Essex Motor Co. (1919-1922)
Hudson Motor Car Co. (1922-1932)
Detroit, Michigan
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| This is the first Essex Series A radiator emblem (1919-c1921) mjs Size: 50mm high 44mm wide MM: Unknown |
The Essex Motor Company was set up by Hudson Motor Car Company in 1917 but the first cars were not built until 1918 and were introduced as 1919 models. The first Essex was a 55 hp four-cylinder model. Six-cylinder models were introduced in 1924.
The four-passenger coach introduced in 1922 was the lowest-priced closed car in America at the time and by 1925 the Essex coach was offered at a lower price than the touring model. This gave a great publicity boost for the Essex and the car sold very well. Essex Super Six models were introduced in 1927 and sixes continued through to 1932.
From 1922 both Essex and Hudson were produced by Hudson Motor Car Company (see Hudson). In 1929 the Essex made a significant contribution to the Hudson total sales of over 300,000 cars. The Essex Challenger appeared for the 1929 model year with a more modern styling. In 1932 the Essex had a vee radiator and a 70hp engine.
A new model designation called the Essex Terraplane was introduced in 1932 but the Essex name was dropped in 1933 and the car became known simply as the Terraplane (see Terraplane).
Essex also built pick-up trucks and panel delivery vans based on their passenger car chassis. These were badged as Dover between 1929 and 1930 (see Dover).
Emblems
From the start, the Essex displayed a distinctive hexagonal shaped radiator emblem. The first Essex radiator emblem was finished in red and white enamel, see example above at the top of this post.
This emblem continued in use for some years with several variations in detailed design, some of which are shown below:
This emblem continued in use for some years with several variations in detailed design, some of which are shown below:
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| This is an Essex Four radiator emblem (1922-1923) dnc Size: 50mm high 44mm wide MM: Unknown |
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| This is an Essex Six radiator emblem (1923-1925) mjs Size: 50mm high 44mm wide MM: Unknown |
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| This is an Essex Six radiator emblem (1926) mjs Size: 50mm high 44mm wide MM: D L Auld (also Fox) |
The following Essex emblem appears to be a radiator emblem from 1923-1925 but with the colors reversed. This emblem may have been re-enameled at a later date.
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| This appears to be an Essex radiator emblem with colors reversed (c1923-1925) kmc Size: 50mm high 44mm wide MM: Unknown |
The following Essex emblem in black and white enamel also appears to be from 1923-1925. It has been suggested that this emblem was used for funeral vehicles but this is not confirmed. If you have more information about this emblem, please let me know.
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| This may be a radiator emblem for an Essex funeral car (c1923-1925) kmc Size: 50mm high 44mm wide MM: Unknown |
The color and design of the emblem changed with changes in Essex model designation, see examples shown below.
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| This is an Essex Super Six radiator emblem (1927) mjs Size: 50mm high 44mm wide MM: Bastian (also Robbins) |
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| This is an Essex Super Six radiator emblem (1928) mjs Size: 50mm hgh 44mm wide MM: Bastian (also Robbins) |
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| This is an Essex Super Six export model radiator emblem (1928) dnc Size: 50mm high 44mm wide MM: Bastian (also Robbins) |
The following Essex Super Six emblem has white enameled lettering on a recessed non-enameled background. The emblem is larger than normal and the shape of the "S" letters is unusual. This may be a reproduction emblem.
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| This appears to be an Essex Super Six emblem (dates uncertain) kmc Size: 58mm high 51mm wide MM: None |
The following attractive Essex Super Six emblems are finished in white and blue, red or green enamel and depict the Essex hood ornament. These emblems were displayed inside the vehicle on the dash.
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| This is an Essex Super Six dash emblem (1928) chw Size: 43mm high 37mm wide MM: Unknown |
The Essex Super Six dash emblem shown above was used on open bodied touring cars produced by body builders Smith & Waddington of Sydney, Australia and distributed by Dalgety & Co. Ltd., whose logo is seen on the emblem. This Essex dash emblem is very rare.
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| This is an Essex Super Six dash emblem (1928) dnc Size: 43mm high 37mm wide MM: Unknown |
The Essex Super Six dash emblem shown above was used on roadster models and is also very rare.
The following Essex Challenger dash emblems use the same basic design as the earlier Super Six dash emblems. These Essex Challenger dash emblems are rare.
The Essex Super Six radiator emblem shown below was used in 1929:
The emblem shown below appears to be a color variation to the 1929 Essex Super Six radiator emblem shown above. I cannot confirm that these colors are original.
The following shows an Essex Super Six emblem on a cast winged mounting on a radiator stone guard (the paint was added later ):
The following Essex Super Six Pacemaker v-shaped radiator emblem is finished in blue and white enamel. I cannot confirm if these colors are correct.
I do not know if the Essex 70 emblem shown above was placed on the radiator or on the engine. If you have further details, please let me know, in order to update this post.
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| This is an Essex Challenger dash emblem (1929) mjs Size: 43mm high 37mm wide MM: Unknown |
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| This is an Essex Challenger dash emblem (1929) dnc Size: 43mm high 37mm wide MM: Unknown |
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| This is an Essex Challenger dash emblem (1929) kmc Size: 43mm high 37mm wide MM: Unknown |
The Essex Super Six radiator emblem shown below was used in 1929:
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| This is an Essex Super Six radiator emblem (1929) mjs Size: 56mm high 50mm wide MM: Robbins (also Bastian) |
The emblem shown below appears to be a color variation to the 1929 Essex Super Six radiator emblem shown above. I cannot confirm that these colors are original.
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| This appears to be an Essex Super Six radiator emblem (c1929) ms Size: 56mm high 50mm wide MM: Bastian |
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| This is an Essex Super Six radiator emblem (1930) mjs Size: 56mm high 50mm wide MM: Fox |
The following shows an Essex Super Six emblem on a cast winged mounting on a radiator stone guard (the paint was added later ):
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| This is an Essex Super Six emblem on a stone guard (1930) ms |
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| This is an Essex Six radiator emblem (1931-1932) mjs Size: 50mm high 44mm wide MM: Fox |
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| This is an Essex Six export model radiator emblem (1931-1932) mjs Size: 50mm high 44mm wide MM: Fox |
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| This is an Essex Super Six Pacemaker vee-shaped radiator emblem (1932) dnc Size: 46mm high 38mm wide MM: Fox |
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| This is an Essex Super Six Pacemaker export model vee-shaped radiator emblem (1932) kmc Size: 46mm high 38mm wide MM: Fox |
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| This is an Essex Super Six Pacemaker flat shaped emblem (1932) mjs Size: 45mm high 40mm wide MM: Unknown |
The following Essex Super Six Pacemaker v-shaped radiator emblem is finished in blue and white enamel. I cannot confirm if these colors are correct.
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| This is an Essex Super Six Pacemaker vee-shaped radiator emblem (1932) mjs Size: 45mm high 37mm wide MM: Unknown |
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| This is an Essex 70 hp emblem (1932) mjs Size: 57mm high 50mm wide MM: None |
I do not know if the Essex 70 emblem shown above was placed on the radiator or on the engine. If you have further details, please let me know, in order to update this post.
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