LUVERNE

Luverne Automobile Co. (1904-1917)
Luverne Motor Truck Co. (1912-1923)
Luverne Fire Apparatus Co. (1923-1985)
Luverne Fire Equipment Co. (1985-2003)
Luverne, Minnesota

This a Luverne radiator emblem (1914-1917)   mjs
Size: 50mm diameter   MM: Unknown

The Leicher brothers had been building horse-drawn buggies when they decided to build their first car in 1903 using a car kit supplied by Dyke from St. Louis. The first real Luverne cars were two-cylinder high-wheelers, of which four were built in 1904 and fifteen in 1905. Late in 1906 the Luverne Automobile Company was formally established and a standard 40 hp four-cylinder model was introduced in 1909 and from 1910 the company concentrated on large touring cars. The Model Fifty became known as the Montana Special in 1913. But its popularity was quickly dimmed by the most famous Luverne, the six-cylinder Big Brown Luverne with its solid nickel radiator.

In 1912 Luverne produced its first hearse and first fire engine, both using six-cylinder engines, and truck manufacture began shortly after with the organisation of the Luverne Motor Truck Company. All Luverne passenger cars were essentially hand made. It was the recognition, that this approach could not compete with the factory manufacturing and assembly of the large auto manufacturers, that led to the decision to cease passenger car production in 1917. Total Luverne car production was only about 520 units.

Thereafter, Luverne concentrated on the production of commercial vehicles, initially military vehicles for the First World War. However, commercial vehicle production also stopped in 1923 due to competition from the larger truck companies. Luverne remained as a builder of fire engines on other people's chassis, first as the Luverne Fire Apparatus Company and then as the Luverne Fire Equipment Company. The Luverne Fire Equipment Company became part of Crimson Fire in 2003.

Emblems

The first Luverne cars displayed the "Luverne" name using decals applied to small wooden panels mounted on the sides of the car below the driver's seat, see original 1905 Luverne factory photo shown below: 

Luverne factory photo showing body side decal (1905)  hcg

The Luverne body side decal continued to be used up to about 1908, see original photo below of a 1907 Luverne Model C built for the 1908 model year:

Luverne photo showing body side decal (1907) oldcarsweekly  

The Luverne also displayed the "Luverne" name on a small, originally painted maker's nameplate attached to the body, usually at the rear, see example shown below. This Luverne nameplate is very rare.

This is a Luverne nameplate (1904-c1908)    mjs
Size: 89mm wide 38mm high

This Luverne nameplate was replaced by the following black painted Luverne nameplate in around 1909, but I cannot confirm this date. This Luverne nameplate is very rare.

This is a Luverne maker's nameplate (c1909-1911)   ms
Size: Unknown

The following photo shows a 1909 Luverne shortly after restoration in 1962. It is likely that the Luverne radiator script and bird motif were added during the restoration. However, a large oval shaped, brass radiator emblem can just be seen. 

Restored Luverne showing an oval radiator emblem (1909) aa

Close-up showing oval radiator emblem (1909)

This is the black painted Luverne radiator emblem shown below. This Luverne radiator emblem is very rare.

This is a Luverne radiator emblem (c1909-1911)   ms
Size: 95mm wide 49mm high  MM: None

The following is a Luverne Model 30 hubcap:

This is a Luverne Model 30 hubcap (c1910-1911)   dkc

The following is a Luverne Model 30 hub emblem. This Luvern hub emblem is rare.

This is a Luverne Model 30 hub emblem (c1910-1911)  mjs
Size: 38mm diameter   

It is believed that the oval Luverne radiator emblem shown earlier above was replaced by the following black painted, oval radiator emblem in about 1911. There appears to have been a significant quantity of unused examples of this Luverne radiator emblem, which is scarce.

This is a Luverne radiator emblem (1912-1913)    mjs
Size: 87mm wide 45mm high   MM: None

The Luverne Model Fifty carried a black and white painted oval Luverne Montana Special radiator emblem in 1913. There were also a significant number of unused examples of this Lucerne emblem, which is rare.

This is a Luverne Montana Special radiator emblem (1913)  mjs
Size: 87mm wide 46mm high   MM: None

The Luverne Model Sixty was known as the Big Brown Luverne from 1914 and carried a round, gold plated, black and white enamel Luvern radiator emblem, see example shown above at the top of this post and again below. This Luverne radiator emblem is extremely rare.

This is a Luverne radiator emblem (1914-1917)   mjs
Size: 50mm diameter    MM: Unknown

Luverne continued to build commercial vehicles from 1912 until 1923.  There are very few photos or illustrations of Luverne motor trucks or fire trucks built during this period and none that I have seen show an emblem or a hood or body side nameplate. 

The following black and white enamel Luverne emblem is a mystery but may be a Luverne truck radiator emblem but I cannot confirm this. This Luverne emblem is very rare.

This is a Luverne emblem (date unknown)      khc
Size: 89mm wide 17mm high

If you have details of the use of this Luverne emblem or any emblem or nameplate used on Luverne trucks, please let me know, in order to update this post.