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Rickenbacker Motor Company radiator emblem
Catalog #: 325,528,
Accession #: 260,303
In collection
From the Smithsonian Collection
The emblem for the car was taken from First Lieutenant Eddie Rickenbacker's flying squadron insignia, the "Hat in the Ring." Rickenbacker (1890-1973) was a well known race car driver and WWI flying ace. Three automobile executives from the EMF Company-Barney Everitt, William Metzger and Walter E. Flanders-offered Rickenbacker a position as vice-president and director of sales if he gave his name to the new automobile. The company was formed in 1922 and went out of business in 1927. |
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Physical Description |
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Dimensions (in mm): 5.8 L x 7.7 W x 0.9 D
Inscriptions: image of an upside down top hat in an oval
Materials: metal
Colors: blue, red, white, silver
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Details |
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Credit: | Gift of Hubert G. Larson |
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History |
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Radiator emblems were colorful metal plates with a manufacturer's name or logo that attached to the radiators of early automobiles. Varying in shape and size, but never more than a few inches across, the emblems were small branding devices. As vehicles became more popular in a national market, people began associating the company name and logo on different vehicle models with a specific manufacturer. Radiator emblems sometimes indicated the type of engine or place of manufacturing. Other times they appealed directly to a driver's sense of style and class by using iconic images or a catchy motto.
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