Irvin Robbins & Company, Robbins Body Corporation, Robbins Body Company



Irvin Robbins & Company, 1873-1919, Robbins Body Corporation (aka Robbins Body Company) 1919-1928 (1930), Indianapolis, Indiana

Robbins Body Corp. specialized in closed bodies and was best known as a production body builder for Stutz and Marmon, their Indianapolis neighbors. In fact, Nordyke and Marmon was located only one block to the west of the Robbins Body plant which was located on Morris St (now West Morris St) at the corner of Division St. (1148 Division St.)

The firm’s predecessor, Irvin Robbins & Company (1873-1919), was a carriage maker who specialized in high-grade carriages and hearses. Located in downtown Indianapolis’ Industrial Building at 10th and Canals Sts., Robbins entered the automobile body business in the early 1900s and by 1919 employed 200 hands.

The firm’s namesake, Irvin Robbins (1839-1911), was born in 1839 in Decatur County Indiana. Following his appointment as a journal clerk in the Indiana State Senate, he enlisted in the 7th regiment of the Indiana Volunteers. He rose through the ranks of various Indiana regiments (104th, 76th, 123rd), serving as a Captain, Adjutant, Major and finally as Inspector General of the US Army’s 23rd Corps. Following the war he became Indiana’s Adjutant General (1893-1897) and remained active in the GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) up until his death in 1911 at the age of 72. His wife, Cassandra, survived him, and their house at 12 West North St. was eventually demolished to make way for Indianapolis’ Scottish Rite Cathedral which was completed in 1929.

Robbin’s skill was in administration and organization and when an Indianapolis carriage builder became available in 1873, he purchased the operation renaming it Irvin Robbins & Co. In addition to his work in manufacturing and Indiana’s Veteran’s affairs, in 1883 he served a term as Indianapolis’ Superintendent of Police.

One famous customer of Irvin Robbins & Co was Indianapolis resident US Senator Benjamin Harrison, who wrote out a check to the firm for $18.90 on July 21, 1888, just prior to his controversial election as the 23^rd President of the United States that fall. At that time, $18.90 could purchase a nice buggy and while the President’s vehicle is long gone, the check still exists and is pictured below.

Irvin Robbins & Co. continued to market their fine carriages and light commercial vehicles to their regional Indiana and Illinois customers into the early 20^th Century. Soon after the horseless carriage made its first appearance on the streets of Indianapolis, the city became home to a number of motorcar manufacturers and soon afterwards, Robbins began supplying them with automobile bodies. The firm’s entry into the automotive field was spearheaded by James A. Daugherty, a former Nordyke & Marmon and Atlas Engine Works sales executive, who took over as sales manager in 1907 and following Irvin Robbins’ death in 1911, was put in charge of the firm.

Daugherty was born in Shelby County, Indiana in 1872. After graduating from a Noblesville high school he took a position with Nordyke & Marmon in Indianapolis where he held various positions in the accounting, purchasing, and sales departments eventually becoming head of the firm’s foreign sales and mill supply departments. After 12 years he joined another large Indianapolis manufacturer, the Atlas Engine Works, as assistant general manager of sales. At one time Atlas had been the largest manufacturer of stationary steam engines and boilers in North America. Daugherty was appointed manager of Atlas’ Chicago sales office in 1904, but following the firm’s 1907 receivership, he returned to Indianapolis and was hired by Irvin Robbins as sales manager. Within a few years Daugherty had become well-known in the body-building industry and even served a term as President of the Automobile Body Builder’s Association.

A 1910 display ad in the Indianapolis Star advertises Robbins’ line of Limousine, Landaulet and Coupe bodies, auto tops and windshields and painting and trimming services, and doesn’t even mention the word carriage.

As the Ford Model T became popular, Robbins took advantage of Ford’s failure to offer closed bodies and began production of their own line of Robbins-built Model T coupe, sedan and limousine bodies. Sales were primarily regional and they exhibited at regional Auto shows and at the Indiana State Fair. Period advertisements state that a ROBBINSFord body could be installed in an hour’s time.

One typical display ad appeared in the November 29^th, 1914 Indianapolis Star:

“When Stormy Days Come –

"Are you going to store your Ford Roadster or Touring Car, get no use out of it and tramp around afoot – or will you let us transform it into a car of beauty, comfort and year’round service?

“If you have the slightest desire to get full value out of your Ford, come in and let us show you a ROBBINSFord Coupe

“So far as style, practicablity and service are concerned, you cannot make a better investment at this time than having one of these handsome closed bodies put on your car NOW before bad weather sets in.

“ROBBINSFord Bodies are all of standardized dimensions, and can be fitted to any Ford chassis in an hour’s time. In quality, appearance and fittings, they are the equal of closed-type cars costing three or four times more, and if you want to get full value out of your car, we urge you to examine our stock.

"Call or send for descriptive literature today.

"IRVIN ROBBINS CO.

