Columbus Buggy Co. (1909-1914)
New Columbus Buggy Co. (1914-1915)
Columbus, Ohio
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| This is a Firestone-Columbus radiator emblem (c1912-1913) ms Size: 78mm wide 56mm high MM: Robbins |
The Columbus Buggy Company had introduced the Columbus Electric in 1903, to be followed by the Columbus highwheeler in 1907. The Columbus highwheeler was discontinued in 1909 when the Firestone-Columbus was introduced. The new car was designed by Lee Frayer and was named after Clinton DeWitt Firestone, who was the Columbus Buggy Company president.
The first Firestone-Columbus in 1909 was a 35 hp four-cylinder baby tonneau and was well received and about 500 were produced in the first year. A larger 36 hp four-cylinder Series 6 appeared for 1910 together with a 24/25 hp four-cylinder Series 7, both being offered in a wide variety of body styles. A 60 hp six-cylinder model was added to the line for 1913.
This Firestone-Columbus radiator script was first shown in the Motor Age magazine in September 1910 and appears in a factory illustration in the 1910 brochure for the Firestone-Columbus Extension Front Landaulet Model 65-A, see below:
Note that the above illustration from the 1910 Firestone-Columbus brochure also depicts a radiator emblem consisting of the entwined letters "F" and "C", see close up below:
I believe this illustration depicts an accurate representation of the first Firestone-Columbus radiator emblem, because the Firestone-Columbus radiator script is accurately represented and later brochures from 1913 accurately depict the radiator emblem shown at the top of this post. However, I have never seen this Firestone-Columbus radiator emblem in reality. If indeed it does exist, it would be ultra rare.
The 1910 Firestone-Columbus brochure also includes an illustration for the Model 7-A Gentlemen's Runabout, which shows a round radiator emblem, see below:
The Model 7-A Gentleman's Runabout did not appear in 1911 but the same Firestone-Columbus radiator emblem is clearly seen on another model in an original trade fair photo from 1911, see below:
This round radiator emblem is the white and maroon enamel Firestone-Columbus radiator emblem shown below. This is the only example of this emblem that I have seen and is extremely rare.
The dark blue and white enamel Firestone-Columbus radiator emblem depicting the explorer Christopher Columbus, shown above at the top of this post, is much admired by collectors and, although I have seen several examples of this emblem, it is very rare. This Firestone-Columbus radiator emblem was certainly in use by 1913 and may have been first used in about 1912 but I cannot confirm this.
The Firestone-Columbus achieved some useful marketing publicity through success in races with Eddie Rickenbacker at the wheel. Improvements were made to the Firestone-Columbus cars continually as they were produced rather than at the time of introducing a new model year. The business seemed to be going well and production reached 2,000 a year by 1912. But, there were financial problems and damage caused by the severe flooding resulted in the company running out of cash in 1913.
The following Firestone-Columbus radiator script was used from 1910. Original Firestone-Columbus radiator scripts of this design are rare.
In February 1914, Clinton Firestone was found dead, a victim of apoplexy or a massive stroke. The company was sold and reorganized as the New Columbus Buggy Company. A small production of Firestone-Columbus cars continued with new models from 1914 until all production, including the Columbus Electric, ceased in 1915.
Emblems
The first Firestone-Columbus cars appearing in 1909 most likely displayed a brass "Firestone-Columbus" script attached to the radiator core.
The following Firestone-Columbus radiator script is believed to have been used in 1909 but I cannot confirm this. This Firestone-Columbus radiator script is extremely rare.
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| This is a Firestone-Columbus radiator script (c1909) sam Size: 200mm wide 127mm high |
The following Firestone-Columbus radiator script was used from 1910. Original Firestone-Columbus radiator scripts of this design are rare.
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| This is a Firestone-Columbus radiator script (1910-1914) sam Size: 228mm wide 100mm high |
This Firestone-Columbus radiator script was first shown in the Motor Age magazine in September 1910 and appears in a factory illustration in the 1910 brochure for the Firestone-Columbus Extension Front Landaulet Model 65-A, see below:
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| This Model 65-A factory illustration shows the radiator script and an emblem (1910) sfam |
Note that the above illustration from the 1910 Firestone-Columbus brochure also depicts a radiator emblem consisting of the entwined letters "F" and "C", see close up below:
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| This close up shows the Firestone-Columbus radiator emblem sfam |
I believe this illustration depicts an accurate representation of the first Firestone-Columbus radiator emblem, because the Firestone-Columbus radiator script is accurately represented and later brochures from 1913 accurately depict the radiator emblem shown at the top of this post. However, I have never seen this Firestone-Columbus radiator emblem in reality. If indeed it does exist, it would be ultra rare.
The 1910 Firestone-Columbus brochure also includes an illustration for the Model 7-A Gentlemen's Runabout, which shows a round radiator emblem, see below:
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| This is a Firestone-Columbus Md 7-A brochure illustration (1910) sfam |
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| Close-up showing a round radiator emblem and a radiator script (1910) |
The Model 7-A Gentleman's Runabout did not appear in 1911 but the same Firestone-Columbus radiator emblem is clearly seen on another model in an original trade fair photo from 1911, see below:
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| This is a Firestone-Columbus showing radiator emblem (1911) dpl |
This round radiator emblem is the white and maroon enamel Firestone-Columbus radiator emblem shown below. This is the only example of this emblem that I have seen and is extremely rare.
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| This is a Firestone-Columbus radiator emblem (possibly late 1910-1911) mjs Size: 63mm diameter MM: Unknown |
The dark blue and white enamel Firestone-Columbus radiator emblem depicting the explorer Christopher Columbus, shown above at the top of this post, is much admired by collectors and, although I have seen several examples of this emblem, it is very rare. This Firestone-Columbus radiator emblem was certainly in use by 1913 and may have been first used in about 1912 but I cannot confirm this.
I have not seen a Firestone-Columbus radiator emblem for use on the few cars built by the New Columbus Buggy Company in 1914-1915. If you have details of such an emblem, please let me know, in order to update this post. Such a Firestone-Columbus radiator emblem would be extremely rare.
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