We went to a flea market over Memorial Day weekend, and, amid a pile of modern radiator caps, this worn beauty was barely visible. Needless to say, I couldn’t grab it up fast enough.
The design forms the letter “M,” which stands for Maxwell. In regard to the year, it looks like this radiator cap is the one featured on this page from the 1915 brochure:
Named for engineer Jonathan D. Maxwell, this early automobile resulted from a partnership between Maxwell and sheet metal manufacturer Benjamin Briscoe and was funded in large part with J.P. Morgan’s money. It was a successful little car, at one time ranking third in the industry behind only Ford and Buick. The Maxwell eventually became the Chrysler Four, and you can read that whole story here:
The Inception of One-Third of the Big Three
