The World of Emblems

2012-02-06T10:46:00.001-05:00

I would be most grateful if you could possibly tell us what this emblem is (picture attached). On the rear it says 'Lucas Made in England.' I have searched online, I was able to find a picture of it sitting amongst other car emblems but that didn't help me identity it. I hope you can :) Many thanks, Hazel B.

2011-08-17T08:02:00.001-04:00

Lisa M. B. was hoping someone could identify this item. It appears to be a hood ornament. But I don't know anything beyond that. Maybe someone has an idea on this one?

2010-11-03T08:51:00.002-04:00

Hello, could you tell me please if this is a car badge or tractor badge, i dug it up in my garden which used to be part of a farm. Its 3.75" long x 1.25" and has unreadable text at the top and bottom of the center blue square. Hope you dont mind me asking.

Thank you, David

Badger: No idea on this one. Maybe someone will know and reply.

2010-06-10T08:09:00.001-04:00

I don't know if you can help me but this is driving me crazy! I am not a collector of automobilia, just found this side mirror at an estate sale and thought it was interesting; might put it on Ebay. I have searched every website for hours and hours and not found this emblem - is it a real auto emblem? or someone's personalized car part? Can you help? Thanks in advance

2010-05-18T12:51:00.002-04:00

The emblem in this picture was submitted by a local police department in Wisconsin. It was in the possession of young thieves that would steal the badges and hood ornaments off of cars. We want these badges to get back to their rightful owners, but this badge was unidentified. I have never seen this one myself, nor does it have any familiar symbols. Does anyone out there have any ideas? Reply to this post as "anonymous" and there is no need to sign up.

2010-04-27T10:53:00.001-04:00

This little item has me in a quandry, and any help y'all can provide would be fantastic. I am attaching two photographs with a penny as a size reference, and I hope it shows enough detail. I Googled this thing for hours, including international manufacturers, toy manufacturers...everything, to no avail.

2010-04-04T17:33:00.001-04:00

I'm hoping you can help me identify the chrome auto emblem I have. I have been told it's a 1936 LaFayette hood ornament, but I haven't been able to find a photo of a '36 LaFayette model that sports this exact hood ornament. I initially thought it might be a Locomobile ornament, due to the fact that it prominently features a fancy script "L" inside a circle, which is almost identical to the script "L" logo that Locomobile used in their later advertisements. However, as you can see, my ornament has a distinctly Art Deco design theme, which wasn't incorporated into most auto emblems until the mid-1930s or later, and Locomobile ceased production in 1929. If it is a LaFayette ornament, it seems curious that it would incorporate a style element used by an auto marque that was a competitor to LaFayette when the original LaFayette company (pre-Nash) produced high-end autos for a short period in the early 20's.

The ornament is exactly the same on both sides, which lead me to believe initially that it was a hood ornament. Unfortunately, it appears to be missing a lower piece, where it attaches to the hood, but that part is likely a narrow plate that attaches to the hood, and can probably be fabricated. Once I am able to identify the year and make/model, I am hoping to offer it for sale to someone who may be looking for such a rare piece of auto history.

2010-03-22T08:35:00.004-04:00

From Phil in Ontario, Canada: Could you please help to identify the year or the origins of this pontiac hood emblem, also this "m" probably mercury hood ornament. The pontiac emblem was found in an old timers mechanics chest that i bought in an auction about 20 years ago.

Badger: I've never seen these emblems either Phil, but I think I agree with your guesses. Maybe someone will step forward with an answer!

Interesting Pontiac badge

2009-09-08T07:46:00.007-04:00

Anonymous email:

I know its a Pontiac late 50's early 60's . It is original chrome metal with a bolt on back .If there is anything else you can add such as how much it is worth . thank you

Badger:
This badge fits a 1937 Pontiac rear bumper.

