CUSTER

Custer Specialty Co. (1920-1965)
Dayton, Ohio

This is a Custer Car emblem (dates unknown)      mjs
Size: 94mm wide 55mm high   MM: None

L. Luzern Custer built an experimental electric car in 1898 but it was not until 1920 that he began his Custer Specialty Company for the production of electric vehicles. The Custer was built as a Cootie (children's car), Cabbie (miniature railroad car), Chair (automotive wheelchair), Carrier (factory truck) and Coupe (two-passenger city car). Custer cars were also used ads fairground bumper cars.

The most successful was the automotive wheelchair, which continued to be produced for many years. The second highest production vehicle was the Cootie children's car, several models of which were made over the years, some being converted to use small gasoline engines. Very few of the Coupe passenger cars were ever built.

Emblems

The Custer Coupe and the Custer Cootie cars carried oval shaped emblems mounted on the false radiator grille, see example photos shown below:

Custer Cootie car showing emblem (1922)

Custer Coupe showing emblem (1930)    standard catalog

Custer Automotive Wheelchair (1922)    moroz

Close up showing emblem  moroz

An example of an original Custer car emblem is shown above at the top of this post. The following is an example of an original Custer Carrier truck emblem. Original Custer emblems are rare.

This is a Custer Carrier emblem (dates unknown)     mjs
Size: 96mm wide 58mm high    MM: None

Emblem collectors should beware as there are crudely made cast aluminum reproduction Custer emblems.