FARMACK

Farmack Motor Car Co. (1915-1916)
Chicago, Illinois

This is a Farmack radiator emblem (1915-1916)   khc
Size: 59mm wide 34mm high     MM: Greenduck

Albert J. Farmer had an extensive background and experience in the automotive industry, including with the General Motors Northway engine manufacturing division in Detroit.  

Farmer designed his own four-cylinder engine with an overhead camshaft engine, which led to interest by some auto business people in Chicago. The Farmack Motor Car Company was incorporated in May 1915 and production of the Farmack began. The Farmack was a 20 hp four-cylinder automobile, offered as a five-passenger touring, a two-passenger roadster and a two-passenger cabriolet. 

Initial sales of the Farmack were good and  Albert Farmer used this success to seek additional finance in order to make improvements to his car. In this he was successful, but his financiers insisted on changing the name from Farmack to Drexel (see Drexel). 

Emblems

The Farmack carried a pale blue and white enamel radiator emblem, see example shown above. This Farmack radiator emblem is extremely rare.

The "Farmack" name was also displayed on the hub emblems, see example shown below. This Farmack hub emblem is also extremely rare.

This is a Farmack hub emblem (1915-1916)    mjs
Size: 57mm diameter

The Farmack name in this hub emblem is presented within a Y-shape representing the branches of the Chicago river, which was used by Chicago based businesses to show pride in Chicago.

VICTOR

Victor Automobile Manufacturing Co. (1905-1910)

Victor Motor Car Co. (1911)

St. Louis, Missouri

This is a Victor automobile radiator script (c1911)   cbc
Size: 231mm wide 71mm high

The first Victor automobiles were high-wheeler motor buggies powered by a 6 hp single-cylinder water cooled engine. In 1909, the Victor was offered as a series of 14/20 hp two-cylinder air-cooled models in runabout, touring and light delivery body styles with the option of solid or pneumatic tires.

By 1911, the company had been reorganized as the Victor Motor Car Company and the Victor had grown to a 40 hp four-cylinder model offered in runabout and touring body styles. However, the company failed later in 1911.

Emblem

The early Victor high-wheeler buggy models did not have a radiator on which to carry an emblem but they did display the Victor name on a  small combined maker's nameplate/serial plate attached to the body or under the driver's seat, see example shown below. This Victor nameplate is very rare.

This is a Victor nameplate/serial plate (c1906)    jtc
Size:78mm wide 20mm high

The air-cooled Victor models introduced in 1908 had a hood and a false radiator and displayed a large brass "Victor" radiator script attached to the radiator grille, as seen in the following original photo of a 1909 Model C Runabout:

Victor Model C Runabout showing radiator script (1909)   william l bailey

The following rare, surviving 14/20 hp air-cooled two-cylinder Victor Model C Runabout also from 1909 on display at the Northeast Classic Car Museum carries a large brass "Victor" script mounted on the radiator:

Victor Model C Runabout with radiator script (1909)  albert mach

This Victor Runabout has been restored, so I cannot confirm if the radiator script is original but it is clearly closely similar to the script seen in the original 1909 photo. Original "Victor" radiator scripts with this design would be extremely rare.

The brass "Victor" radiator script, shown above at the top of this post and again below, is certainly original and is quite different from the radiator script on the 1909 Model C Runabout shown above. It is inscribed "St. Louis" and is clearly intended for the St. Louis built Victor motor car. 

This is a Victor automobile radiator script (poss 1911)   cbc
Size: 231mm wide 71mm high

Close-up showing the "St. Louis" mark 

This Victor radiator script may be from the 1911 Victor Model 4-40 but I cannot confirm this. This Victor radiator script is very rare.

