One of the largest emblem manufacturers, the Gustave Fox Company of Cincinatti, started business in 1869 as a small maker of jewelry but by 1899 had a specialist emblem jewelry department, which later also produced auto emblems. D. L. Auld started as a jewelry store in Columbus, Ohio in 1870 and by the late 1910’s was making decorative enamel nameplates for automobile companies. D. L. Auld later claimed to have been making 80% of all automotive emblems in America in the 1920’s. The Whitehead & Hoag Company of Newark, New Jersey, went straight into badge making in 1892 and later became the largest US manufacturer of advertising novelties, particularly pin buttons, but also badges and auto emblems.
The main emblem manufacturers usually, but not always, placed their company name on the back of the emblem. An early exception was the position of the Whitehead & Hoag name on the front face of the 1908 Premier emblem. Another exception was the Ford Metal Speciality Company, which put its name around the lower, front edge of some of its emblems, for example the first enamel radiator emblem used by Buick in 1911 and the Hatfield radiator emblem used after 1916. The Gorham Company was yet another exception. The "Gorham Co." mark was placed on the thin side edge of the Waltham emblem made by this company in 1922.
It should also be noted that many original auto emblems have no manufacturer's mark at all.
There were many makers of auto emblems. The marks of over thirty different manufacturers have been identified on American auto emblems in the Murray John Shears emblem collection. Some of the most prolific emblem manufacturers used several different styles of their mark. Gustave Fox, for example, is known to have used at least 24 different marks on their auto emblems.
A study of the Murray John Shears emblem collection of original American auto emblems has shown the following breakdown of emblem manufacturer's marks:
25% Gustave Fox
20% D. L. Auld
9% Robbins
7% Whitehead & Hoag
6% Greenduck
5% Bastian Bros
9% Other makers combined
19% No manufacture's mark.
A closer analysis of the emblem manufacturer's marks in the Murray John Shears emblem collection shows that this breakdown may be misleading, because it includes auto emblems made between 1908 and about 1940.
Whitehead & Hoag appears to have been the most prolific maker of auto emblems in the earliest years of the manufacture of enamel emblems, from around 1908 to the late 1910's. Greenduck, Robbins, Bastian Bros, Mayer and Cady & Staff were also active auto emblem makers at this time. However, D.L.Auld and Gustave Fox did not become very active in auto emblem making until about 1918 but they were the main auto emblem makers by the mid-1920's, probably because they succeeded in winning contracts with the major auto vehicle manufacturers.
A number of American emblem manufacturers are listed below, together with examples of some of their marks:
American Emblem Co., Utica, New York
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| A.E.Co. emblem makers mark mjs |
Aluminum Goods Manufacturing Co., Manitowac, Wisconsin
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| A.G.M. Co. emblem maker's mark mjs |
American Badge Co., Chicago, Illinois
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| American Badge emblem makers mark mjs |
The Henderson Ames Co., Kalamazoo, Michigan
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| Henderson Ames makers mark ms |
D.L.Auld Co., Columbus, Ohio
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| D.L.Auld emblem makers mark mjs |
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| D.L.Auld emblem makers mark mjs |
Bastian Bros. Co., Rochester, New York
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| Bastian emblem makers mark mjs |
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| Bastian emblem makers mark mjs |
Breadner Co., Ottowa, Canada
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| Breadner emblem makers mark mjs |
Cady & Staff, Detroit, Michgan
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| Cady & Staff emblem makers mark mjs |
S.D.Childs & Co., Chicago, Illinois
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| Childs emblem makers mark mjs |
Crowe, Chicago, Illinois
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| Crowe emblem makers mark mjs |
Day Name Plates Ltd., Toronto, Canada
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| Day Name Plates emblem makers mark mjs |
Dodge Chrysler Plymouth & De Soto, Detroit, Michigan
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| DCPD emblem maker's mark mjs (see also Metal Arts) |
Ford Metal Speciality Co., Chicago, Illinois
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| Ford Metal Spec emblem makers mark mjs |
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| Ford Metal Spec emblem makers mark sam |
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| Ford Metal Spec emblem makers mark mjs |
Gustave Fox Co., Cincinnati, Ohio
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| Fox emblem makers mark mjs |
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| Fox emblem makers mark mjs |
General, Detroit, Michigan
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| General emblem makers mark mjs |
Gorham Co., Providence, Rhode Island
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| Gorham emblem maker's mark mwc |
L.F.Grammes & Sons, Inc., Allentown, Pennsylvania
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| Grammes emblem makers mark mjs |
Greenduck Co., Chicago, Illinois
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| Greenduck emblem makers mark mjs |
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| Greenduck emblem makers mark mjs |
W B Jarvis & Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan
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| Jarvis emblem maker's mark mjs |
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| Keil emblem makers mark mjs |
Maier Lavaty Co., Chicago, Illinois
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| Maier Lavaty emblem makers mark mjs |
Geo. J.Mayer Co., Indianapolis, Indiana
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| Mayer emblem makers mark mjs |
Metal Arts Co., Rochester, New York
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| Metal Arts emblem makers mark mjs |
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| Metal Arts & DCPD emblem makers mark mjs |
Metal Etchers & Manufacturers Ltd., Toronto, Canada
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| Metal Etchers emblem makers mark mjs |
F.H.Noble & Co., Chicago, Illinois
Rex 5th Ave, New York City, New York
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| Noble emblem makers mark mjs |
Rex 5th Ave, New York City, New York
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| Rex 5th Ave makers mark mjs |
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| Robbins emblem makers mark mjs |
Ross-Ad, Indianapolis, Indiana
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| Ross-Ad emblem makers mark mjs |
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| Ross-Ad Seal emblem makers mark mjs |
Shepard Mfg. Co., Melrose, Massachusetts
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| Shepard emblem makers mark mjs |
S. M. Spencer & Son, Boston, Massachusetts
Whitehead & Hoag Co., Newark, New Jersey
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| Whitehead & Hoag maker's mark on front of Premier emblem sam |
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| Whitehead & Hoag emblem makers mark mjs |
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| Whitehead & Hoag emblem makers mark mjs |
Other Emblem Makers:
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| American Emblem makers mark mjs |
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| Burwood emblem makers mark mjs |
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| Enamel Products emblem makers mark khc |
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| Odel emblem makers mark mjs |
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| Unknown "PC" emblem maker's mark mjs |
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| Queen Stamp Works emblem makers mark mjs |
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| Unknown "S" emblem makers mark mjs |
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| Unknown "T" emblem makers mark mjs |
If you can identify the emblem makers listed above as "unknown" or if you have details of other emblem makers, please let me know, so that this page can be updated.
This note was written by Mike Shears
March 2017
Updated June 2021
Updated June 2021
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