MASON

Mason Motor Car Co. (1906-1908)
Des Moines, Iowa
Mason Automobile Co. (1909-1910)
Maytag-Mason Motor Car Co. (1910-1912)
Mason Motor Co. (1912-1914)
Waterloo, Iowa

Mason The Hill Climber emblem (1906)   ms
Size: Unknown   MM: Unknown

Fred and August Duesenberg opened a garage in Des Moines, where they also built their first experimental automobile in 1904. Their first successful prototype car was called the Marvel but it became the Mason when Edward R. Mason came up with the finance needed to establish The Mason Motor Car Company, which was ready in early 1906. 

In May 1906, a pre-production Mason car was driven up the 47 steps of the Iowa State Capital building and henceforth the Mason carried the slogan "Mason The Hill Climber". The Mason also received good publicity in races after 1907. 

Production of the Mason began on August 16, 1906. The first production Mason was a 24 hp two-cylinder model offered in touring and runabout body styles.

In 1909, the Maytag brothers, successful builders of washing machines and agricultural machinery, took a controlling interest in the recently renamed Mason Automobile Company and moved the plant to Waterloo, Iowa (see Maytag). The company was reorganized as the Maytag-Mason Motor Car Company in 1910 and continued to produce the two-cylinder Mason alongside a new 32/35 hp four-cylinder Maytag touring car also designed by Fred Duesenberg. For 1911, the two-cylinder model was marketed as a Maytag. 

In January 1912, Edward R. Mason regained control and reorganized as Mason Motor Company and all the cars became Masons. Fred and August Duesenberg left to form their own company in 1913 but continued to provide some support to Edward Mason. The two-cylinder Mason was dropped for 1914 and a new 65 hp four-cylinder car known as the Mason-Mohler joined the 30 hp four-cylinder Mason. But, the Mason company was already in financial trouble and efforts to save the company while in receivership failed. All Mason production ended in 1914.

Emblems

The first Mason cars sold in 1906 appear to have had black enamel painted radiators, see original photo shown below, which is dated 1906 and labelled as "the first Mason cars sold" by an unknown sales company. This early Mason car has the "Mason" name in Gothic script and finished in white across the top of the radiator, possibly painted or in the form of a decal.

Mason car with radiator emblem (1906)   dpl

If this "Mason" name is in the form of a separate radiator emblem and a genuine original could be found, it would be ultra rare. 

Some surviving 1906 Mason cars using the same radiator style show a more elaborate radiator emblem design, see example below:

Surviving 1906 Mason car with radiator emblem & script   dpl

This Mason car also displays a small Mason script mounted on the radiator core. The radiator emblem appears to be the same as the Mason "The Hill Climber" emblem shown above at the top of this post and the further example shown below, which maybe the actual emblem seen in the above photo:

Mason radiator emblem & script (1906)  tcc

Mason "The Hill Climber" radiator emblem (1906)  tcc
Size: Unknown   MM: Unknown

Genuine original examples of this Mason radiator emblem are extremely rare.

It is likely that these very early Mason cars with the radiator design shown above were based on the prototype models named "Marvel" by the Duesenberg brothers and were possibly built before Mason production began on August 16, 1906, because the Mason car advertised in June 1906 and which continued in production through 1908, had a different radiator design, see advertisement and publicity photo shown below:

Mason ad showing 5-pass touring model (June 1906) 
The Des Moines Register

The photo of the Mason five-passenger touring model shown in the above advertisement was used for publicity purposes by the Mason Motor Car Company, see same car photo below where the radiator design is more clearly seen:

Mason five-passenger touring model (1906)    dpl

There is a hint of a radiator emblem in this photo but this is not certain and maybe distortions or reflections in the radiator. However, a surviving Mason from 1906 with this radiator design has the "Mason" name painted on the radiator, see below:

Mason touring car (1906)  rmsotheby's

This surviving 1906 Mason touring model was kept in the possession of the same family from 1906 until 1970 and the car still had its original body when it was restored. It is reported by Sotheby's that the car was refinished in red with the correct elaborate pin-striping ( a single continuous line that runs throughout the car, forming THE MASON on the radiator shell).

Mason radiator detail (1906)   rmsotheby's

It is likely that other Mason cars from later in 1906 with this radiator design had no radiator emblem, as future Mason advertisements clearly show no radiator emblem or script, see example of the same Mason model shown below from 1907:

Mason touring car ad (1907)  ma

Mason five-passenger touring model (1907)  

There was a change in the Mason radiator design for 1909, see the following original photo of a Mason touring car taking part in the 1909 Glidden Tour which shows no sign of a radiator emblem but the Mason name is displayed on a large brass radiator script:  

Mason Touring on Glidden Tour (1909)   dpl

Close up showing Mason radiator script (1909)

Original Mason radiator scripts are extremely rare:

This is a Mason radiator script (c1911)  moroz
Size: Unknown

Apart from a front view of a 1914 Mason -Mohler coupe, see below, I have been unable to find any original period photos or illustrations of Mason cars that show the radiator after 1909. If you have details of any Mason emblems used in the period after 1909, please let me know in order to update this post. 

Mason-Mohler Coupe (1914)  atj

Mason-Mohler Coupe radiator (1914) 

It is not clear if the feature at the bottom of the radiator is an emblem. It is possible that Mason cars produced after 1909 had no radiator emblem but some may have continued to display a radiator script, although I cannot confirm this.