FAUN / GER

FAUN / Nürnberg , Ansbach / Germany  ( 1918 - 1990 )

The  German FAUN (= Fahrzeugfabriken Ansbach und Nürnberg) started truck production in 1918.
In 1924 to 1927 they offered a private car without any commercial success.   Commercial trucks were built from 1918 to 1990. 

FAUN is the ancient Italian god of nature and the forest. This is the origin of the image of his rustic face, as seen on the FAUN emblems. 

The first enameled truck emblem I was able to identify comes here:

first FAUN truck emblem

Size	5.6 cm x 5.6 cm
Year	1919 - 1920
Estimate

1921 advertisement,  emblem with FAUN head

In the mid-1920s, FAUN attempted to expand its model lineup and, and for a short time—with relatively little success—offered a private car. Here I present to you the rare radiator emblem of the private car of 1924:

emblem for the only private car they offered

Size	c. 6 cm
Year	1924 - 1927
Estimate

1925 FAUN car type K2

Back to FAUN trucks:

In 1923, the FAUN truck radiator had only embossed lettering on it; it did not yet have an emblem, as this illustration of German truck radiators from 1923 shows. 

FAUN in the second row, on the left

 

I was able to find this beautiful emblem, which depicts the FAUN's face with a historic tower from Nuremberg as a headdress. I don't have a contemporary photo, but the design of this emblem was patented in 1928, and an advertisement shows a very similar, triangular emblem.

 

 

Size	7.0 cm x 7.4 cm
Year	c. 1930
Estimate

 

 

 

the emblem design was patented in 1927

 1930 brochure showing a triangle FAUN emblem:

I see the difference between the drawn emblem and the actual emblem as a result of artistic creativity.

 

 

The tower from the FAUN emblem still exists in Nuremberg's Old Town 

The next enameled truck emblem appeared in 1931:

Size	7.0 cm x 7.4 cm
Year	1931
Estimate

this emblem design was patented in 1931

one of the rare survivor showing an emblem with traces of decades of use

In the late 1930s the emblem was modernized:

Size	7.0 cm x 7.4 cm
Year	c. 1938
Estimate

backside without makers mark

After WWII there were metal emblems only like this nice radiator cap.

Front of a fire truck, seen in a German museum:

FAUN emblem made in the nineteensixties

Very few FAUN trucks have survived. But there was a drawing of the  FAUN emblem, which was made by the Swedish boy Gustaf Moeller back in the 1920s. Gustaf lived near the ferry port in Helsingborg / Sweden and drew the emblems of the waiting cars there. What a great hobby that still helps and delights us a hundred years later:

 drawing made by Gustaf Moeller in the 1920s 

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

When using a smartphone please use the button webview.

PUCH / AUSTRIA

 PUCH WERKE AG / GRAZ / AUSTRIA  ( 1890 - 1927 )

Johann Puch, a bicycle mechanic from Graz, Austria, founded a bicycle factory in 1890 and sold his bicycles under the name STYRIA.

In 1896, Puch entered into a partnership with the Dürkopp company in Bielefeld; however, the collaboration ended in 1897 when Johann Puch left the company he had founded. The company, now owned by Dürkopp, retained Johann Puch’s name in its corporate title for another 10 years.  

PUCH cars also successfully competed in numerous hill climbs and Alpine races.  

After World War I, JOHANN PUCH AG became part of AUSTRO-DAIMLER, where PUCH automobile production was temporarily discontinued in favor of two-wheeled vehicle production. Today, “STEYR-DAIMLER-PUCH AG” produces, among other models, the PUCH G off-road vehicle.

Size	c. 7.5 cm
Year	1913- 1919
Estimate

PUCH  Typ 14 /38 PS 1913 - 1923 ( photo collection Michael Schlenger )

A beautifully weathered enamel sign that serves as a joint advertisement for AUSTRO - DAIMLER and PUCH

1915 advertisement proudly showing the emblem twice

Only a few vehicles of PUCH have survived and I couldn't find a complete vehicle with the emblem shown above. But there was a drawing of the 1913 - 1919 emblem, which was made by the Swedish boy Gustaf Moeller back in the 1920s. Gustaf lived near the ferry port in Helsingborg / Sweden and drew the emblems of the waiting cars there. What a great hobby that still helps and delights us a hundred years later: 

After the end of World War I,and the end of the dual monarchy the double-headed eagle of Austria-Hungary could no longer be used. A new emblem was needed. This is what PUCH came up with:

Size	c. 5.5 cm x 6.5 cm
Year	1919- 1927
Estimate

PUCH Typ III Alpenwagen  14/38 PS   ( photo  Vorkriegsklassiker-Rundschau Blog )

A close-up of the photo above that clearly shows the emblem

As early as the 1920s, PUCH was offering tractors and automobiles, as this advertisement from October 1921 shows. The new emblem is also featured.

