Staver Carriage Co. (1907-1911)
Staver Motor Co. (1911-1914)
Chicago, Illinois
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| This is a Staver radiator emblem (1911-1914) mjs Size: 75mm high 66mm wide MM: Greenduck |
The Staver Carriage Company was a manufacturer of horse-drawn vehicles which entered the motor car business in 1907 with one of the largest and most expensive high-wheelers built in America. It was a 18/20 hp two-cylinder tiller steered Stanhope buggy.
In 1910 the Staver became a conventional four-cylinder car offered in 30 hp and 45 hp engine sizes and in a range of body styles, which increased to twelve body styles in 1911. A 70 hp six-cylinder model joined the line for 1914. The company was renamed the Staver Motor Company in 1911 but continued to build horse-drawn vehicles and in 1912 bought out the Mitchell-Lewis horse-drawn wagon business.
The annual production of the Staver car increased each year but the company ceased trading in 1914.
The early high-wheeler Staver cars did not carry an emblem but would have displayed the "Staver" name on small maker's nameplates or serial plates attached to the body of the vehicle, usually at the rear or under the driver's seat.
There are very few original period photos of Staver motor cars and only five or six surviving examples, only one of which appears to have a confirmed original emblem, which makes it difficult to be precise about dates of use.
Emblems
The Staver horse-drawn vehicles carried a small maker's tag attached to the rear of the vehicle, see example shown below:
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| Staver horse-drawn carriage tag (c1908) mjs Size: 72mm wide 14mm high |
The early high-wheeler Staver cars did not carry an emblem but would have displayed the "Staver" name on small maker's nameplates or serial plates attached to the body of the vehicle, usually at the rear or under the driver's seat.
There are very few original period photos of Staver motor cars and only five or six surviving examples, only one of which appears to have a confirmed original emblem, which makes it difficult to be precise about dates of use.
However, the earliest original Staver motor car photos from 1910 show some Staver cars with a brass "Staver-Chicago" radiator script , see example shown below, as well as others with no radiator script. This suggests that the Staver-Chicago radiator script was an optional extra and dates from 1910 or, possibly, 1909.
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| This shows a Staver with a radiator script taking part in the Munsey Historic Tour (1910) dpl |
This is the brass "Staver-Chicago" radiator script shown below. Original "Staver-Chicago" radiator scripts are rare.
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| This is a Staver-Chicago radiator script (c1909-1911) mjs Size: 346mm wide |
The following Staver advertisement from 1910 shows a 30 hp Staver with a shield shaped radiator emblem:
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| Stave ad showing rad emblem (1910) tha |
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| Close-up showing the Staver radiator emblem (1910) |
This Staver radiator emblem is seen in original photos of Staver cars from 1910, although not very clearly, see example shown below:
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| This shows a Staver car with a possible radiator emblem (1910) dpl |
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| Close-up showing possible radiator emblem (1910) |
The Staver radiator emblem is shield shaped and appears to be a, possibly painted, brass emblem. If this Staver radiator emblem can be found, it would be extremely rare. If you have a clearer photo of this Staver radiator emblem, please let me know, in order to update this post.
The Staver radiator emblem was changed to an enamel finished emblem by 1911, see original photo shown below:
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| This shows a Staver race car with a radiator emblem (1911) dpl |
This is the white and red enamel, shield shaped Staver radiator emblem shown above at the top of this post and again below. This Staver radiator emblem shows the Staver Carriage Company trademark, which includes a crest showing a stag's head with an arrow through its neck. This Staver radiator emblem is very rare.
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| This is a Staver radiator emblem (1911-1914) mjs Size: 75mm high 66mm wide MM: Greenduck |
This Staver radiator emblem is also clearly seen on surviving Staver cars from 1912 and it is assumed that this emblem continued to be used until the end of production in 1914, although I cannot confirm this.
The following shield shaped, pressed metal, painted Staver emblem is a side light emblem. This Staver emblem is rare.
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| This is a Staver side light emblem (c1912) mjs Size: 33mm high 30mm wide MM: Unknown |
The following shield shaped Staver serial plate appears to be for a 1914 Staver motor car but it is, in fact, from a most unusual 1914 horse-drawn Staver carriage, which had automobile styling and had electric lights:
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| This is a Staver horse-drawn carriage serial plate (1914) mjs Size: 67mm high 56mm wide |
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