Page Motor Vehicle Co. (1906-1908)
Providence, Rhode Island
Victor Page Motors Corp.
Farmingdale, New York (1921-1922)
Stamford, Connecticut (1922-1923)
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| This is the Victor Page Aero-Type Four radiator emblem (1921-1923) ms Size: Unknown MM: Probably None |
Victor Wilfred Page was a mechanical engineer and inventor, and a prolific technical writer. He was responsible for the construction of the first Page cars built by the Page Motor Vehicle Company in Providence, Rhode Island. The first 10 hp two-cylinder air-cooled Page Runabout appeared in 1906 and a 20 hp four-cylinder runabout was introduced in 1907. However, the venture was financially unsuccessful and production ended after building about 25 cars.
Victor Page spent some years developing his designs for air-cooled engines for motor vehicles and aircraft. He was enlisted into the US air force throughout the First World War. He returned to automobile manufacturing in 1921 when he established Victor Page Motors Corporation to build Victor Page cars.
Although Victor Page Motors Corporation only advertised the Aero-Type Four, Victor Page had also designed the Utility Four, a cheaper 25 hp air-cooled, four-cylinder car with a cast-iron engine and a flat false radiator shell. The Utility Four was offered as a five-passenger phaeton, a two-passenger roadster, a suburban car or depot wagon and a one-ton truck.
Four of the Utility Four cars were built before production turned to the Aero-Type Four, a 30 hp air-cooled, overhead valve four-cylinder car with an aluminum engine and vee-shaped radiator, offered in six model styles, including a light delivery van, depot wagon and taxicab. Four completed Victor Page Aero-Type Four cars and a chassis were exhibited at the Grand Central Palace for the New York Auto Show in January 1922.
However, despite being mechanically sound and after heavy advertising, the Victor Page Aero-Type Four did not sell well and then there was a stock-selling scandal which brought production of the Aero-Type to an end in 1923. Victor Page was innocent of any wrong doing but it was all over for the Aero-Type after only 128 cars had been built.
It is known that Victor Page made one final attempt to use his air-cooled engine design, when, in January 1928, the Automotive Development Corporation was incorporated in Stamford, Connecticut with a plan to build an air-cooled 35 hp one-ton capacity truck to be called the Fairfield Four. Period photos and advertisements for the Fairfield Four truck show two different designs, one resembling the earlier Utility Four truck, probably used for convenience before the newly designed Fairfield Four truck had been built, and the other with a completely different radiator design, see later below. It is not known if any Fairfield trucks were actually sold but the operations of the Automotive Development Corporation ceased in 1929, the year of the stock market crash.
A detailed and fascinating exploration of the life and work of Victor W. Page is given by Frank C. Durato in his book "Victor W. Page Automotive and Aviation Pioneer".
Emblems
The first Page Runabout cars carried a small, probably round emblem mounted on the top of the radiator shell from 1906, a very early date for a radiator emblem in America. This early radiator emblem is seen faintly in the following Page Runabout advertisement from 1906.
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| Page Runabout ad showing radiator emblem (1906) Frank C Derato |
The same photo of the Page Runabout is used in the following rendition, where the radiator emblem is more clearly visible, although the detailed design of this Page radiator emblem cannot be seen. If an original Page radiator emblem from this period could be found it would be ultra rare.
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| Page Runabout showing radiator emblem (1908) Frank C Derato |
When Victor Page resumed his automobile business in 1921, he had further developed his air-cooled engine designs and used these in his new cars, The first cars built were named the Utility Four and carried round radiator emblems, as seen in the following photo, but, again, the detailed design of the Victor Page Utility Four radiator emblem cannot be seen. If an original Victor Page Utility Four radiator emblem could be found, it too would be ultra rare.
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| Victor Page Utility Four showing radiator emblem (1921-1923) Frank C Derato |
The Victor Page Aero-Type Four had a vee-shaped radiator but still carried a round radiator emblem, as seen in photos of the first Aero-Type models exhibited at the Grand Central Palace during the New York Auto Show in January 1922:
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| Victor Page Aero-Type Four cars at the NY Auto Show showing rad emblem (Jan 1922) AACA Forums |
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| Victor Page Aero-Type Four touring at NY Auto Show showing radiator emblem (Jan 1922) AACA Forums |
The detailed design of the radiator emblem cannot be seen from these photos but the Victor Page Motors Corporation letterhead included a clear depiction of the Aero-Type Four radiator emblem with a winged propeller logo design, see below:
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| Victor Page Motors Corp letterhead showing radiator emblem (1921) Frank C Derato |
This is the Victor Page Aero-Type Four radiator emblem shown above at the top of this post and again below:
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| This is the Victor Page Aero-Type Four rad emblem (1921-1923) ms Size: Unknown MM: Probably None |
This Victor Page Aero-Type Four radiator emblem was most likely a cast metal emblem. An original Victor Page Aero-Type Four radiator emblem if it could be found would be ultra rare.
The winged propeller logo was also displayed on the Victor Page Aero-Type Four step plate, as seen on the following patent drawing:
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| Victor Page Aero-Type Four step plate (1921-1923) Frank C Derato |
For many years, the following Aerotype emblem was believed to be from the Victor Page Aero-Type Four car:
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| This is a Windsor-Aerotype radiator emblem (1929-1930) mjs Size: 52mm high 40mm wide MM: D L Auld |
However, this emblem is now known to be from a Windsor-Aerotype export model produced in small numbers in 1929-1930.
The following photo shows the front view of the Fairfield Four one-ton capacity truck, Victor Page's final and unsuccessful attempt to build an air-cooled motor vehicle in 1928-1929:
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| Fairfield Four truck showing rad emblem (c1918) Frank C Derato |
The Fairfield Four truck also carries a round radiator emblem possibly incorporating the Fairfield Four name, although I cannot confirm this. It is likely that only one Fairfield Four truck was built, so an original Fairfield Four truck radiator emblem, if it could be found, would also be ultra rare.
