ABBOTT-DETROIT/ABBOTT

Abbott Motor Co. (1909-1914)

Abbott Motor Car Co. (1914-1915)

Consolidated Car Co. (1915-1916)

Detroit, Michigan

Abbott Corp. (1917-1918)

Cleveland, Ohio

This is an Abbott-Detroit radiator emblem (1911-1913)      mjs
Size: 112mm wide 44mm high    MM: S D Childs

The Abbott-Detroit was a conventional motor car but won recognition for the 100,000 mile journey around and across the USA taken by the Abbott-Detroit "Bull Dog" driven by Dr Charles Percival. Abbott-Detroit cars also entered several race car and hill climb events in the early years and did reasonably well, including taking the Philadelphia Trophy at Fairmont Park in 1910 and winning the Algonquin hill climb in 1911. 

The first Abbott-Detroit offered in 1909 was a 30 hp four-cylinder five-passenger touring car. A variety of body styles was available from 1911. An unusually racy looking Battleship Roadster model with a vee-shaped radiator and a metal body was offered in 1913. A six-cylinder Abbot-Detroit joined the line in 1914 with an eight-cylinder model appearing in 1916.

However, the Abbott-Detroit suffered from changes in ownership and management. In 1917 production moved to an expensive new factory in Cleveland but sales of the car, now named simply the Abbott, were not sufficient to pay the rent on the factory, and the company was finished by 1918.

Emblems

The first advertisements for Abbott-Detroit cars in 1909 did not show a radiator emblem or logo other than the "Abbott-Detroit" script logo, see example below.

Abbott-Detroit advertisement (1909)    ms

It might be expected that early Abbott-Detroit cars displayed a radiator script but the only original photo I can find showing an Abbott-Detroit car with a radiator script dates from 1911. Abbott-Detroit radiator scripts are seen on several surviving Abbott-Detroit cars but most were probably added at a later date. 

It is likely that the first Abbott-Detroit cars also did not carry an emblem but I cannot confirm this.

However, the following Abbott-Detroit advertisement for 1910 does show an Abbott-Detroit radiator emblem with entwined letters "AD", see below:

This is an Abbott-Detroit ad showing a radiator emblem (1910)   ms

This Abbott-Detroit radiator emblem is seen in original photos of Abbott-Detroit cars from 1910 to 1912, see examples shown below:

This is an Abbott-Detroit with radiator emblem (1910)    dpl

This is an Abbott-Detroit radiator with an emblem (1911)    dpl

Close-up showing the radiator emblem (1910-1912)    dpl

This Abbott-Detroit radiator emblem appears to have the entwined "AD" letters in white enamel on a light colored enamel background, possibly pale blue but I cannot confirm this. Although this Abbott-Detroit radiator emblem appears on original photos from 1910, 1911 and 1912, I have not seen the actual emblem, which is extremely rare.

If you have details of this Abbott-Detroit radiator emblem, please let me know, in order to update this post.

Some original photos of Abbott-Detroit cars from 1910 and 1911 appear to show the same radiator emblem but with a darker background and a greater contrast with the white enamel on the entwined "AD" letters, although the photos are not clear enough to be certain, see example below:

This is an Abbott-Detroit with a radiator emblem (1910)     dpl

It is believed that this emblem is the darker blue and white enamel Abbott-Detroit radiator emblem shown below. This Abbott-Detroit radiator emblem is extremely rare.

This is an Abbott-Detroit radiator emblem (c1910-1911)    sam
Size: 112mm wide 44mm high     MM: Unknown

Abbott-Detroit radiator emblems with the entwined "AD" letters are seen in original photos up to 1912 but from 1911 some original photos show a different Abbott-Detroit radiator emblem with the entwined "AD" letters replaced by a more stylised letter "A", see example shown below:

This is an Abbott-Detroit showing a white radiator emblem (1911)    dpl

This Abbott-Detroit radiator emblem is the white and red enamel emblem shown below. This Abbott-Detroit radiator emblem is rare.

This is an Abbott-Detroit radiator emblem (c1911-1912)  tcc
Size: 110mm wide 44mm high     MM: None

This Abbott-Detroit radiator emblem continued in use until 1913 but had a small change in the style of the "A" and other lettering probably in 1912 , although I cannot confirm this date, see example shown above at the top of this post and again below for convenience. This Abbott-Detroit radiator emblem is also rare.

This is an Abbott-Detroit radiator emblem (c1912-1913)    mjs
Size: 112mm wide 44mm high     MM: S D Childs

There were some varieties of the Abbott-Detroit radiator emblem in the period 1911 to 1914, see examples below, which are all very rare:

This is an Abbott-Detroit radiator emblem (c1911-1912)     mjs
Size: 112mm wide 44mm high    MM: Unknown

This is an Abbott-Detroit radiator emblem (c1911-1912)      sam
Size: 112mm wide 44mm high    MM: Unknown

Most Abbott-Detroit radiators were flat but the Model 44-50 Battleship roadster offered in 1913 had a vee-shaped radiator and the emblem was wrapped around the radiator filler neck, see original illustration below:

This is an original illustration of the Abbott-Detroit Battleship Roadster (1913)   sfam 

Close-up showing the radiator filler neck emblem (1913)    sfam

This white and red enamel Abbott-Detroit Battleship Roadster radiator filler neck emblem is shown below. This Abbott-Detroit emblem is very rare.

This is an Abbott-Detroit Battleship roadster radiator emblem (1913)    mjs
Size: 93mm wide 44mm high   MM: Unknown (poss Childs)

The rare metal emblem shown below is an Abbott-Detroit hub emblem:

This is an Abbott-Detroit hub emblem (c1912-1914)     mjs
Size: 50mm diameter    MM: None

The Abbott-Detroit hub emblem shown above appears to have been used as the basis for a Pulfer reproduction radiator emblem, see example below:

This appears to be a reproduction Abbott-Detroit emblem     mjs
Size: 51mm diameter    MM: None

The radiator emblem shown below was produced for the Abbott Motor Car Company in 1914 and 1915. This emblem is extremely rare.

This is an Abbott-Detroit Motor Car Co radiator emblem (1914-1915)     sam
Size: 112mm wide 44mm high     MM: Unknown

The radiator emblem shown below was produced for the Consolidated Car Company in 1915 and 1916. This emblem is extremely rare.

This is a Consolidated Car Co Abbott-Detroit radiator emblem (1915-1916)    sam
Size: 112mm wide 44mm high   MM: Unknown

I am not certain about the precise dates of use of the various Abbott-Detroit radiator emblems shown above. If you can confirm any of these dates, please let me know, in order to update this post.

The radiator emblem for the last Abbott cars built in 1917 and 1918 had a completely different design, as shown below. Original examples of this emblem are very rare.

This is an Abbott Corp radiator emblem (1917-1918)     sam
Size: 70mm wide 35mm high    MM: Unknown

But, beware there is a Pulfer reproduction of this Abbott emblem with a flat back and no maker's mark.