MAIBOHM

Maibohm Motors Co. (1916-1922)
Racine, Wisconsin & Sandusky, Ohio

This is a Maibohm radiator emblem (1920-1922)    mjs
Size: 57mm high 47mm wide    MM: Unknown

The Maibohm Wagon Company in Racine, Wisconsin was a successful carriage builder owned by Peter Maibohm. His son, Harry C. Maibohm established the Maibohm Motors Company early in 1916 after having worked for Locomobile. The first Maibohm was a 17 hp four-cylinder car offered in roadster or coupe styles and was announced as "An All-American Sport Car". A six-cylinder model joined the line for 1918. A fire destroyed most of the Racine factory in December 1918. Some manufacture continued in the Racine factory but Maibohm production was relocated to a new factory in Sandusky in the spring of 1919.

Production was up to 30 cars per day by 1920 and the company had successful distributors in most parts of America as well as overseas. Harry Maibohm left his company to others to manage while he went to Philadelphia to help with the Biddle business (see Biddle). When the Biddle business went into receivership, Maibohm returned to Sandusky to find that his own company was in trouble and sales of the Maibohm were falling, due to the economic downturn after World War I. In May 1922 the Maibohm Motors Company was bought by the creditors and sold to Arrow Motors, a new company with plans to market a refined version of the Maibohm as the Courier (see Courier).

Emblems

The Maibohm carried a shield shaped radiator emblem finished in green, burgundy and black enamel, reflecting the colors often used for Maibohm car bodies. 

The first Maibohm radiator emblem was inscribed "Racine Wisconsin USA" with the "Maibohm" name in a Gothic style script, see example shown below. This Maibohm radiator emblem is extremely rare.

This is a Maibohm radiator emblem (1916-1918)  jacques leretrait
Size: poss 57mm high 47mm wide    MM: Unknown

The following Maibohm radiator emblem retains the Gothic style "Maibohm" name but is inscribed "Sandusky USA" and was clearly used after the move to Sandusky in 1919. This Maibohm radiator emblem is very rare.

This is a Sandusky radiator emblem (1919-1920)     mjs
Size: 57mm high 47mm wide    MM: Unknown

The following Maibohm radiator emblem appears to be a variation with "USA" finished in red enamel rather than the more usual black. This may have been an error in the manufacture of the emblem but I cannot confirm this. 

This is a Maibohm radiator emblem (1919-1920)  sac
Size: 57mm high 47mm wide   MM: Unknown

The following is a Maibohm hub emblem used after the move to Sandusky in 1919 and is very rare.

This is a Maibohm Sandusky hub emblem (1919-1920)   sam
Size: 

An earlier Maibohm hub emblem inscribed "Racine" used before the move to Sandusky would be extremely rare.

The Gothic script used for the "Maibohm" name was also used in early Maibohm advertisements, see example shown below:

Maibohm Six advertisement (c1918)  ebay

The Gothic script used for the "Maibohm" name was replaced in Maibohm advertisements by a more conventional script in 1920, see example shown below:

Maibohm advertisement (1920)  worthpoint

This revised script style was used for a new Maibohm radiator from 1920, see the example shown above at the top of this post and again below. This Maibohm radiator emblem is rare.

This is a Maibohm radiator emblem (1920-1922)   mjs
Size: 57mm high 47mm wide    MM: Unknown

The same script was also used for the hubcaps, see example shown below:

This is a Maibohm hubcap (1920-1922)    dkc