While reading through Norm Swinford’s book, Allis-Chalmers Construction Machinery & Industrial Equipment, I ran into an interesting article in his book where the history of the Allis-Chalmers trademarks were discussed. I have seen many different variations of the logo/trademark for the company and this little excerpt on page sixteen gave a little history about them.

The article must have been written by Allis-Chalmers, unless someone knows otherwise. It explained how the history of the trademark goes back to the 1860′s and 1870′s when Edward P. Allis had just bought the old Reliance Works in Milwaukee and started building his empire. E.P. Allis hadn’t established an official trademark until 1887, and that was the beginning of the diamond seal design.  The 1887 trademark was the first Allis symbol registered with U.S. Patent Office that same year.

1887

In 1901 four major manufacturing firms in U.S. came together to form one giant company. The Edward P. Allis Company, Fraser & Chalmers Company, Gates Iron Works, and the Dickson Manufacturing Company all merged together to from the Allis-Chalmers Company. I have seen a few variations of the logo at the turn of the century. The article also confirms the use of “variations with the diamond and seal format.”  On April 16, 1913 the Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company was officially incorporated out of the Allis-Chalmers Company, but I am not aware or haven’t been able to find out if the trademark had changed when the name of the company changed. As far as I know, this trademark, or some form of it, was used up until the end of World War I.

1901

In 1919 the company changed its look. This is where the iconic “A-C” was first showcased. All the other variations of the diamond and seal trademark were pushed aside to make way for one common trademark that would signify the entire firm. In 1949 some minor changes were made when “Milwaukee” was removed and “Allis-Chalmers” was moved and straightened out. One thing I have heard, maybe someone can confirm this, is that each point on the inner seal of the trademark signified each branch the company  specialized in manufacturing ( steam engines, tractors, crushers, transformers, etc.).

1919

1949

In 1965 their trademark changed again along with their name. In the latter half of 1965 the firm was now being recognized as the Allis-Chalmers Corporation and to go along with the name change was a fresh new logo. The article exclaimed that over 300 designs were possible as a new trademark and they narrowed it down to the “A” and “C”  initial type logo. They even said that in 1966 their trademark received an award as the most outstanding trademark in the U.S. from the Association of National Advertisers.

1965

Allis-Chalmers asserted that their trademark was made as a symbol of “growth domestically and internationally,” and that they, “exercise great care in the use and protection of the trademark.” It was all about creating an identity that would become a symbol of the vast products they produced and the skill and craftmanship that went into the machined goods. One can only imagine what Allis-Chalmers’ future trademarks could have looked like had the firm not been dismantled by the financial strains of the 1980′s.

*Pg 16. Allis-Chalmers Construction Machinery & Industrial Equipment, by Norm Swinford

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