MARSH-METZ

American Motor Co. (1906-c1917)

Brockton, Massachusetts

This is a Marsh-Metz motorcycle emblem (c1910)     mjs
Size: 64mm diameter

Before he began his motor car business, Charles Herman Metz had been a successful manufacturer of bicycles. He established the Waltham Manufacturing Company in 1893 and named his bicycles "Orient". He went on to produce a variety of bicycles, tricycles, including motorized versions of these, and then motorcycles. Metz also produced an Orient motor car (see Orient). Metz left the Waltham Manufacturing Company in 1901 but continued to build motorcycles under the Metz name.

In 1905, Metz consolidated his motorcycle business with the American Motor Company, the manufacturers of the Marsh motorcycle. Marsh-Metz (M-M) motorcycles were introduced from late 1906 and were very successful.

Metz returned to his automobile manufacturing business in 1909 (see Metz).

Emblems

Early Marsh motorcycles carried head-stock emblems similar in design to the emblems used on Marsh bicycles, see example shown below:

This is a Marsh motorcycle head-stock emblem (1903)   hsc

The first Marsh-Metz motorcycle head-stock emblems were of a similar design, see example shown below:

This is a Marsh-Metz head-stock emblem (1909)   hsc

Later Marsh-Metz emblems were changed to black painted round emblems, see example shown above at the top of this post. The Marsh-Metz emblem shown below appears to date from 1912. Marsh-Metz emblems are rare.

This is a Marsh-Metz motorcycle emblem (1912)    mjs
Size: 64mm diameter