What does the IH logo really mean ?

[Lee_Petrie]

Hello,
Several months ago , while at a "fast food" restaurant , wearing my IH "baseball cap" an older lady said she had worked for IH in the accounting office in Chicago ( in the Chicago metro area) ! She looked at me and said, do you know what that represents , pointing at the IH logo on my hat ? It stands for International Harvester , I said ! At the IH office it was referred to as _ _ _ _ _ _ , she said !
Any ideas out their ? What she said, did make sense , I never heard it put that way ! Thanks to all, Lee Petrie, Joliet,IL.

 

[Barnyard]

At the IH office it was referred to as _ _ _ _ _ _ , she said !

:lost:
I have no clue what she said it referred to. Is she saying it referred to a bunch of lines?

 

[indy61]

Not sure what she said but I've heard the logo was designed by the same guy that did some Coca-Cola and Lucky Strike designs. Supposed to resemble a man on a red tractor.

 

[JoeB]

Raymond Loewy did one of the designs. http://museumvictoria.com.au/collections/themes/6776/raymond-loewy-international-harvester

 

[Lee_Petrie]

That didn't take long ! "Supposed to resemble a man on a red tractor" , you guessed it quick , indy61 ! That is exactly what the older lady said ! Thanks to all that joined in, Lee Petrie

 

[Barnyard]

Okay, now I see what you meant.

 

[cub.bub]

Very interesting! And after reading the history and looking at the logo....I see it! :shock:
Great post Lee, and thanks for the history lesson Joeb. :thanx:

Bruce

 

[Lee_Petrie]

Another big thanks, JoeB , I figured it was the truth, what the older lady said, but I never knew how that fit into the IH puzzle , thanks for your input ! Lee

 

[Bus Driver]

I remembered the Loewy work on the post-war Studebaker and well remember when the car was introduced. The IH logo story was a new one on me.
Remarkable fellow.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Loewy

 

[smallfarm]

So when in the 30's was this logo first used? Just curious because the Ohio license plate from 1915 has a logo that looks kind-a like it in a circle. (a combination of the letters O, H, and ). Around the IH (Navistar) truck manufacturing area of Ohio, old car and license collectors call this plate the "IH plate."

 

[Super A]

The red/black IH man on a tractor logo first appeared in an IH ad in 1944. It probably showed up on tractors as the old hood decals without the IH emblem ran out.

Al

 

[Barnyard]

The 1919 Ohio plate also had a similar, but a bit different, IH in the center of a circle. Of course, at the time the symbols on these plates referred to OHIO instead of spelling out the state name on the plate.

 

[Jack]

that was pretty interesting, and darn good marketing.

 

[muleboss]

I never did know the real meaning. I always just thought it stood for QUALITY.

 

[Urbish]

I saw the "man on the red tractor" in the logo when I was a little kid and always assumed that was intentional. Here's the old IHC logo that very closely resembles the Ohio logo on the license plate:

 

[smallfarm]

Never saw that "skwimjim" version of the IH logo before. When was it used, and was it for farm equip., IH trucks, or both? I forgot about the '19 Ohio plate (don't have a running car that new)

 

[Barnyard]

I don't know how long ago the IH in a C was used but it was on a lot of horse drawn equipment and was very prominent on this cookie cutter.

As well as on this section of my No. 7 sickle mower.

 

[Scrivet]

I seem to recall the circle IH logo was the symbol (corporate brand by todays standards) all the old companies, or divisions, operated under after the merger in 1902. MCCormick Harvesting Machine Co. kept their stuff branded McCormick, Deering Harvester Co. kept separate Deering stuff, Milwaukee Harvester Co. kept their Milwaukee brand, etc, but they all operated under the Circle IH logo. Eventually all the separate divisions got phased out for IH but it took upwards of twenty years.

Side note: when looking at something, say a McCormick implement, and it doesn't have any cast circle logos it was probably made sometime before or just after 1902. Since the circle IH logo would have been added as soon as practical to anything made after the merger.

 

[Urbish]

It looks like the Titan and the Mogul both carried the old logo as well as early trucks and tools. I remembered seeing some of them at farm shows as a kid. Looks like it was used from 1909 and into the early 40's but didn't expire until 1992 (EDITED).

http://www.trademarkia.com/ihc-71043233.html
http://www.trademarkia.com/ihc-78531843.html

 

[Urbish]

And here is a 1910 IHC car sporting a version of the logo.