BOYD

James Boyd & Brother Inc. (1910-1916)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This is a Boyd radiator & hub emblem (c1912-1916)  ms
Size: Unknown   MM: Unknown

The Boyd & Son Fire Equipment Company was formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1819 and was renamed James Boyd & Bro. in 1881, although the business was not incorporated until 1908, by which time the company was manufacturing a line of high quality horse-drawn fire apparatus.

In 1910, James Boyd & Bro. delivered its first motor fire apparatus built on its own assembled chassis. This was the 60 hp four-cylinder Boyd Model B-701 automobile combination chemical engine and hose wagon, which carried two 30-gallon chemical tanks. The companion Boyd Model C-702 auto combination carried a single 35-gallon chemical tank.

In the early years of motor fire apparatus, Boyd also built hose and combination hose and chemical bodies for mounting on other truck chassis, mainly on White, Reo and Mack chassis.

In 1913, Boyd introduced its own motor-driven aerial ladder truck, which used motor power to raise the aerial ladder. Fourteen Boyd aerials were delivered to the Philadelphia Fire Department between 1913 and 1916. Other Boyd aerials used hybrid gasoline-electric drive systems purchased from Couple Gear.

In addition to hose wagons, combinations and aerial ladder trucks, Boyd also built some heavy two-wheel, front-drive motor tractors to replace horses on formerly horse-drawn steam fire engines and ladder trucks.

The James Boyd & Bro. factory closed in 1918 but the business passed into other hands and continues to this day, most recently under the National Foam banner.

Emblems

There are a number of original period photos of Boyd fire appliances but very few show the radiator emblem and mostly the detail is unclear.

The following original period photo shows a Boyd combination chemical engine and hose Model C motor fire apparatus probably dating from about 1910:

Boyd Combination Chemical and Hose Fire Apparatus (c1910)  missouribootandshoe

The front of the radiator cannot be seen but there is a small nameplate attached to the side chassis frame member under the driver's entrance. This would be similar to the later painted brass James Boyd & Bro. Inc. nameplate shown below giving the production date and a stamped serial number. This Boyd nameplate is very rare.

This is a Boyd nameplate (1915)    mjs
Size: 144mm wide 48mm high

The following Boyd advertisement from 1912 includes an original photo of two fire trucks delivered to Philadelphia. The radiators of these trucks are clearly seen and it appears that there is a radiator emblem but the detail is unclear:

Boyd ad showing fire apparatus (1912) municipal journal

Boyd Fire Apparatus delivered to Philadelphia (1912)

However, the following Boyd advertisement from January 1913 has a clearer original photo of a Boyd Fire Apparatus delivered to Leominster, Massachusetts:

Boyd advertisement (1913) municipal journal

This Boyd fire apparatus was presumably built in 1912 and, as seen below, displays the body side Boyd nameplate mounted below the driver's cab entrance, similar to that shown earlier above. The unit also clearly displays a round radiator emblem with a light colored outer band and a "colored" hubcap emblem:

Boyd Fire Apparatus showing radiator & hub emblem & body side nameplate (1912)

The following Boyd advertisement from 1913 incorporates a James Boyd & Bro. Inc. logo, which also has a light colored outer band, see detail below. The same logo is seen in Boyd advertisements up to 1916.

Boyd fire apparatus advertisement showing logo (1913) municipal journal 

Boyd Logo detail (c1912-1916)

This logo was used for the Boyd hubcap emblem, see example shown below. This red, white, maroon and blue painted Boyd hub emblem is very rare:

James Boyd & Bro hubcap (c1912-1918)   dkc

It is not unusual for the emblem used on a hubcap to also be used as the radiator emblem and it is believed that the Boyd radiator emblem was the same as the hub emblem, see the Boyd emblem shown above at the top of this post and again below. This Boyd emblem is very rare.

This is a Boyd radiator & hub emblem (c1912-1916)  dkc
Size: Unknown   MM: Unknown

The two-wheel, front-drive Boyd motor tractor pulling a steamer shown in the following photo dated 1916 has a heavy, possibly cast iron, radiator, which carries a very different and much larger radiator emblem:

Boyd two-wheel, front-drive motor tractor (1916)  matt lee

Unfortunately, the detailed design of this radiator emblem cannot be seen. If you have better details of this Boyd radiator emblem used for heavy duty cast radiators, please let me know, in order to update this post.