NIAGARA

Mutual Motor Car Co. (1915)
Niagara Automobile Co. (1915-1916)
Buffalo, New York

This is a Niagara radiator emblem (1915)    mjs
Size: 55mm wide 51mm high   MM: Unknown

There were several companies in the Buffalo area involved with the Niagara automobile but the main sponsor was the Mutual Motor Car Company of Buffalo. 

The Niagara was a 20 hp four-cylinder open car offered as a five-passenger touring or a two-passenger roadster. The Niagara was not built in Buffalo but in Elkhart, Indiana, by the Crow company, which provided entrepreneurs with a quick and easy way to enter the automotive market by putting their emblem on a car produced by Crow. Not surprisingly, the Niagara was similar to the Crow Four, except for the emblem.  

Production of the Niagara began in 1915. The Mutual Motor Car Company and the Poppenberg Motor Company, a dealership in Buffalo, teamed up to form the Niagara Automobile Company later in 1915, but it was all over in 1916, after a total production of about 500 Niagara cars.

Emblem

The pale blue and black enamel Niagara radiator emblem shown above has the Niagara Falls in detail in the background. This Niagara radiator emblem is very rare.

The following color variation is a blue and white enamel Niagara radiator emblem. This Niagara radiator emblem is also very rare.

This is a Niagara radiator emblem (1915)     sam
Size: 55mm wide 51mm high    MM: Unknown

I can find no evidence that the Niagara Automobile Company ever produced an emblem for the Niagara.  If you are aware of such an emblem, please let me know, in order to update this post. It is likely that the Niagara radiator emblems shown above were used until production ceased in 1916, although I cannot confirm this.

Emblem collectors should beware as there are reproduction Niagara radiator emblems with less detail in relief and some finished in unusual colors, see examples shown below:

This is a reproduction Niagara emblem     pcc

This is a reproduction Niagara emblem     khc