MONITOR (1)

Monitor Automobile Works
Chicago, Illinois (1909-1910)
Janesville, Wisconsin (1910-1916)

This is a Monitor radiator script (1909-1916)    sam
Size: 85mm wide

The first Monitor in 1909 was a 18 hp two-cylinder two-passenger high-wheeler produced in Chicago. A four-passenger surrey model was produced for the 1910 model year. This model was also converted to a half-ton capacity, dual-purpose "Milk Wagon/Pleasure Car", an example of which won an endurance contest in Kansas City in January 1910. The Monitor plant was relocated to Janesville, Wisconsin later in 1910. 

The success of the dual-purpose Monitor encouraged the Monitor management to concentrate on commercial vehicles exclusively after 1911, including the half-ton two-cylinder, dual-purpose model and a four-cylinder 1-ton capacity truck, both offered in a variety of standard body types.

Emblem

The Monitor commercial vehicles carried a brass "Monitor" script mounted on the radiator core, as seen in the following Monitor advertisement from 1910:

Monitor commercial car ad showing radiator script (1910) ebay

Detail showing Monitor radiator script (1910)

The same Monitor radiator script continued after the move to Janesville, Wisconsin, see original period photo of a 1912 Monitor truck and 1913 advertisement illustration both shown below:

Monitor truck (1912)    tom

Monitor Model D showing radiator script (1913)     atj

This is the brass Monitor radiator script shown above at the top of this post. This Monitor radiator script is very rare.

It is believed that the brass Monitor script was also displayed on the radiator of the four-cylinder Monitor passenger cars but I cannot confirm this.

The "Monitor" name was also displayed on brass sill plates, see example shown below:

This is a Monitor sill plate (c1910)    proxibid
Size: 406mm wide 38mm high