STERLING

Elkhart Motor Car Co. (1909-1911)
Elkhart, Indiana

Sterling Logo (1909-1911)   ms

Willard W. Sterling and F. O. Hudson operated the Sterling-Hudson Whip Company in Elkhart, Indiana and established the Elkhart Motor Car Company in 1908 to build a motor car to be called the Sterling.

The Sterling that appeared in 1909 was a four-cylinder automobile in two models in the medium-price range. These were the 30 hp Sterling Model K, offered in runabout, surrey and touring body styles, and the 40 hp Model C, offered as a touring car only. The Sterling Model K became the Model O for 1910 but was otherwise largely unchanged. For 1911, a 30/40 hp Model R only was offered in four body styles. 

The Elkhart company put great effort into raising capital stock and by 1910 had big plans for expansion, but, in 1911, the company was successfully sued for failing to pay for a large order of engines. Sterling production ceased and the Sterling factory was sold.

Emblems

The Elkhart company used the British "£" Sterling symbol in place of the letter "L" in the "Sterling" name in its logo, see the Sterling logo shown above at the top of this post. 

This Sterling logo featured in Sterling advertisements, see examples shown below:

Sterling 1910 Model ad (1909)  ta

Sterling Model O ad (1910)  pinterest 

It might reasonably be expected that the Sterling car would display some identification using the Sterling logo and there would almost certainly have been a Sterling serial plate using the logo. If an original Sterling car serial plate could be found it would be extremely rare.

The Sterling logo was also displayed on the brass hubcaps, see example shown below:

This is a Sterling hubcap (1909-1911)   jjc

There are very few original period photos of the Sterling that clearly show the radiator and none that I have seen show a radiator emblem. 

However, the following illustration of a 1909 Sterling Model C appears to show a radiator script, although the detail cannot be seen:

Sterling Model C (1909)   catj

The Sterling radiator script is likely to have been a brass script made to follow the design of the Sterling logo similar to the depiction shown above at the top of this post and again below. Original Sterling radiator scripts would be extremely rare.

Sterling logo (1909-1911)   ms

If you have details of the Sterling radiator script, please let me know, in order to update this post. 

The following photo shows a surviving Sterling 1909 Model K on display at the Studebaker Museum in South Bend, Indiana. This car has been restored and does not carry a radiator emblem or a radiator script but does display the "Sterling" name in the style of the logo on a brass plate on the lid of the accessory box, see below:

Sterling Model K (1909)   studebaker museum 

Sterling brass plate on the lid of the accessory box (1909)  conceptcarz