Jan 2, 2026

HURRYTON / MENOMINEE / WISCONSON / USA

 HURRYTON by MENOMINEE / WISCONSIN / USA  (1920 - c. 1928)

What a wonderful idea to call a truck a “Hurry Ton.” The truck manufacturer MENOMINEE MOTOR TRUCK CO. of Wisconsin, USA, came up with this play of words in 1920 and wrote HURRYTON on the emblem. As a truck manufacturer, the artistic appearance of the emblem was not so important, so it was made of brass without enamel.

It is unclear how long this model was manufactured and how many units were sold.  In any case, it cannot have been a large number, as the emblem is also very rare.


Size
11.1 cm x 6.5 cm
Year1920- 1928
Estimate

 

 

backside without makers mark


 

When I bought this emblem it was touched up in black and yellow; nice combination, but nor original.

 

 For more emblems see older posts or top right ( list of car makers).

When using a smartphone please uset the button webview. 

Dec 31, 2025

DUNAMIS / ANVERS / BELGIUM

 DUNAMIS / ANVERS / BELGIUM  ( 1923 )

Who has heard of the Belgian vehicle manufacturer DUNAMIS? I hadn't heard of them before I acquired this extraordinary emblem. DUNAMIS attempted to launch a product in the luxury class of 8-cylinder vehicles. Their competitors included Rolls Royce, Hispano Suiza, Minerva, Horch, Bugatti, and many others. The project was unsuccessful. Depending on the source on the internet, two prototypes or up to five vehicles were manufactured. No vehicle has survived, but there is this original emblem, which also demonstrates the company's luxury standards in terms of material and appearance.


On the emblem HERACLES; he was a Greek demigod known for his superhuman strength.

Size
 7.5 cm x 6.8 cm
Year1923
Estimate



backside also enameled, no makers mark to see


For more information about DUNAMIS' competitors and their emblems  please click here: BUGATTI or 

HISPANO SUIZA or HORCH or MINERVA

 When using a smartphone please use the button webview.


Dec 27, 2025

WARTBURG / GERMANY

 WARTBURG / EISENACH / GERMANY  (1956 - 1991)

The first vehicle bearing the name WARTBURG was produced in 1896 by the Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach AG. However, it did not yet have an emblem (see end of this post). I am referring to the WARTBURG model that was manufactured since 1956 in Eisenach, what was then East Germany, i.e., at the historic site.
The first model from 1956 is also very interesting for emblem collectors and enthusiasts. The car was initially released with an emblem that was visually similar to one of its predecessor, the EMW. The three letters EMW were still present. 

 

This emblem was only used on preseries vehicles and prototypes, so it is extremely rare.

 

Size
14.3 cm x 7.5 cm 
Year1956 only
Estimate

 

 

backside without makers mark

 

 

The Type EMW 340, initially featured a BMW emblem and then its own red and white emblem instead of the blue and white Bavarian emblem.

 

 

regular hood emblem for the type EMW 327 ( attention: there are a lot of repros on the market )

Size
  6.1 cm
Year 19
Estimate


 

Here is a real curiosity: the 1956 brochure for the Dutch market. If you look closely, you can see that three different emblems are shown! On the hood the prototype emblem, middle left  the series emblem, and at the bottom left a predecessor emblem. Collectors and friends of Wartburg  are delighted.

 

1956 sales paper; look at the blue circles


 

 

1956 to 1958 series emblem

Size
  19.1 cm x 6.6  cm with base
Year 1956 - 1958 ( without VEB letters)
Estimate

 

 

 

1958 to 1961 series emblem. The letters VEB ( = Volkseigener Betrieb ) were added, a political statement

 

Size
  19.1 cm x 6.6 cm
Year 1958 - 1961 ( with VEB letters)
Estimate

 


As is common with almost all car manufacturers, the emblem became increasingly abstract and simpler from generation to generation. Supposedly, this made it look more modern. Above all, however, it was cheaper to produce.

Size
17.7 cm x 4.3 cm
Year1962 - 1983
Estimate

 

 Since 1983 the hood emblem was made in one color: black

 


Size
17.7 cm x 4.3 cm
Year1983  - 1985
Estimate

 

All WARTBURG emblems shown so far were painted at the factory. However, I was able to find an original enameled hood emblem:

To my knowledge, this much smaller and lighter emblem was used on racing versions of the Wartburg Type 311 / 312.  Three stars because it is enameled!

Size
10.1 cm x 4.0 cm 
Yearc. 1958 - 1960
Estimate

 

Here is the next curiosity among the WARTBURG emblems.

The original, standard WARTBURG 311 did not have a clock in the dashboard. This luxury was reserved for the exclusive 313 Sport models. As is well known, the former GDR suffered from a shortage economy, with the result that not all 313 Sport WARTBURG vehicles were fitted with a clock, even though it was intended and there was already a hole in the dashboard for it. To cover up this defect and the hole, the round aluminum emblem shown below was simply mounted. A cheap but ingenious solution!

attention: there are repros for sale

 

 And here finally comes the 1899 WARTBURG:

In the background is the Wartburg factory, where the vehicles with the emblems shown were built. In the foreground is the oldest surviving Wartburg, a model from 1899. Next to it is the Type 311.

