COLBY

Colby Motor Co. (1911-1913)

Mason City, Iowa

This is a Colby radiator emblem (1911-1913)   sam
Size: 60mm  MM: Unknown

The Colby was designed by David W Henry, who had also designed the Henry car in Muskegon, Michigan (see Henry). The first Colby was a four-cylinder 40 hp car offered in touring and roadster body styles and was introduced at the Chicago Automobile Show in February 1911. A 30 hp model appeared in 1912 only and a 5-cylinder 50 hp model and a six-cylinder 60 hp model appeared in 1913. The Colby performed well in races with Billy Pierce winning many events in the Colby "Red Devil".

Things seemed to be going well for the Colby but there were serious problems. The company finances were badly managed and the company was losing money from the start. Attempts were made to continue the business but it was all over by late 1913 after a total production of 551 cars. A single Colby car is known to exist.

Emblem

The Colby radiator emblem shown above is very rare.  But, beware, there are some very good reproductions of the Colby radiator emblem, which have been made to look old.