RELIANCE (1)

Reliance Automobile Manufacturing Co. (1903)
Reliance Motor Car Co. (1904-1908)
Detroit, Michigan

Reliance Motor Truck Co. (1909-1911)

Owosso, Michigan (1909-1912)

Pontiac, Michigan (1912-1914)

Reliance truck nameplate style (1906-1910)   ms

The Reliance Automobile Manufacturing Company was organized in Detroit in late 1903 with the first passenger cars appearing in 1904. The Reliance was a good quality two-cylinder motor car initially powered by a 15 hp engine and offered as a side-entrance tonneau. The company was undercapitalized and was reorganized to become the Reliance Motor Car Company in 1904. In 1906 a commercial was added to the line, and in February 1907 the company announced that it would thereafter build trucks only.

Reliance trucks were offered for freight and passenger uses in a wide range of cab-over models up to 5-ton capacity all using chain drive.

The Reliance Motor Truck Company was acquired by General Motors in 1909, along with the Randolph and Rapid Motor Truck companies (see GMC), and Reliance became the heavy duty model of GMC. Reliance was moved to Owosso in 1909 and continued truck production there until 1912, when production was transferred to Pontiac. The last Reliance units leaving the Owosso plant in 1912 carried the GMC emblem and, although some trucks built in Pontiac still carried the Reliance name in 1913, heavy duty trucks were called GMC-Reliance trucks using GMC emblems. In the fall of 1914, the Reliance Cab-Over model and the "Reliance" name were dropped completely. 

Emblems

The Reliance Motor Car Company logo is seen on the cover of the 1905 Reliance brochure:

Reliance brochure cover showing logo (1905)  shiawasseehistory 

The Reliance passenger car did not carry a radiator emblem but would have displayed the "Reliance" name on a small maker's nameplate/serial plate attached to the rear of the car or under the driver's seat. 

The following original period photo of a Reliance car displays a "Reliance Detroit" side nameplate but this appears to have been made especially for the photo:

Reliance passenger car showing temporary side nameplate (1906)   dpl

The first Reliance trucks also appear not to have carried a radiator emblem, see original 1906 Reliance truck photo shown below:

Reliance truck ad showing no radiator or body side nameplates (1906)  shiawasseehistory

Whereas, other original period photos of Reliance trucks did display the Reliance name on the body sides by the driver's seat and/or on the main chassis frame member, see rather poor quality original period photos shown below. These Reliance nameplates may have been painted using stencils or by using decals.

Reliance truck showing "Reliance Detroit" chassis frame member nameplate (1906)    shiawasseehistory 

Reliance truck showing "Reliance" body side nameplate (1907)   shiawassseehistory

These "Reliance" nameplates sometimes display "Reliance Detroit", as shown in the Reliance company logo shown earlier, and sometimes simply "Reliance" only in the same style as the company logo. The precise location and style of these Reliance nameplates seen on original period photos appears somewhat arbitrary, as noted in the photos shown above and below. 

The following original Reliance truck photo used in a 1908 Reliance truck advertisement shows no Reliance nameplates on the radiator or the body sides:

Reliance truck advertisement showing no Reliance nameplates (1908)   eBay

However, the following photo of a Reliance truck from a 1908 Reliance catalog displays a "Reliance Detroit" body side nameplate:

Reliance truck showing body side nameplate (1908)    shiawasseehistory

Other Reliance truck photos in a later 1908 catalog also show nameplates inscribed "Reliance Detroit" on the top of the radiator and on the body side:

Reliance Model C truck showing radiator emblem (1908)
shiawasseehistory

Reliance Model K truck with body side nameplate (1908)
shiawasseehistory

However, the following original photo of a Reliance Model G3 2-ton truck, labelled 1908, shows "Reliance" only nameplates at the bottom of the radiator and in a different location on the body side by the driver's seat. It is not clear if the radiator nameplate is a decal or impressed in the radiator shell.

Reliance Model G3 2-ton truck showing radiator and body side nameplates (1908)   khc

The following original photo showing a Reliance truck built in Owosso displays the "Reliance" only nameplates on the body side and on the main chassis frame:

Reliance truck built in Owosso showing body side and frame nameplates (c1909)   

However, the following original photo of a Reliance truck dated 1910 still displays the "Reliance Detroit" nameplate but has no radiator mounted nameplate:

Reliance truck with body side "Reliance Detroit" nameplate (1910)
shiawasseehistory

Close up showing body side nameplate

I can find no original period photos of Reliance trucks after 1910 with the "Reliance Detroit" nameplate.