 

As expected, the 1899 Wartburg did not yet have an emblem, but only a chassis plate.

 

The old factory still exists; today it houses the AWE museum ( AWE = Automobile Welt  Eisenach). In the background of the photo, we can see Wartburg Castle, after which the vehicles were named and where Martin Luther hid from 1521 to 1522.


 

 For more emblems see older posts or top right ( list of car makers ).

When using  a smartphone please use the button webview. 

Dec 18, 2025

INTERNATIONAL / USA

   INTERNATIONAL / CHICAGO / USA   ( 1907 - 1986 )   

INTERNATIONAL started production in 1906 / 1907 and offered vehicles under the name INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER until 1986.  In almost 80 years, there have been many different emblems, the history of which has already been described by Mike Shears. However, I can show you an emblem here that was previously unknown in this particular design, as there are other names under the company name INTERNATIONAL. The emblem was corroded and at first I couldn't read what it said. But after careful polishing, you can now read: C. RAMMELAERE  OSTENDE




This is  the INTERNATIONAL emblem, which was used immediately after WWII from 1947 to 1949.

But there was never a second line with a name. Here, the Belgian vehicle dealer C. RAMMELAERE from Ostend, Belgium, spared no expense or effort in having his own emblem made using the original emblem dies and adding his name on it. Until now, I was only aware of dealer emblems that had been added to the original factory emblem, e.g. here from FIAT . However, it seems that not many emblems were produced, as this is the first one to have appeared in years.



Size
13.0 cm x 5.3 cm
Year1947 - 1949
Estimate



backside without makers mark



regular 1940 - 1950 INTERNATIONAL emblem without dealers name


Here is an emblem that was mounted separately and additionally, for example on a FIAT:



For more FIAT emblems ( I can present almost 40 different ons ) please click here.

When using a smartphone please use the button webview. 

Dec 17, 2025

JOUFFRET / FRANCE

               JOUFFRET S.A. / SURESNES / COLOMBES / FRANCE  ( 1920 - 1926 )

JOUFFRET was a French vehicle manufacturer founded by Leon Demeester in Suresnes, a suburb of Paris in 1920. It used engines from BALLOT, RUBY and SCAP. In 1924, the company SIDEA was acquired. Some vehicles were then marketed under the double name SIDEA - JOUFFRET (see photo below). According to estimates on the specialized website: automobilia8545  around 300 vehicles were manufactured during the company's existence. The German Wikipedia states that the company existed until 1928, while the English Wikipedia states that it only existed until 1926. Obviously, the end date is unclear.

 


Size
c.7.0  cm x 5.0 cm
Year1920 - 1924
Estimate



 

 

photo courtesy by prewar.com


Size
c.7.0  cm x 5.0 cm
Year1924
Estimate

 

For more information about the engine manufacturer BALLOT please click here.

When using a smartphone please use the button webview. 

Dec 16, 2025

ALBERT / UK

 ALBERT / VAUXHALL / CHISWICK / UK  ( 1920 - 1929 )

I am delighted to be able to present this very rare emblem here. Until recently, I did not know that any emblem from this brand had survived.
The vehicle from the ALBERT company was manufactured  by the vehicleGWYNNE'S Engineering Co. Ltd of Chiswick. This explains the striking similarity to the GWYNNE radiator emblem. 

 Information on the internet suggests that around 2,000 vehicles were built. I consider this estimate to be far too high, not least because the emblem is so rare. In any case, I haven't found any photos of surviving vehicles.

 


Size
2.7  cm x 4.9 cm
Year1920 - 1929
Estimate

 

The company advertised with the slogan: “The Light Car of the Year,” as evidenced by this 1923 advertisement. However, the vehicle was never a commercial success, and production of the ALBERT was discontinued at least in 1930.

 


The GWYNNE emblem had an identical design, presumably to document its link to the GWYNNE factory:

 


 

 


 

 For more emblems see older posts or top right ( list of car makers ).

When using a smartphone please use the button webview. 

Dec 7, 2025

SIDEA / CHARLEVILLE - MEZIERES / FRANCE

 

SIDEA / CHARLEVILLE - MEZIERES / FRANCE  ( 1912 - 1925 ) 

The company from Charleville-Mézières began producing automobiles in 1912. The brand name was SIDEA = Societé Industrielle  Des Etablissements Automobiles .

In 1924, Léon Demeester, who had previously managed Demeester and Jouffret, took over the company and changed the brand name to Sidéa-Jouffret.

 

They started with a quite simple brass emblem, only the letters were enameled:


 

Size
c.7.0  cm x 5.0 cm
Yearc. 1912
Estimate

 

 SIDEA sold vehicles to Italy and Scandinavia:

 

Italian advertisement

 


1913 SIDEA with Danish licence plate

 

 Later there was an enameled emblem:


 

 

Size
c.7.0  cm x 5.0 cm
Yearc. 1913 - 1923
Estimate

 

 

In 1924 it was all over and SIDEA was absorbed by JOUFFRET. The last model had this wonderful emblem:

 

photo courtesy Prewarcar.com

Size
c.7.0  cm x 5.0 cm
Year1924
Estimate

 

For more emblems see older posts or top right ( list of car makers ).

When using a smartphone please use the button webview.