Dodge Brothers Emblem
Dodge Brothers logo used from 1914 to 1927
The original Dodge was a circle, with two interlocking triangles forming a six-pointed star in the middle; an interlocked “DB” was at the center of the star, and the words “Dodge Brothers Motor Vehicles” encircled the outside edge. Although the “Brothers” was dropped from the name for trucks in 1929 and cars in 1930, the DB star remained in the cars until the 1939 models were introduced.
What’s the meaning behind the Dodge Brothers emblem?
Unfortunately, John and Horace Dodge died before they publicly told anyone how they arrived at this symbol. If any family members knew the reasons behind this, nothing was ever revealed or discovered. Apparently no one thought to ask them!
Among the possibilities:
1. These are two interlocking Greek letter “deltas” or “D s” for the two Dodge brothers
2. A medieval symbol of mysticism and the joining of mind and body, also possibly the joining of two brothers, who were known to be personally very close, in this business venture.
3. An abstraction of the square and compass of the Freemasons.
4. Nothing more or less than a badge with six pointed star similar to those used for law-enforcement officer’s badges, some outlined with triangles. Sheriff, Marshall, and police badges frequently were and are six pointed stars. The old-west Dodge City badge had six points. Horace Dodge was said to enjoy accompanying local law-enforcement officers on their runs.
5. There are other instances of a company ‘logo” selected for no particular deep meaning other than that it suited the fancy of those who selected it. The Chevrolet “bow-tie” is a classic example, as it was copied from the wall paper of a hotel room.
6. At the time the emblem was selected (most likely 1912-1914) it’s likely that the Dodge brothers were unaware of its use in Judaism. In fact, at this time, that symbol was not used universally in this context.
Rumors that are wrong include:
1. They chose the “Star of David” as a Jewish symbol to anger Henry Ford.
Fact: The brothers were actually friends with Ford at the time the emblem was selected. They were business partners with Ford and even were guests at Edsel Ford’s wedding.
2. They chose the “Star of David” as a Jewish symbol to appease Jewish bankers who financed the business.
Fact: There were no outside investors.
3. The Dodge Brothers were Jewish
Fact: They were not.
19 responses to “Dodge Brothers Emblem”
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Reed Brothers Dodge History (1915-2012) by Jeanne Gartner is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Reed Brothers Dodge History 1915 – 2012 
I have an inking stamp engraving that is like this stamp except that the bottom says motor vehicles instead of Detroit U S A. Was wondering if it is before this emblem.
Hi Marvin,
The original Dodge emblem was a circle with two interlocking triangles forming a six-pointed star in the middle; an interlocked “DB” was at the center of the star, and the words “Dodge Brothers Motor Vehicles” encircled the outside edge. Although the “Brothers” was dropped from the name for trucks in 1929 and cars in 1930, the DB star remained in the cars until the 1939 models were introduced.
You might be interested in checking out Allpar . It’s a good source for information on this topic.
Thanks for dropping by!
Jeanne
I love Dodge, their history has two forks. One is what the Public want to believe the other is fact. The business started before there were motor vehicles. Two Brothers from Germany They spoke Yiddish, their name Means ” to listen “. There are folks who claim to be relatives, but both men died married without any relatives to claim the $300 million in `1926 invested in a Trust. I bought their religious prayer book the siddur. My distant cousin was a Braham related to the Grahams. Dodge had been approached by Olds to build his motors because he heard good their metalworking was. During this time a Young Engineer Henry Ford had engine problems, and worked a crazy deal, he had No money but was prepared to allow the Brothers Dodge Stock in Ford’s new business. Olds was upset but may have been compensated. They built Fords new Foundry and then sold their stock. This Turned Ford into an American First policy issuing and Publishing an anti-Israeli Newspapers, declaring an Israelite takeover was imminent, this was used later by the German National Workers Party, the Nazis. The Dodge Brothers introduced new ideas, 12-volt electrics, tilt steering and many more. The Logo was split along the Mason Dixies line. North used the Star of David, below that was DB . There were many articles before 1941 to boycott Dodge Brothers because of the use of the Star of David. The design encompassed blue, or Davids Blue which is mentioned in the Jewish Section of the Bible, representing the “Blue in the Talith (Sacred Scarf, all Israelite men wear at prayer). Some suggest the Blue stands for the Med to the Jordan, or Med to the Red Sea or the Litani River to the Jordan or whatever. The Color was used in Jaguar and called it 1986 “Jew Blue”. Anyways if they were related the would have got a share of the millions they have not. I visited their funeral site, which had the Israelite prayer of the passing. I had a massive collection of dodge Grilles and body emblems from the 19th Century to the ending of the logo by Chrysler. The emblem without the Star is used today on new Fiat-Chrysler models today I still have employee badges using the Star of David. We can see that at times of distress in a Nation when the German (Nazi) Bund of America was the biggest civil organisation in the US businesses but Dodge Brothers grew, survived by using our Nations National Freedoms in our Great Constitution. (C) Dr Paul H.S.Ley 10 2018.
sources
Jerry Turner Turners Auto Fresno
A badge, An Auto Nation divided United by 4 wheels. PHSL 1995 Perga books. Out of Print Holborn, London Britain.
