WASHINGTON (1)

Carter Motor Car Corp. (1909-1912)
Hyattsville, Maryland

This appears to be a Washington radiator script (c1909)  ms
Size: Unknown

The Carter Motor Car Corporation of Hyattsville, Maryland abandoned their unsuccessful Carter motor car venture in 1908 and decided to try again in 1909 with the Washington motor car.

The Washington was initially a typical 30 hp four-cylinder motor car offered as a three-passenger roadster or a five-passenger touring model. Further body styles were offered in subsequent years and the Washington became a larger 40 hp model in late 1910 for the 1911 model year. 

The Washington used the slogan "Worthy of the Name".

Two Washington motor cars took part in the 1910 Munsey Historic Tour, which was an eleven-day endurance test. The Washington cars must have been well made, as both cars performed exceptionally well, finishing the grueling 1,550-mile trek with perfect scores. 

However, the Washington motor car was not a success financially and in early 1912, the company declared bankruptcy. But, there was a difference of opinion within the Carter family and, in June 1912, the Washington Motor Car Company was formed to take over the Carter Motor Car Corporation. The name was then changed to Independence Motor Company and a new line of Independence motor cars was announced but this venture too did not survive 1912. 

Emblem

Original period photos and illustrations of Washington cars show that there was no emblem on the radiator tank top, see example below:

Washington touring car showing no rad emblem (1910) standard catalog

The Washington car slogan "Worthy of the Name" was reinforced by using the "Washington" name in script style as the Washington logo, which was used in advertising and company brochures, see examples below:

Washington car advertisement showing script logo (1910)  eBay

1911 Washington brochure cover (1910) abebooks

1911 Washington brochure page (1910) abebooks

The photo on this brochure page shows one of the two Washington motor cars that successfully completed the 1910 Munsey Historic Tour with perfect scores, see below:

Washington car in Munsey Historic Tour (1910) 

What is not so clear from this photo is that the Washington car displays the "Washington" name on a large script mounted on the radiator core, see original photo from the 1910 Munsey Historic Tour shown below:

Washington car taking part in the Munsey Historic Tour (1910) dpl

Close up showing "Washington" radiator script

I have not seen a "Washington" radiator script that is certainly original. This would be extremely rare. The "Washington" radiator script shown above at the top of this post closely resembles the "Washington" script logo but the rather poor quality of the cutting suggest it is most likely to be handmade rather than factory made. If you have an original Washington radiator script, please let me know, in order to update this post.

The following is a rare surviving Washington five-passenger touring model built in 1909 and later beautifully restored:

Washington 5-passenger touring (1909)  rmsothebys

The radiator script does not follow the "Washington" script logo, see below, and is most likely a reproduction script made for the restoration:

This is a reproduction Washington radiator script rmsothebys

The serial plate and hubcaps shown below do not carry the "Washington" name but are inscribed with the Carter Motor Car Corporation name or CMCC and were probably used for all the motor cars built by this company:

Washington serial plate (1909)   rmsothebys

Washington hub emblem (1909)    rmsothebys

Original Washington serial plates and hubcaps are extremely rare.