CHALMERS-DETROIT

Chalmers-Detroit Motor Co. (1908-1910)

Detroit, Michigan

This is a Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem (1908-1909)     ms
Size: Unknown    MM: Unknown

The Chalmers-Detroit Motor Company was set up in 1908 and the first cars were marketed as 1909 models. Initially, they were Thomas-Detroit motor cars under a new name, Chalmers-Detroit, and were successful in racing car contests and tours in 1908-1909. Some of America's wealthiest businessmen owned Chalmers-Detroit motor cars, including the Vanderbilts and the Rockefellers.

Late in 1910 Chalmers-Detroit reorganized into the Chalmers Motor Company and all cars thereafter were known simply as Chalmers.

Emblems

Original photos of Chalmers-Detroit cars taking part in contests in 1908-1909 indicate that some cars carried a radiator emblem, some only a radiator script, some with both a radiator emblem and radiator script and some without any emblem or script, see examples below:

This shows Chalmers-Detroit cars with and without radiator emblems or scripts (1909)   dpl

This is a Chalmers-Detroit with a radiator emblem and a brass radiator script (1909)   dpl

This is a Chalmers-Detroit with a radiator emblem and different radiator script (1909)  dpl

Original brass Chalmers-Detroit radiator scripts as shown in the photos above and in the example shown below are very rare.

This is a Chalmers-Detroit radiator script (1908-1909)    mjs
Size: 510mm

The Chalmers-Detroit brochure produced in 1908 to introduce the 1909 models shows a Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem on the cover, see below:

This is a Chalmers-Detroit brochure cover showing a radiator emblem (1908)  ms

The following painted metal emblem is believed to have been the first Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem in 1908. This Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem is extremely rare.

This is a Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem (1908)      kmc
Size: Unknown    MM: Unknown

This Chalmers-Detroit has been seen on a badly corroded radiator, see below:

This is a Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem (1908)     ms

The same emblem appears on a restored 1909 Chalmers-Detroit Thirty, which may have been built in 1908, see below:

This is a Chalmers-Detroit 30 with a brass radiator emblem and script (1909) steve sexton 

Close-up showing the radiator emblem

The blue and white enamel Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem shown above at the top of this post was in use by 1909, and possibly in late 1908, and is one of the earliest enamel radiator emblems in America. This Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem is extremely rare.

The Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem design was changed in late 1909 for the 1910 model year, see example below. This Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem is very rare.

This is a Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem (1909-1910)     sac
Size: 58mm diameter     MM: Unknown

A metal only version of this emblem with what appears to be a slightly domed center is seen on a restored Chalmers-Detroit Model K listed as a 1910 model, see below. I do not have a clearer photo of this Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem, which is extremely rare.

This shows a domed metal Chalmers-Detroit radiator emblem (1910)  bonhams