The following original photo of a 1911 Reliance coal dump truck displays a "Reliance" only body side nameplate:

Reliance coal dump truck showing body side nameplate (1911)     shiawasseehistory

It seems reasonable to expect "Reliance Detroit" nameplates to have been used before the move to Owosso and the "Reliance" only nameplates to be used thereafter. A possible explanation may be that the nameplates were indeed decals and there was a surplus of "Reliance Detroit" decals, which continued to be used after the move to Owosso. 

The following illustration from 1912 shows the standard Reliance truck chassis displaying GMC emblems on the body side and main chassis frame member:

GMC-Reliance standard truck chassis (1912)   shiawasseehistory

The surviving 1910 Reliance truck shown below displays the "Reliance" name cast in the bottom radiator frame in a completely different style but this truck has been restored and the nameplate may not be original :

Reliance truck radiator nameplate (1910)  trombinoscar

NAPOLEON TRUCK

Napoleon Motors Co. (1919-1923)
Traverse City, Michigan

This is a Napoleon truck radiator emblem (c1920)  dkc
Size: 260mm wide 50mm high

The Napoleon began in 1916 as the Napoleon Motor Car Company in Napoleon, Ohio but, after an offer of $75,000 in working capital and a factory with free rent for three years, the company moved its passenger car manufacturing business to Traverse City, Michigan in 1917 named as the Traverse City Motor Car Company.

 In the summer of 1917, the Reya Motor Company was organized in Napoleon, Ohio to take over the truck building business of the Napoleon Motor Car Company (see Reya) and Reya trucks continued into 1918.

In the summer of 1918, the Traverse City Motor Car Company was reorganized as the Napoleon Motors Company with plans to build commercial vehicles as well as passenger cars in Traverse City. The first 1-ton and 1-1/2-ton capacity Napoleon trucks powered by four-cylinder engines appeared in early 1919 and were little changed over the life of the Napoleon truck. The Napoleon truck business was so successful that, by the end of 1919, the company announced that trucks would henceforth be their only product.

The Napoleon truck plant in Traverse City was expanded as orders for new trucks grew. By 1920, the Napoleon truck business was booming both at home and overseas with the entire year's planned output reported as already sold by January 1920. A lightweight 3/4-ton to 1-ton capacity Napoleon Speed-Wagon was introduced in October 1920 and 1921 started positively with production expected to increase further. However, by mid-1921, the post war recession had struck and, combined with an abundance of trucks on the market after the war, money began to run out and the company was in serious trouble. The company was in receivership by September 1922 and the Traverse City factory was sold in late 1923.

Emblems

The Napoleon trucks had a heavily ribbed, cast radiator tank top with the "NAPOLEON" name sometimes cast into the radiator tank top but more often displayed on a cast metal emblem mounted on the front of the cast radiator tank top, see examples shown below:

Napoleon truck on display in Amsterdam with cast in radiator emblem (c1920)   wiki

Napoleon truck with cast in rad emblem & body side nameplate (1919) hagerty

Close up showing cast in radiator emblem (1919)  hagerty

There are several Napoleon truck advertisements from 1919 and 1920 with illustrations or photos of Napoleon trucks showing the radiator and a separate emblem, see example shown below:

Napoleon truck ad (1920)  americanikons

Detail showing separate cast radiator emblem (1920) 

The following original photo from 1920 of a Napoleon Speed-Wagon also appears to show a separate cast radiator emblem:

Napoleon Speed-Wagon (1920)    wheelswaterengines

The following photo shows an original Napoleon truck radiator with a separate painted cast "NAPOLEON" emblem:

Napoleon radiator & emblem (c1920)  dkc

This is the Napoleon truck radiator emblem shown above at the top of this post and again below. Original Napoleon truck radiator emblems are very rare.

