TheMoneyPit

So, lets keep this forum active so they don't kill it on us. Here is a collection of ashtrays to start interest...

The badge was given to members of the "Automobile Club of America" in 1923. They were one of hundreds of AAA like clubs that sprang up around the auto industry

I know what you mean Tex, there are few deals on e-bay, but the worst is seeing the fakes bringing $$$ like the real ones. I've been at it for nearly 30 years and remember when $25 would buy a great emblem and $50 was really expensive! Now if I find 1 a year I'm happy, and there is no such thing as reasonably priced.

Wayne, You would have better luck going for the signs, unless you want to get me killed by the wife. It's not burled at all, it is Eastlake chip-carved ash or white oak with a honey colored finish and white marble top on the dresser & dry sink. Came from central PA on-site auction where we felt like thieves as we packed "papa's" bedroom set into the truck, seems the family did not think that the feud they were having would result in someone outside the family buying all of the heirlooms... I was there to see what was in the barn from which I bought a pair of rear wheels for a Duryea that I later sold/traded to a hubcap collector for some emblems.

Signs too, a few hood ornaments, factory china... Anything automotive. My wife thinks there should be an AA devoted to this addiction. It started as a boy because I loved to go to work with my dad, who owned a used car lot & body shop. He would go to the junk yards on Saturday so he could be at the shop durring the week, and the guys running the yards thought it was cute that I wanted the emblems. As a teenager I worked in the shop for 1/2 the labor of the jobs I did. I could do brakes like a pro by the time I was 12, and I'd use the money to buy emblems. Soon I had a hard time finding ones I didn't have when I found a watch fob in the shape of an emblem. From there I got into ash trays, letter openers, lapel pins and the avalanch just kept going and going...

Karla's CD after:

CD Before:

Ivan, Yes a reproduction is possible, and a reproduction Templar on e-bay went around $150-175, the genuine one a while back went well over $550, and I think it actually brought in the $700+ range. It is one I don't have and I was the bidder at $550. A reproduction might be twice that or more, But you can contact Karla Maxwell 760-941-1966 or e-mail her at karlamaxwell-at-msn.com (change the -at- to @)to inquire. She recently took the artwork off a Chalmers Detroit emblem of mine and made a most impressive one-off reproduction for a gentleman with a car who needed it. You will have to get good digitals and measurements for the artwork for her to work with. Mark

37HD45 - was that John Webster you were referring to? I know there are people doing it, but I like mine the way they are. I do have a couple that John repaired, but they were rare pieces that deserved to be saved even if they look "New" now...

I forgot to mention that I stole the idea of mounting my collection in the radiator shells from a book written by Jack Martells titled "Antique Automobile Collectables" which is one of the very few references currently available. Here is what a radiator Shell-f looks like...

Terry, Yes there are a few "giveaways" on reproduction emblems, and at times there have been contradictions to most all of these... But here are my observations regarding what I look for and what I avoid: Most of the originals in my collection are marked with a manufacturers markings, lets say 80%. The balance have clear signs of a mounting disc, or are threaded with a second stud for alignment on the backside. Very early emblems are hit and miss on this point as they were soldered right to the radiator and the markings are usually covered with solder. The Waltham emblem on the shell above is actually marked on the side edge and was made more like a paperweight than an emblem (very thick and heavy). Colors are important, the original pieces have a much richer quality to the colorings. There was a Crawford emblem on e-bay a while back that the colors looked dead compared to the original on the shell pictured above, sadly it was bid on as if it were genuine and sold for several times what it was worth. I'll go into the e-bay discussion again at the end. I have only seen one emblem that had female threads on the reverse, these are the early style of Franklin which had two bosses and mounted using fairly stout screws (#8 or #10) and cup-shaped washers. Many reproductions were made using a female threaded post on the back and a smaller screw - the two I've seen the most of are the square-shaped Rickenbacker and a Liberty with an eagle at the top of the shield. Another is the Case eagle - buying one of these was one of my mistakes. With the exception of the Waltham emblem, which somewhat unique as an emblem, I've never come across another that soldered a flat-head screw to the reverse as a stud, most studs were formed into the emblem blank or were all-thread and looked to be stud welded or silver soldered in place. An emblem with a heavy reverse die imprint is usually OK but almost all of these are maker marked or show an embossing for a compression washer to be soldered in place. Smooth backed emblems should be carefully looked at, however very early pieces such as the Thomas Flyer were smooth backed without a makers mark. Again, look for the solder from it being placed right to the shell, old tarnished nasty looking solder is hard to fake. Another thing on reproduction pieces is that the front edge has a very sharp cornered appearance, most originals have a tiny chamfer or radius on the front edge - once again the Waltham has a sharp front corner and is an exception to this rule as well. The plating on the smooth backed reproductions tends to have a frosted and almost shadowed appearance which is hard to describe. For some reason emblems in my collection that have been professionally restored, and the few NOS pieces I have, do not have any haze to the plating. There was also one company that put a splatter of enamel on the reverse side - the two that come to mind are the round Packard 8 and the Bantam emblems. This I trust as much as a makers mark as the first one I found like this came out of a junk yard. As far as e-bay is concerned, there are some VERY nice things showing up there, and many are out of my price range. Recently there was a NOS Ben-Hurr emblem, numerous Dusenberg emblems and other very scarce and collectable items. But there are also a lot of reproductions which were made in the 50's or 60's that look pretty good now that they are 40++ years old. If a seller is not willing to send a picture of the back, I do not bid. One seller got very abusive in his e-mails after I tried telling him that the emblem he had was a fake, so I don't do that any more. e-bay is 100% buyer beware and if you do not trust a piece just keep looking, you will find 10 others that are without doubt worth bidding on. Prices are strong as you are fighting collectors from around the world. For example, an early Moon sold for nearly $500 just the other day, and the same seller sold a Thomas Flyer for nearly $900, and a super Stutz for nearly $400. Happy hunting! TheMoneyPit

The second picture

Thanks for this area on the Forums for our insanity, attached (assuming it works) is my favorite assembly or Radiator emblems. All I collect are pre-WW2 American automobile emblems, script, and a few things of interest. The second picture are lapel pins.

I have to say this is one of the best ideas in a while!

I agree so far, and will add that oven cleaner will break-up the carbon and remove most of the paint from the stubborn areas, especially if power-washed off after sitting the 20-25 minutes from the directions.

I'm not sure of the fit, but Model T Fords are square-drive and you may be able to make one work.

Look at the headlight ring... It's a Nash!

I had found the pictures... The front fender you have is very similar to the Nash roadster fender under the listing "odd-ball roadster" and the steering wheel is also similar. I'm not sure, but your things could very well be from a Nash as they made an 8 cylinder at that time. Worth looking that way.

Not me, but thank you for posting that picture. Years ago (at least 15), I bought a clock in the shape of a radiator and could never figgure out who it was advertising until today. It is the exact shape as the Long Radiators logo at the bottom of your picture. Too bad, I had hoped it came from Locomobille...

Your picture does not come up, but take a look at the mystery roadster line, the fender could be from the same car...

I believe these were called "Flower Cars" and followed the hearse...

Bill Williams had the reproductions of the emblems at Hershey, his buisness name is Pulfer & Williams and if you can find a Hershe program you can hunt him down, he also authored a book on car mascots and might be in that category in the program.

There is (or was) a good looking HO on e-bay. The only thing is that it was from South America and they bring too much for my pocket. Good luck hunting.

Model T era accessory for the roadside fender as a parking lite so that it would be visible to oncoming traffic. The red was to the rear and it could be turned on and off as needed.

Stearns and Pierce had a similar radiator shape, Stearns Knight?