November 05, 2019

HANDLEY KNIGHT/HANDLEY

Handley-Knight Co. (1921-1922)

Handley Motors, Inc. (1923)

Kalamazoo, Michigan

This is a Handley-Knight radiator emblem (1921-1922)     mjs
Size: 65mm high 38mm wide    MM: Bastian Bros

The Handley-Knight was powered by a 54 hp four-cylinder Knight sleeve valve engine. The first Handley-Knight cars were ready by 1921 and were offered in a variety of touring and sedan body styles. They were announced as "America's Finest Knight-Motored Car".

But in November 1922 the company decided to drop the Knight motor and use a conventional motor instead. The company was reorganized as Handley Motors, Inc. and the new six-cylinder cars called Handley appeared in early 1923 but only lasted for a couple of months. The Handley plant was bought by Checker Cab in the spring of 1923.

Emblems

The red and white enamel Handley-Knight radiator emblem shown above is rare.

There is a very good reproduction of the Handley-Knight radiator emblem, so beware. The reproduction emblem can be identified easily, however, as it does not have the Bastian Bros maker's mark on the back, see photo below:

This shows the backs of original (left) and repro (right) Handley-Knight emblems   mjs

The Handley was advertised in December 1922 when seeking sales agents, see example below, which shows the Handley radiator emblem in red:

Handley ad showing radiator emblem (1922)  ma

The actual Handley radiator emblem was finished in black enamel, see example shown below. This  Handley radiator emblem was used on the Handley car for a couple of months only in 1923 and is extremely rare.

This is a Handley radiator emblem (1923)      sam
Size: 64mm high 35mm wide      MM: Unknown






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