Another period photo showing the emblem

Very early advertising sign, seen at a flea market in Austria in 2023

The PUCH automobile with v-shaped radiator must have been available at least until 1927, as evidenced by this advertisement from that year

Yes, before the enamel emblems, there was a pretty simple PUCH emblem. Can anyone see it?

In this enlarged view, it is clearly visible

As far as I know, the next automobile bearing the name PUCH wasn't produced again until after WW II. It was a licensed version of the FIAT 500, but with a different 2-cylinder boxer engine that was better suited for the mountains in Austria.

Here the front emblem, used from 1957 to 1959,

Here a fake radiator grill—because the car had an air-cooled rear engine

Size	30.5 cm x 14.5 cm
Year	1957- 1959
Estimate

The second version, which was installed in 1959, was also a fake version of a radiator air intake.

Size	54 cm x 13 cm
Year	1959 - 1976
Estimate

This part is made of solid aluminum; there are no open air intakes

As is almost always the case, there's a plastic badge at the end; this one was probably mounted on a tractor.

PUCH had already acquired AUSTRO-DAIMLER in 1912, and the company continued to manufacture vehicles under its own name until 1936.  For more information about AUSTRO - DAIMLER please click here.

When using a smartphone please use the button webview. 

BSA / UK

 

BSA / Birmingham / UK  ( 1907 - 1939 )

The initials BSA stand for Birmingham Small Arms Company. Car production started in 1907.Although BSA is famous for its motorcycles, they offered automobiles three years before its first motorcycle in 1910.

The first vehicles of this brand were built as large, conventional touring cars. The company acquired the British DAIMLER in1910 to use their engines. After a 5 year hiatus in production, a three-wheeled car with a two-cylinder engine and front-wheel drive was introduced in 1932. A four-wheeled car based on the same design followed in 1933. These versions were successfully manufactured until 1939. 

It is not easy to find and date enameled BSA radiator emblems. Here is one example:

I guess it is from the model 10 HP,  because before the model 11 was introduced in 1923, there was no need to include the number 10 on the emblem, but there is no evidence.

 

no idea why there are dots between the letters

Size	2.7 cm x 5.1 cm
Year	1921 - 1922
Estimate

The next emblem is easier to date, it is from the BSA model Ten ( 1923 - 1924 )

again with dots between the letters

Size	2.7 cm x 5.1 cm
Year	1923 - 1924
Estimate

The BSA model Eleven was built in 1923 only:

the third emblem with dots bewtween the letters

Size	2.7 cm x 5.1 cm
Year	1923
Estimate

backside without makers mark

There was also a beautifully designed hood ornament that adorned the hood from 1921 to 1924. It features crossed rifles, a reference to the brand’s origins as a firearms manufacturer.

Size	9.7 cm x 11.3 cm
Year	1921 - 1924
Estimate

made by DESMO with a copyright notification

With the new start in 1929, when they offered three-wheeler, emblems made of cast metal or sheet metal were now used:

the first three-wheeler emblem

Size	c. 4.5cm x 6.5 cm
Year	1929- 1932
Estimate

 

 

 Here the trapezoidal emblem for the four-cylinder vehicles. It's too bad that the design was simplified.

I suspect that the spot on the letter S is original, because all the emblems I've seen have that spot.

Size	5.0 cm x 2.5cm
Year	1933 - 1934
Estimate

 

 

backside without makers mark

 The next version of the emblem was given wings, which made it much more attractive:

Size	14.8 cm x 4.9cm
Year	1933 - 1936
Estimate

backside without makers mark

Illustration from 1934 The Autocar magazine, which clearly shows the emblem

Here the emblem of the bestseller, the BSA Scout:

Size	9.2 cm x 3.9 cm
Year	1937- 1939
Estimate

backside without makers mark

1937 BSA Scout seen in a Swedish museum

I found yet another emblem whose style strongly resembles the one used from 1937 to 1939. However, it no longer has wings. I suspect it dates from 1939 or 1940, but there is no evidence of that yet.

Size	7.5 cm x 4.2 cm
Year	c. 1939 1940
Estimate

their bestseller was the SCOUT, made from 1937 - 1939, nearly 2,000 units built

 

 

And finally, one of the oldest illustration I could find, published in 1912. It doesn't show an emblem, but the three letters “BSA” are visible on the radiator grille, crossed by three rifles.

 

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

When using a smartphone please use the button webview.