WINTHER TRUCK/WINTHER-MARWIN

Winther Motor Truck Co. (1917-1918)
Winthrop Harbor, Illinois

Winthrop Motor Truck Co. (1918-1921)

Winther Motors Inc. (1921-1926)

Kenosha Fire Engine & Truck Co. (1927)

Kenosha, Wisconsin

This is a Winther truck radiator emblem (c1921-1926)   mjs
Size: 79mm wide 68mm high    MM: None

Martin P Winther had previously worked for the Jeffery Company and started his own Winther Motor Truck Company in 1917. Winther began building conventional rear wheel drive trucks up to 6-ton capacity in Winthrop, Illinois. In 1918, the company moved to Kenosha, Wisconsin and was reorganized as the Winthrop Motor Truck Company and began producing a four-wheel drive truck called the Winther-Marwin. The range of trucks offered was from 1-ton to 7-tons capacity.

In 1921, the company was reorganized as Winther Motors Incorporated and returned to producing Winther trucks. 1-1/2-ton capacity trucks were aimed at the farmer's market with heavier models built for logging, fire-fighting and as snowplows. Winther produced passenger cars between 1921 and 1923 (see Winther). In 1926, the Winther truck range included five models from 1-1/2-ton to 5/7-ton capacity. 

In the last year, the vehicles were renamed Winther-Kenosha and in 1927 the company was sold to H P Olsen and truck manufacture was discontinued.

Emblems 

The first Winther trucks built at Winthrop Harbor, Illinois had a heavy cast radiator with a ribbed front to the radiator tank top, where an enamel Winther truck radiator emblem was mounted. The Winther name was also cast into each side of the radiator, as seen in the Winther truck advertisement shown below: 

This is a Winther truck ad showing the radiator and emblem (1918)  tccj

The Winther truck radiator emblem for these early Winther trucks built at Winthrop Harbor was the same basic design and, presumably, finished in the same the red, white and blue enamel as the Winther truck radiator emblem shown above at the top of this post.  However, the early emblem had the location "Winthrop Harbor, Ill" inscribed on the emblem, see close-up shown below:

This is the Winthrop Harbor built Winther truck radiator emblem (1917-1918) 

Original Winthrop Harbor built Winther truck radiator emblems are extremely rare. If you have a photo of this Winther truck radiator emblem, please let me have details, in order to up date this post.

Following the move to Kenosha, Wisconsin later in 1918, the Winther truck radiator emblem was changed to reflect the new factory location, see example shown above at the top of this post. This red, white and blue enamel Winther truck radiator emblem is very rare.

In all other respects, the truck was the same as before with the "Winther" name also cast in the sides of the radiator, see example shown below:

This is a Winther Md 48 truck showing the emblem and cast name (1918)  wam

The first four-wheel drive Winther-Marwin trucks built at Kenosha in 1918 and 1919 are believed to have displayed a similar radiator emblem, which is shown in the following advertisement from 1919:

This is a Winther-Marwin ad showing the radiator emblem (1919) tcv

It is most likely that this Winther-Marwin truck radiator emblem was finished in red, white and blue enamel, similar to the illustration shown below, although I cannot confirm this:

This is the design of the Winther-Marwin radiator emblem (1918-1919)  ms

Original Winther-Marwin truck radiator emblems are extremely rare. If you have a photo of this emblem, please let me know, in order to up-date this post.

Later Winther-Marwin trucks had the "Winther-Marwin" name cast into the radiator tank top, see example shown below:

This is a Winther-Marwin truck (1920)    hatm  

Close-up showing the cast Winther-Marwin radiator emblem (1920)

Winther trucks produced after the 1921 reorganization are believe to have carried the same radiator emblem as shown above at the top of this post. 

I do not know, if there was a different emblem for the Winther-Kenosha truck built in 1927. If so, this Winther-Kenosha radiator emblem would be extremely rare.