Hi Paul, I appreciate you stopping by and taking the time to share your very informative and interesting comment. I am always surprised at what I do not know and what I learn from new information.
My Best Regards,
Jeanne
I agree, I “clashed” with the Dodge Folks many years ago, they claimed they were family but not Israelite yet if they were family they would be entitled to the Dodge estate since they had no children?. The Dodges and Fords were good friends until the Brothers decide to build better Autos and dumped Ford for money. Which led to Henry Fords Anti Israelite publications. The irony is that Henry Fords grand daughter converted to Israelite faith and her husband is a Rabbi. At the time of Dodges independence was the biggest influx of Hebrews to the US some nearly 2 million which caused Congress to ban almost all New Hebrews to the USA and ultimately allowing Millions of Jews to be gassed by the Nazis because the USA would not allow them in. So everybody knew the sign of the Dodge as a Star of David, Seal of Solomonno mistake on that.
Thank you for the information. We have a restored 1927 DB coupe my husband restored in high school. It was our “courting car” since we drove it everywhere! A 1927 DB sedan that we have to still work on. The coupe was bought from his office uncle in 1964 from the original owner. So we have had itva long time and drive it all over. And thanks for your service to our country.
Hello Karen, thanks for stopping by and taking the time to share your story. I’m sure the 1927 Dodge Brothers coupe is a very special car to you and your husband. The labor of love and enjoyment that comes from restoring it and getting it back on the road, makes it all worthwhile.
Best wishes to you,
Jeanne
i have a dodge brothers emblem but mirror image with inset letters,appears to be made of brass or bronze,found inside a 1937 james motorcycle feul cap.wonder if its a emblem die or stamp
Hi Wayne,
I really wish I could help you, but unfortunately, I don’t have an answer to your question. Thanks for taking the time to visit and good luck in your search.
Best Regards,
Jeanne
I am in the process of purchasing an old warehouse type building in Florida. I was told that the building had some automotive heritage. In doing further research at the local historical society, sure enough this was a Dodge Brothers agency opened in 1926. And during my due diligence I identified three engraved logo features on the face of the building somewhat obscured by years of refinishing. Amazingly enough the building’s exterior is intact and still exhibits the original Dodge Brothers Detroit USA six pointed star logo at the top center of the building, the intertwined less detailed DB logo on the easternmost top front face of the building and the original GB (Graham Brothers) logo at the top of the westernmost front face of the building. My goal is to restore the building to more closely resemble its appearance when it first opened as the Dodge Brothers agency in the 1920s. Do you know of any automotive dealership history resources to help in my rehabilitation and restoration effort? Thank you.
Hi Ken,
My apologies for the delayed response. I really wish I could help you more with your question, but there is not a lot of information about Dodge dealership history available. I recently learned that the Dodge/Chrysler archives were eliminated a few years ago and not much exists anymore. Very unfortunate.
This is one of a very few books available on the history of the Dodge Brothers and the Dodge Brothers Company: ‘The Dodge Brothers: The Men, the Motor Cars, and the Legacy’ by Charles K. Hyde, here: https://www.amazon.com/Dodge-Brothers-Motor-Legacy-Great/dp/0814332463
Thanks for taking the time to visit and good luck in your search. If you do happen to come across anything I would love to know!
My Best Regards,
Jeanne
I have a vintage Dodge Brothers emblem that I cannot seem to find anywhere via the web. I would like to confirm it’s age and authenticity. The logo is round and only shows the blue star with the interlocking DB inside of it. I was confused by the explanation that after 1939 “Brothers” was dropped from the emblem because this emblem does not have any other wording…only the DB inside of the star.
Hi Cathy, The emblem you’re describing sounds like it might be a Dodge Brothers radiator grille badge, circa 1920’s. Here is an image of one, hopefully this link will work: Dodge Brothers radiator grille badge
Thanks for visiting and best of luck in your search!
Jeanne
That’s it! Thank you so much. How wonderful of you to offer this service to the public!
Hello Jeanne it’s me again with a follow up request.
I was wondering if you might be so kind as to open up that link you provided to me in your response to my original email. It seems that it has expired. Someone suggested to me that the paint on my emblem may not be original. It appears to be blue hand painted enamel and the person I spoke with thought it should actually be porcelain. The only place I have ever seen the badge that I have is on the site you provided to me and I would like to look at it again closely so that I know for sure my badge is authentic with no alterations made. Thank you, Cathy
Hi Cathy, Sure, no problem! I have the URL saved in one of my Facebook messages, which is probably the reason why I can still access it. I have no idea why it would expire. Here it is: Dodge Brothers radiator grille badge
Hope this helps!
Jeanne
Hi Ken. Just wondering if you know what the turquoise marking on the emblem represents? Is it a map of some kind, perhaps waterways or something?
Thank you so much. It definitely looks like mine. Is it possible that some of the badges (like mine) were enamel and not porcelain?
Hi Cathy, I’m not 100% certain but I believe most of the colored badges were enamel. Researching information on rare car parts can be very challenging. You may want to check out Antique Automobile Club Forums: http://forums.aaca.org/. I would post your emblem in the discussion forum to see if anyone can provide additional information.
My Best Regards,
Jeanne