This is a Napoleon truck radiator emblem (c1920)   dkc
Size: 260mm wide 50mm high

Emblem collectors should beware as there are reproduction Napoleon radiator emblems.

Interestingly, the following Napoleon trucks advertisement includes a photo of a 1-ton Napoleon chassis, which shows a radiator with no radiator emblem. Possibly this was a photo of an early chassis built before production of the Napoleon truck commenced but used by AMCO for this advertisement:

Napoleon truck ad with truck chassis (1920) hagerty

Napoleon one-ton chassis without a radiator emblem (date uncertain)

Several Napoleon truck advertisements, such as the ad shown above, include a Napoleon trademark or logo, see example below:

Napoleon Motors Trademark (c1920)  moroz

However, I can find no evidence that this Napoleon Motors trademark was ever used as an emblem on Napoleon motor trucks.

Napoleon truck photos and illustrations mostly do not show any body or hood side nameplates, see example shown below:

Napoleon truck without side nameplates (c1919-1920)  ebay

However, the following photo of a Napoleon truck does show a Napoleon nameplate mounted on the door to the driver's cab:

Napoleon truck showing body side nameplate (c1920) worthpoint

A similar Napoleon truck nameplate is seen mounted on the body side near the driver's seat on the restored surviving Napoleon truck shown earlier above. Original Napoleon body side nameplates are very rare.

ALLIS-CHALMERS

Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Co. (1915-1918)

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

This is an Allis-Chalmers nameplate (c1915-1918)      mjs
Size: 406mm wide 67mm high

Allis-Chalmers is a well known manufacturer of agricultural tractors but from 1915 to 1918 they also built some trucks. 

The Allis-Chalmers truck was a five-ton capacity half-track truck with artillery steel wheels on the front axle for steering. The truck was powered by a 68 hp four-cylinder engine and had a top speed of 10 mph.

The Allis-Chalmers truck was not successful and only a few were built, some of which were exported.

Nameplate

The Allis-Chalmers nameplate shown above was reported as having come from an Allis-Chalmers logging truck used in Canada. However, I cannot confirm that this is correct. If you have better details, please let me know in order to update this post. If this Allis-Chalmers nameplate is indeed from a logging truck it would be extremely rare.

SOUTH BEND

South Bend Motor Car Works (1912-1918)
South Bend, Indiana

This is a South Bend Double Duty radiator emblem (c1913-1918)   mjs
Size: 100mm wide 60mm high    MM: Unknown

The South Bend Motor Car Works was organized in 1912 by A. C. Mecklenburg and production began in 1913. The company specialized in the manufacture of commercial vehicles but a 38 hp six-cylinder automobile was produced until 1914 and was offered in roadster and touring body styles. 

The company also built some 2-ton and 4-ton capacity chain driven trucks. In 1916 South Bend trucks adopted worm drive and 1-1/2-ton and 3-ton capacity trucks were added to the line but may not have gone into production, as South Bend production had ceased altogether by the end of 1916.

 

However, the main product of the South Bend Motor Car Works was motor fire apparatus, including Double Duty fire apparatus. The first South Bend fire engine was delivered in 1913, after which South Bend produced an impressive array of fire apparatus, including combination hose and chemical cars, straight chemical units, triple combination pumping engines and ladder trucks. 

South Bend production ceased in 1918 and the final South Bend fire apparatus units were delivered in early 1919. A. C. Mecklenburg had by then left South Bend to help Harry C. Stutz set up the Stutz Fire Engine Company. 

Emblems

There are very few clear photos of South Bend vehicles showing the emblems. However, a study of available original photos of South Bend vehicles indicates that South Bend trucks and fire engines carried the same or similar diamond shaped radiator emblems, see examples shown below:

This is a South Bend 2-ton truck (1915)     albert mroz

This is a South Bend Double Duty fire engine (c1916)  wmcc

The South Bend Double Duty fire apparatus carried a brown and white enamel radiator emblem, see example shown at the top of this post. This South Bend Double Duty radiator emblem is very rare.

