POPE-TRIBUNE

Pope Manufacturing Co. (1904-1908)
Hagerstown, Maryland

This is a Pope-Tribune radiator script (1906-1908)  conceptcarz

The Pope-Tribune was introduced in 1904 at the same time as the Pope-Hartford (see Pope-Hartford) and was the smallest and lowest-priced of the Pope motorcars. 

The first Pope-Tribune was a 6 hp single-cylinder runabout. A 12 hp two-cylinder model was added in 1905 and a 16/20 hp four-cylinder model followed in 1907. Prices increased each year but by 1908 Pope-Tribune sales fell and the Pope organization was in disarray. It was all over for the Pope-Tribune by November 1908.

Emblems

The first Pope-Tribune cars did not carry an emblem, see the following illustration from a 1904 Pope-Tribune brochure, but would have had the Pope-Tribune name displayed on a small brass maker's nameplate usually attached to the rear of the car or on the dashboard:

Pope-Tribune brochure illustration showing no emblem (1904)  ebay

The following shows the Pope-Tribune nameplate on the dashboard of a surviving 1904 Pope-Tribune Model II:

Pope-Tribune Model II dashboard (1904)  bonhams

Pope-Tribune Model II nameplate (1904)   bonhams 

This is the painted Pope-Tribune nameplate shown below. This Pope-Tribune nameplate is rare.

This is a Pope-Tribune nameplate (1904-c1906)   mjs
Size: 77mm wide 39mm high

The "Pope-Tribune" name was also displayed on the hubcaps, see example shown below:

This is a Pope-Tribune hubcap (1904)   bonhams

The following original period photo shows a Pope-Tribune Model IV from 1905 and appears to display a small rectangular nameplate on the top of the radiator, although the detail is unclear.

Pope-Tribune Model IV taking part in the Glidden Tour (1905)  dpl

This small nameplate may be the radiator maker's nameplate but the following illustration from a 1906 advertisement showing the Pope-Tribune Model V/VI includes a radiator nameplate, which may well be a small brass Pope-Tribune nameplate:

Pope-Tribune ad showing radiator nameplate (1906)  gracesguide

This radiator nameplate may be the same small brass Pope-Tribune radiator nameplate shown earlier above or, possibly, the following Pope-Tribune nameplate, which is believed to have been used from about 1906, although I cannot confirm this date. This Pope-Tribune nameplate is rare.

This is a Pope-Tribune nameplate (c1906-1908)   mjs
Size: 77mm wide 38mm high

The following shows a different Pope-Tribune hubcap:

This is a Pope-Tribune hubcap (c1906)    ms

Most surviving but restored Pope-Tribune cars display a "Pope-Tribune" script, similar to the script shown at the top of this post, mounted on the radiator core even on some 1904 models. But, as noted above, early Pope-Tribune cars had no emblem or script. 

This Pope-Tribune radiator script was certainly used on some, but not all, Pope-Tribune cars from 1907, and possibly from 1906, see original 1907 Pope-Tribune Model X photo shown below. However, most Pope-Tribune radiator scripts mounted on restored cars are reproductions. Original Pope-Tribune radiator scripts are rare.

Pope-Tribune Model X showing a radiator script (1907)  hac