Biddle and Smart

Biddle and Smart was a manufacturer of carriages and then automobile bodies based in Amesbury, Massachusetts. It started as a successful carriage manufacturer before making the transition to auto body manufacturer in 1905.

History

Carriagemakers

The town of Amesbury, Massachusetts, was a center of carriage-making.[1] Biddle and Smart began trading either in 1870[2] or 1880.[3] An almost-contemporary source says that The Biddle, Smart Carriage Co. was formed by William E. Biddle, William W. Smart, and M. D. F. Steeve in 1878 and began production two years later.[4]

Automobile Bodies

In 1905,[3] Biddle and Smart became one of the first carriage-makers in Amesbury to begin manufacture of automobile bodies.[1] An early customer was the Club Car Company of New York City and in 1910-11, the firm was the builder of Club’s cars. In 1917 Biddle and Smart purchased the factory of S.R. Bailey & Co., allowing greater production. In the mid-1920s, Biddle & Smart absorbed a number of local auto body manufacturers, Currier Cameron & Co., Hollander & Morrill Body Co., Witham Body Co., T. W. Lane Company, Auto Body & Finishing Co., and Bryant Body Co..

By the early 1920s customers included Hudson, for whom they began making closed bodies in 1923, and Rolls-Royce.[1] Others were Lincoln, Peerless, Marmon, Mercer, White, Chalmers, Speedwell and Haynes.

Peak shipments came in 1926, when the firm delivered 41,000 bodies to Hudson. An inability to stamp steel meant that their products were made using aluminum.[3]

Demise

In 1930, Biddle and Smart ceased production after it lost its contract for supply of automobile bodies to Detroit-based Hudson, who switched to providers who were cheaper and, as themselves, based in Detroit.[2]

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References
  1. "1929 Hudson Model L Club Sedan by Biddle and Smart" (Auction Description). Hershey, PA: RM Auctions/Sothebys. October 2011. Lot 264. Archived from the original on 2017-10-18.
  2. Rubenstein, James M. (2002) [1992]. The Changing U.S. Auto Industry: A Geographical Analysis. Routledge. p. 34. ISBN 978-1-13493-629-8.
  3. Hyde, Charles K. (2009). Storied Independent Automakers: Nash, Hudson, and American Motors. Wayne State University Press. p. 124. ISBN 978-0-81433-446-1.
  4. A MICROCOSMIC HISTORY OF THE CARRIAGE INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES-A FEW LEADING CARRIAGE CENTERS, Hub October 1897
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