Object Details
- Description
- This Jordan radiator emblem belonged to a vehicle that was manufactured by the Jordan Motor Car Company of Cleveland, Ohio between 1917 and 1931. Ned Jordan, a former advertising executive for the Jeffery Company, founded the Jordan Car Company to produce assembled cars that were elegantly styled, and advertised them as such. Jordan models included the Playboy, Silhouette, Tomboy, and Speedboy. They were advertised as their racy names would imply, as Jordan wrote evocative and provocative copy for his magazine adverts that were often directed at women, and featured campaigns like “The Port of Missing Men” and “Somewhere West of Laramie.” The Jordan radiator emblem consisted of the text “JORDAN” above a downward red arrow, on a white background.
- Radiator emblems are small, colorful metal plates bearing an automobile manufacturer's name or logo that attached to the radiators grilles of early automobiles. Varying in shape and size, the emblems served as a small branding device, sometimes indicating the type of engine, place of manufacturing, or using an iconic image or catchy slogan to advertise their cars make and model. This emblem is part of the collection that was donated by Hubert G. Larson in 1964.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
- Credit Line
- Hubert G. Larson
- Object Name
- emblem, radiator
- Other Terms
- emblem, radiator; Road; Automobile