"Industrial Building

Along with C.R. Wilson (Detroit, MI) and the Monroe Body Co. (Pontiac, MI), Robbins built production bodies for the Carter Car 1913-14. May 1915 ads listed them at 10th & Canal but by February of 1916, they had moved to new facilities at 1148 Division St. at the corner of Morris Sts.

Although many commercial body builders prospered during the First World War fulfilling government contracts for ambulances and wagons, automobile body-building firms such as Robbins saw a notable decrease in business. However once the Armistice was signed, and the economy recovered, the popularity of closed bodies increased exponentially and by early 1919 it became necessary to expand the business. The May 5, 1919 issue of the Indianapolis Star included the following article/advertisement:

“Irvin Robbins & Co. Book Orders for $800,000 Closed Auto Bodies.

“Revival of the automotive industry since the singing of the Armistice had made unusual progress and is reflecting this activity on allied industry, according to James A Daugherty, president and general manager of Irvin Robbins & Company, builders of closed automobile bodes. The home office and factory of the company are situated at Morris and Division Streets. The factory occupies two modern buildings of brick and steel sash construction and is completely equipped for efficiency production of its product.

“Shortly after the signing of the Armistice, operations in this line of industry were at a very low ebb, but beginning late in January, according to Mr. Daugherty, things began to hum. The order books of the company tell more plainly than words the rate of increase in the production of automobile closed bodies. Mr Daugherty, who has just returned from Detroit and Cleveland, reports that in the last sixty days he has contracted for more than $800,000 worth of sedan and coupe bodies.

“'The plant now is operating at near capacity and within the next month the production will reach its maximum and sufficient orders already have been booked at that rate until next February.'

"Closed Bodies Popular

“'All of these contracts,' Mr. Daugherty said, 'were received from old customers, who report the demand for closed bodies this year to be far in excess of any previous year. These contracts come from some of the largest and most successful builders of automobiles in the country, and some of them predict that within a very short time they will be putting closed bodies on at least 60 per cent of their output. It is, therefore, going to be a very difficult matter for the Irvin Roberts Company to take care of their old customers, and it will be impossible for them to take on even one new customer this year.'

“'Irvin Roberts & Co. have made a specialty of closed bodies, and have their factory and equipment laid out especially for that purpose. Their organization has also been built of men thoroughly trained along that line and they have without doubt one of the best plants and organizations of this kind in the country. This is proved by the fact that every single one of their old customers depended entirely this year on them for closed bodies, not one of them going elsewhere.'

“'To any one mechanically inclined or interested in automobiles it is an interesting sight, to go through our factory and see how bodies are produced. Starting with the engineering department, where the various designs are worked out and a full size draft is made giving every detail of construction. This department also produces forms, jigs, etc., from which the other various departments get their detailed information for producing bodies.'

“'Once can then start in at the lumber yards which is stacked full of the very best grade of ash, poplar, maple and oak. We have our own dry kilns for drying every foot of lumber that goes into the construction of the bodies. From there one goes into the mill room where the special machines cut up the lumber and make the various cuts and operations in the frame work.'

“'Quantity production has brought about many ways to do work by machinery that formerly was done by hand, thereby reducing the cost. These parts are then taken to the woodworking room where the bench men assemble them and frame up the bodies. There you will find a great deal of fine workmanship and ingenuity displayed in putting the framework together.'

"Factory is equipped.

“'One will then go to the sheet metal department, where the metal panels, which are made either of sheet steel or aluminum, rolled especially for automobile work, are put on to the framework. Five large power hammers are used in hammering this metal into various shapes for fitting over the frame work of the bodies. To an experienced person it is wonderful to see this metal formed into various shapes and come out with such smooth surface and finish when it is completed. The acetylene welding, electric welding and soldering of joints are then brought into play and when the metal work is finished there is no outside appearance of seams or joints. The entire outside framework is covered in metal, no wood being exposed to the weather. Aluminum moldings are put on in such a way that neither the brads nor screws can be seen when completed.'

“'From here the bodies come through various operations in the painting and upholstering, all of which are very interesting since the different color schemes of the painting and upholstering material must be in harmony, and there is a great opening for anyone with individual taste to work out various designs and color schemes. Various grades of hardware, upholstering material and workmanship must of course be decided upon for the different price bodies furnished.'

“Mr. Daugherty believes their success is due mostly to their ability to get up original designs, build good bodies and by selecting different price materials and workmanship entering into them, and produce bodies that can be successfully marketed on the various price chassis. These are matters that must be handled with extreme care, since it would be foolish to put a high price body on a low price chassis, or a cheap body on a high price chassis.

“Irvin Robbins & Company are expanding rapidly, and with the prestige they now have in the closed body business, indications are that in time they will be one of the largest manufacturing concerns of this city. They extend a cordial invitation to anyone who is interest in closed bodies to through factory.”

A refinancing plan was proposed whereby Uz McMurtrie, a Marion, Indiana industrialist and current treasurer of the state of Indiana, would spearhead a $1.25 million stock offering.

