model joined the line, with 45 hp and 90 hp six-cylinder models appearing in 1908. Stearns cars competed successfully in track races and hill climbs often with race driver Guy Vaughan at the wheel.

The Stearns motor cars were already amongst the finest automobiles in America when in 1911 the company acquired the first American license to use the Knight sleeve valve engine. All Stearns cars had Knight engines thereafter and were called Stearns-Knight from 1912. 

The first Stearns-Knight cars were 28 hp four-cylinder models with a 43.8 hp six-cylinder Stearns-Knight model following in 1913 and a V-8 model replacing the six-cylinder model in 1916. 

There was a Stearns utility van model produced about 1901 based on the passenger car chassis. However, the first real Stearns commercial vehicle was produced in 1911 and was a 3-ton capacity truck powered by a 44hp four-cylinder engine. For 1912 and 1913 Stearns built a 5-ton capacity truck with platform body, three-speed transmission and double chain drive. After 1913 there was a two-year pause in truck production until the 5-ton truck was redesigned using the Knight sleeve valve engine. Stearns commercial vehicle production ceased in 1917.

Frank Stearns retired from the company in 1917 at age 37 because of ill-health but the Stearns-Knight continued to be a high-priced prestige automobile even after John North Willys bought the company in 1925. An in-line eight-cylinder model was added in 1927 with a 100 hp engine giving 75mph performance. But the company had been losing money since 1925 and following the stock market crash production of the Stearns-Knight came to an end in December 1929.

Emblems

The early Stearns passenger cars did not display an emblem but did carry a small metal nameplate/serial plate attached to the body or the dash. 

The first Stearns emblem was a simple rectangular painted nameplate attached to the radiator on some models from about 1906, see original photo below:

This is an early Stearns showing a radiator nameplate (1906)     hcg

By 1907, the Stearns radiator had a white painted outline and advertisements used the slogan "The Car with the White Line", see example below:

This is a Stearns ad with the "White LIne" slogan (1907)  ms

From this time the radiator outlined in white became the key distinguishing feature of the Stearns and the rectangular Stearns nameplate appears to be mounted on the outside of the dash board, see original photo below:

This is a Stearns car with a nameplate on the outside of the dash (1908)    dpl

The following photo shows a surviving 1910 Stearns displaying the same emblem and a Stearns serial plate on the outside of the dash board:

This is a Stearns with a nameplate emblem and serial plate on the dash (1910)  caam

Stearns close-up showing the nameplate emblem and serial plate (1910)

There are two sizes of the painted Stearns nameplate emblem, see examples below. These Stearns nameplates are very rare.

This is a Stearns radiator/dash nameplate (c1906-1910)     mjs
Size: 90mm wide 38mm high

This is a Stearns radiator/dash nameplate (c1906-1909)      mjs
Size: 80mm wide 38mm high

The following is a Stearns serial plate:

This is a Stearns serial plate (c1909)   mjs
Size: 77mm wide 51mm high

The Stearns name was also displayed on the sill plates on some models, see restored example below:

This is a restored Stearns sill plate (1907)    bonhams

Original photos indicate that the Stearns began to display the Stearns name on brass scripts attached to the radiator core by about 1910 or possibly 1909, see example below:

This is a Stearns displaying a brass radiator script (1910)    dpl

The following is an example of a Stearns radiator script. Original Stearns radiator scripts are rare.

This is a Stearns radiator script (c1910)     mjs
Size: 232mm wide

From late 1911, some Stearns-Knight models displayed the "Stearns-Knight" radiator script shown below. Original Stearns-Knight radiator scripts are scarce.

This is a Stearns-Knight radiator script (1912)    sotheby's

From 1912, with the introduction of the Stearns-Knight, Stearns made a copyright on a design of an armored knight with a shield and sword. This was used as a company trademark, although "the car with the white line" and "the white line radiator" continued to be a visual Stearns trademark, as well as a slogan for many years, see 1922 advertisement below:

This is a Stearns ad showing the knight trademark and white line radiator (1922)  ms

In this 1922 advertisement, the knight trademark is shown at the bottom of the advertisement but "The White Line Radiator" is particularly interesting, as it shows a radiator with a knight hood ornament but it has no radiator emblem.

Close up of the White-Line radiator showing the hood ornament (1922)

The knight hood ornament is a "Mirror Eye" temperature gauge inscribed "Stearns", see example below:

This is a Stearns-Knight temperature gauge (c1922)     jbc

The earliest use of the knight trademark in a Stearns-Knight radiator emblem that I have found was in 1923, see surviving original 1923 Stearns-Knight shown below. This Stearns-Knight radiator also carries the Mirror Eye temperature gauge.

This is a Stearns-Knight with a radiator emblem and motometer (1923)  classicvehicleslist

The radiator emblem is inscribed "Stearns" rather than "Stearns-Knight"and is the blue and red enamel radiator emblem shown above at the top of this post and again below for convenience. This two-piece Stearns radiator emblem appears to have been used from 1923 and through 1928 and is scarce.

This is a Stearns radiator emblem (1923-1928)     mjs
Size: 57mm high 37mm wide   MM: Unknown

The following photo also shows a Stearns radiator emblem. The blue enamel around the border appears to be missing but more interestingly the ribbon under the coat of arms on the shield is also missing. It is possible that this emblem was wrongly restored.

This is a Stearns radiator emblem (date unknown)    kmc
Size: 57mm high 37mm wide   MM: Unknown (some Fox)

In 1929 and possibly from late 1928, the Stearns-Knight radiator emblem was changed to a blue, white and red enamel emblem inscribed "Stearns-Knight", see example below. This Stearns-Knight radiator emblem is rare.

This is a Stearns-Knight radiator emblem (1928-1929)      mjs
Size: 53mm high 42mm wide    MM: Fox

There is also a variation of the Stearns-Knight radiator emblem with a blue enamel ribbon at the bottom with the "Stearns-Knight" name and a blue enamel shield, see example shown below. This Stearns-Knight radiator emblem is very rare.

This is a Stearns-Knight radiator emblem (1928-1929)   kmc
Size: 53mm high 42mm wide  MM: Unknown (poss Fox)

The following emblems are Stearns and Stearns-Knight hub emblems:

This is a Stearns-Knight hub emblem (dates unknown)     mjs
Size: 43mm diameter

This is a Stearns-Knight hub emblem (c1924-1927)     mjs:
Size: 32mm diameter

This is a Stearns-Knight hub cap (c1928-1929)     dkc