KING

King Motor Car Co.

Detroit, Michigan (1910-1923)

Buffalo, New York (1923)

This is a King radiator emblem (1917-1921 & likely to 1923)  mjs
Size: 61mm high 59mm wide   MM: D L Auld

Charles Brady King had planned to enter the Chicago Times-Herald Contest of 1895 but his car was not ready. It was finished in 1896 and was the first gasoline automobile to be driven in the streets of Detroit. Henry Ford had followed him on a bicycle. Charles King next joined up with Jonathan D. Maxwell to build the Northern motor car but left this venture in 1908 and spent two years in Europe studying automobile design.

Charles King returned to Detroit to design his new car, which was tested in 1910. The King Motor Car Company was organised in early 1911 to produce the King, using the slogan "The Car of No Regrets". The King began as a 35hp four-cylinder automobile, which was popular and sold well. King expanded his manufacturing plant in 1912 but this may have been too hasty as the King company went into receivership soon after.

The company was reorganized in early 1913 and King production continued. In December 1914, King introduced a V-8 model, which was announced as "the world's first popular-priced Eight". The best year for the King was 1916 with production up to 3,000 cars. Production figures began to fall year by year after 1916. King built armored vehicles, ambulances and trucks for the US Government during the First World War.

Financial problems in the fall of 1920 resulted in a second collapse of the company, the assets of which were sold in 1921 and receivership was lifted in late 1922. The new owner moved the company to a smaller factory in Buffalo in late 1923 but it was no good and the King was finished by early 1924. The remaining bodies and parts were shipped to England and 100 additional King cars were assembled there in 1925.

Emblems

The first King automobile tested in 1910 did not carry a radiator emblem but did display the King name on a brass script attached to the radiator core, see original photo below:

This is a King automobile showing a radiator script (1910)_  dpl

An original King radiator script with this early design would be extremely rare.

The first production King Model A cars in 1911 did carry a radiator emblem, see original King factory photo and catalog illustration shown below:

King Model A showing a radiator emblem (1911)   dpl

Close up showing radiator emblem (1911)

King catalog showing radiator emblem (1911)   dpl

Close up showing King radiator emblem (1911)

This is the red and white enamel King radiator emblem shown below. This King radiator emblem is very rare.

This is a King radiator emblem (1911-c1914)   tcc
Size: 70mm high 49mm wide    MM: Unknown

In 1912, the King Motor Car Company was using a similar design for its logo on advertisements, see example shown below:

This is a King ad showing logo design (1912)  ebay

However, later King advertisements used the radiator emblem design shown earlier above as the logo design, see example shown below:

King ad showing radiator emblem as the logo (1914)  aaca library

The radiator emblem seen in the photo of the King motor car in this advertisement does not appear to show the bright white enamel of the emblem shown earlier above. This may be due to the use of a new radiator emblem, which was introduced around this time. This is the red enamel King radiator emblem shown below. This King radiator emblem is rare.

This is a King radiator emblem (c1914-c1916)     mjs
Size: 70mm high 49mm wide    MM: Whitehead & Hoag

This King radiator emblem was still in use in 1915, see the four-cylinder King Model C advertisement shown below, and may have continued in use into 1916, although I cannot confirm this:

King Model C ad showing rad emblem (1915)

The eight cylinder King Model D was introduced in 1915 and displayed a "King 8" script mounted in the center of the radiator grille. The following original photo of a 1915 eight-cylinder King Model D open tourer clearly shows the new "King 8"radiator script but also has a circular radiator emblem:

This is a King Model D (1915)    dpl

This close-up shows a circular radiator emblem and a "King 8" script (1915)  dpl

This circular King radiator emblem is a mystery. I have found no other original period King car photos and no King advertisements showing a circular radiator emblem. The emblem in the photo is reflecting the sunlight, so that the detailed design of the emblem cannot be seen and advertisements for the King Model D appearing in 1915 still depict the red enamel emblem used since 1914, see example below:

King 8 ad showing rad emblem & script (1915) ebay

Detail showing radiator emblem & script (1915)

The King Model D in the original 1915 photo shown earlier above may have been using a trial circular emblem for the first eight-cylinder King, which was not continued. This emblem may have been similar in design to the circular King emblem shown below and possibly finished in enamel, although I cannot confirm any of this. 

This is a King emblem (dates uncertain)  mjs
Size: 54mm diameter    MM: D L Auld

This King emblem can also be found nickel plated, see example shown below:

This is a King emblem (dates uncertain)   cwc
Size: 54mm diameter   MM: Unknown (probably D L Auld)

These King emblems may have been hub emblems. Certainly, similar circular King emblems were used as hub emblems, see example shown below. King hub emblems are scarce.

King hubcap and hub emblem (dates uncertain)   dkc

There were several versions of the "King 8" radiator script first used in 1915, see examples below. Original "King 8" radiator scripts are scarce.

This is a King 8 radiator script (1915-1916)     mjs
Size: 201mm wide 162mm high   MM: None

This is a King 8 radiator script (1915-1916)    mjs
Size: 127mm wide 110mm high   MM: None

This is a King 8 radiator script (1915-1916)     mjs
Size: 200mm wide 150mm high   MM: None

By 1917, the "King 8" radiator script disappeared and a new King 8 radiator shape appeared displaying a new King radiator emblem, see King advertisement shown below:

King ad showing new radiator & emblem (1917) ebay

This new King emblem is the red and white enamel King radiator emblem shown above at the top of this post and again below. This King radiator emblem is scarce.

This is a King radiator emblem (1917-1921 & likely to 1923)   mjs
Size: 61mm high 59mm wide    MM: D L Auld

This King radiator emblem is seen in original period King photos and advertisements up to 1920 and in the 1920-1921 King brochure, see examples shown below:

King sedan showing radiator emblem (1920)   flp

King radiator emblem displayed in King brochure (1920-1921) ebay

King advertising ceased following the collapse of the King Motor Car company in late 1920, no doubt due to the lack of finance and the uncertainty of the 1920-1921 depression. I can find only one photo of a King car after 1920. This is of a 1922 King, which appears to show the same radiator emblem but the photo is unclear. What is clear is that the King Motor Car Company did not have the cash to make new radiator emblems. It is highly likely that the King radiator emblem shown above continued in use to the end of production in 1923 but I cannot confirm this absolutely. 

It has been suggested that the circular metal King emblem shown earlier above may have been used as the King radiator emblem for the period 1920 to 1923 but, to date, I have not found any evidence to support this. 

The following photos show some varieties of King hub emblems:

This is a King hub (date uncertain)   dkc

This is a King hub emblem (dates uncertain)    mjs
Size: 55mm diameter    MM: D L Auld

This is a King wire-wheel hub emblem (dates uncertain)     mjs
Size: 69mm diameter    MM: D L Auld

The King hub emblems shown above are scarce.