Rare wartime Desoto trunk badge

2009-06-08T12:39:00.020-04:00

From Joe Blair: Hi. I have been trying to identify this piece for sometime and have had no luck. I would appreciate it very much if you would help me. Thanks

Badger: We sold an emblem like that some time ago. We listed it as a 1942 Desoto Trunk emblem. Here's a picture of the emblem restored.
It uses a translucent blue and white enamels and the metal has a gold plated finish. You can view the old listing at: http://emblemagic.com/40s_&_up.htm

Can this be a car badge?

2009-06-01T19:11:00.002-04:00

From George:

I found this emblem at a thrift store. It has a hand written label that says it is an item that was attached to a car radiator of the 1920's-1930's. It is all metal, smooth surface, is 4" wide by 3.75" high. Is there anyway you can tell me if this is a true car emblem, and of which car and if it is worth anything?

What kind of Chevy?

2009-03-22T13:37:00.011-04:00

Rex writes: "I was wondering if you could help me id an old Chevy emblem. Stamped on the backside are the letters HURD or HURB."

Badger: I don't have any certain ideas, although I would guess it looks like it might be found on a 40's vintage Chevy product. If you recognize this emblem, be sure to post a comment below. What sort of vehicle, car or truck, what year, what model and the location of the emblem would all be great helps!

Significance of the Dodge Star Emblem

2009-03-09T08:01:00.012-04:00

Dr. Yo See writes; "Can anyone tell me the significance of the six pointed star (star of David) on the emblem of the '39 Dodge ?"

Badger: I'm not sure I can picture which '39 Dodge emblem you are referring to, but early Dodges did use a 6 pointed star as a logo. This picture of an unrestored original, dating from the '20's is a classic example of the Dodge emblem, used with styling changes through 1938.

Over the years I have heard various explanations from my customers. The one that seems most likely to me, is the one that says the Dodge brothers used 2 Greek letter Deltas, which translates into the letter "D." They interlocked the Deltas to form the Star. The Dodge brothers were not Jewish. However, their arch-rival Henry Ford was a notorious Anti-Semite, so some have conjectured that this star would further antagonize Ford. In any event, Chrysler bought the Dodge Brothers company around 1928, and maintained the logo through 1938. 1938 is an interesting year however, as Dodges (especially trucks) that were sent over to Europe as export models, had their own version of the famous Dodge emblem. In the revised emblem, the star was converted to a single triangle by the deletion of the downward pointing triangle. Of course one can't help remembering that Nazi Europe would have found the regular Dodge Star unacceptable, and so is most likely the reason for this export only edition of the emblem. (I've restored a couple of these anomalous '38 Dodge emblems.) But the issue was obviated in 1939 when Dodge adopted the Ram symbol in their emblems.

2009-02-25T11:07:00.004-05:00

This emblem appears on a tissue dispenser, most likely from a car, possibly from the 50's. Gerry is looking for an ID on this crest. Is it for a car, or something else?

2009-02-19T08:27:00.003-05:00

This emblem was submitted by Ron for identification. I have no idea on this one.

Inaugural post and launching of this Blog

2009-02-06T07:12:00.010-05:00

Emblem collectors, searchers, sellers and aficionados finally have a place to gather for all the latest news, upcoming events, auctions, sales, and interesting factoids and trivia that relate to emblems. Of course, we suppose most people will want to hear about and discuss automotive emblems, and yours truly has his "advanced degrees" in Automotive Emblemology, and his immersion in the commercial world of emblems has given him an unparalleled breadth of experience and interest as well.

But to be successful in this little blog, we will need help from you, gentle reader. We are interested in your comments on any good tidbits relating to the World of Emblems. It can be questions on identifying an emblem, appraising an emblem, finding emblems, collecting emblems, and so on, as your interest dictates.

EMBLEM IDENTIFICATION REQUESTED

To kick things off I am including the picture to the left, submitted by Kevin in an email. He knows it's from a Hudson car, but wonders where it was used, and on what year and model. I've never seen the emblem either, but would guess that it is from an early 50's Hudson steering wheel hub. Anyone else have any ideas?