It is likely that other South Bend vehicles carried the same or very similar South Bend radiator emblem but without the "Double Duty" inscription, see possible example shown below. If such a South Bend radiator emblem does exist, it would be extremely rare.

This is a possible South Bend radiator emblem   ms
Size: 100mm wide 60mm high     MM: Unknown

The following is a painted metal South Bend truck or fire engine hood side nameplate. This South Bend hood side nameplate is very rare.

This is a South Bend hood side nameplate (c1915)    mjs
Size: 294mm wide 43mm high     MM: None

HOLLIER

Lewis Spring and Axle Co. (1915-1921)
Hollier Automobile Co. (1921)
Jackson & Chelsea, Michigan

This is a Hollier radiator emblem (dates)    khc
Size: 73mm wide 30mm high   MM: None

The Hollier was produced by Charles Lewis, former president of the Jackson Automobile Company, and was built by his Lewis Spring & Axle Company. The Hollier was a conventional open touring car. The first Hollier in 1915 was powered by a V-8 engine and a six-cylinder model joined the line from 1917. The V-8 was discontinued after 1918 when material shortages became critical following the First World War.

Production of the Hollier fell sharply after the end of the war. Charles Lewis introduced the Hollier Automobile Company in 1921 in order to protect the Lewis Spring & Axle Company. The Hollier was finished a few months later.

Emblems

The only photo of a Hollier car showing an emblem that I have found is the following original touring car photo from the Philadelphia Free Library archive:

Hollier touring car (c1918)    flp

Close up showing radiator emblem  (c1918)

This is appears to be the white enamel Hollier radiator emblem shown above at the top of this post. This Hollier radiator emblem is extremely rare.

However, it is not clear whether the car in this photo is a Hollier Eight or a Hollier Six. The Hollier Eight was discontinued after 1918 and the Hollier Six was introduced in 1917.

Some Hollier Eight advertisements from 1915 include a front view of the car but there is no radiator emblem, see example shown below. However, this advertisement does show a "Hollier Eight" logo, which looks similar to the Hollier radiator emblem.

Hollier 8 ad with logo but no rad emblem (1915) khc

The following Hollier illustration from a Hollier brochure also shows no sign of a radiator emblem:

Hollier 8 brochure illustration with no rad emblem (1915-1916) aaca

This Hollier brochure also includes the "Hollier Eight" logo, see below:

Hollier Eight brochure showing emblem logo

This logo shows the "Hollier Eight" name in (possibly) white on a black background. The same emblem logo is seen on some Hollier Eight advertisements, see example shown below:

Hollier Eight ad with emblem logo (1916)  ebay

This Hollier Eight logo may have been a representation of a Hollier Eight radiator emblem, but I cannot confirm this, see below:

Possible Hollier Eight radiator emblem (c1916)

Hollier advertisements for 1917 for both the Hollier Six and the Hollier Eight show a plain "Hollier" logo, see examples shown below:

Hollier Six ad with logo (1917) khc

Hollier Eight ad with logo (1917) ms

This suggests that the same Hollier emblem may have been used from 1917 for all Hollier models. That the Hollier Six did carry a radiator emblem is suggested by the following Hollier Six advertisement:

Hollier Six ad showing rad emblem (1919) khc

This is speculation, of course, but until further evidence is found, it appears that the Hollier radiator emblem shown above at the top of this post may have been used from 1917 for both the Hollier Eight and the Hollier Six.

If you have any further evidence regarding Hollier radiator emblems, please let me know, in order to update this post.

There is a very different Hollier emblem, see red painted example shown below. This Hollier emblem is made of thin aluminum plate and is felt to be an original emblem and may have been mounted on the Hollier engine, although I cannot confirm this.

This is a Hollier Eight emblem (dates unknown)   mjs
Size:    MM: None

Emblem collectors should beware as there are reproduction Hollier emblems with this design, probably made of plated brass, see example shown below:

This is a reproduction Hollier emblem  khc