The November 12, 1919 Indianapolis Star reported on the birth of the Robbins Body Corporation:

“…from other data in our possession we summarize the following:

“This stock issue is for the purpose of greatly extending the operations formerly under the name Robbins Co by immediately more than doubling the capacity of the present modern factory adjoining that of Nordyke Marmon Company Indianapolis. This company specializes in building sedan and other enclosed bodies for automobile manufacturers and has now on the books approximately $2 million in orders from Detroit Companies.”

After the firm’s 1919 reorganization, McMurtrie became the firm’s new president and Daugherty its vice-president and general manager. Although McMurtrie was in charge of the firm on paper, Daugherty actually ran the business and longtime Robbins’ employee H.R.(Jack) Perryman was soon appointed general manager.

It’s common knowledge that Robbins built production bodies for their Indianapolis neighbors Marmon and Stutz, but they also produced bodies for a few other regional medium-priced car and taxi-cab manufacturers including Dort, Gardner, Graham Paige, Grant, Liberty, Paige and Willys-Knight.

Robbins built their reputation on closed bodies but they were also adept at building limited-production roadsters and cabriolets. One good customer was Willys for whom they built the 1926 Willys-Knight Model 66 cabriolet. Robbins also built the elegant 5-passenger coupe body found on the 1927 Series 66A and are thought to have produced the 1927-29 Series 66A Roadsters and Coupe Cabriolets.

With the introduction of the Stutz Eight in 1925, Stutz’s production bodies were sourced from Hale & Kilburn (American Auto Body), a firm that Charles Schwab had acquired in Philadelphia and moved to Indianapolis to be near the Stutz factory. Demand soon exceeded their capacity and when LeBaron redesigned the Stutz line in 1927, Robbins was called upon once again to provide production bodies for their Indianapolis neighbor.

For a number of years Stutz had ordered custom bodies from LeBaron who built them in their Bridgeport, Connecticut factory. After Briggs purchased LeBaron in 1928, Stutz started ordering both their series custom and some production bodies from the LeBaron-Detroit factory in Detroit. Production bodies sourced from both Robbins and LeBaron-Detroit were delivered "in the white" and painted and trimmed at Hale & Kilburn’s Indianapolis plant, then transferred to the Stutz plant.

Stutz promoted a new type of finish called Robbin-Chrome at the 1925 New York and Chicago auto shows. Two of the five Stutzes displayed – a phaeton and a sedan (1925 Series 695 Sportbrohm) were finished in the novel Robbins-sourced treatment. The Jan 8th and 23rd, 1925 issues of Motor Age described the Robbin-Chrome as “unusual and distinctive in that a mottled design of no uniform pattern was created on a smooth dark undercoat. An exceptionally high luster obtained with a special varnish gave the bodies a polished marble appearance.”

In 1927 Stutz offered a Robbins-built Series AA Black Hawk runabout (aka Back Hawk speedster) employing dual-side-mounts, a boat-tail rear section, bicycle-type fenders and aluminum steps in lieu of running boards. A four-passenger version of the car was also available and both vehicles were shown in the 1928 model-year Stutz catalog. Although Robbins created special finishes for Stutz and others, most of their bodies were shipped to their customers in-the-white for finishing at each respective manufacturer’s paint shop. The custom-built Stutz Series AA Black Hawk boat-tail runabout/speedster should not be confused with the budget priced Blackhawk automobile produced by Stutz in 1929 and 1930 for whom Robbins did produce some production bodies as the car shared bodies with the Senior Stutz line.

Robbins-bodied Stutzes and Blackhawks included the 1925 Series 694 Coupe, 1925 Series 695 Sportbrohm, 1928 Series BB 2-passenger Speedster ($3595), 1928 Series BB 4-passenger Speedster ($3595 list), 1928 Series BB 7-passenger Speedster ($3895 list) 1928 Series BB 7-passenger Sedan ($3895 list), 1928 Series BB 7-passenger Limousine ($3995 list). Between 1927-1930 Milspaugh & Irish, Hale-Kilburn/American Motor Body (Indianapolis plant), Phillips and Robbins supplied Stutz with production bodies.

During the same period Robbins supplied Graham-Paige with production bodies for their 1928 Model 629 Coupe & Cabriolet, 1928 Model 835 Coupe & Cabriolet, 1929 Model 621 Coupe, Cabriolet & Roadster, 1929 Model 629 Coupe & Cabriolet, 1929 Model 827 Coupe, Cabriolet & Roadster, 1930 Model 127 Coupe, Cabriolet & Roadster, 1930 Model 137 Coupe & Cabriolet, 1931 Model 127 Coupe, Cabriolet & Roadster and 1931 Model 137 Coupe & Cabriolet. Robbins had previously supplied Graham-Paige’s antecedent, Paige, with production bodies during 1926 and 1927.

After Briggs bought LeBaron, the building of Stutz production bodies was transferred to the LeBaron-Detroit Co. leaving Robbins to fend for themselves. Their remaining customers, Graham-Paige and Gardner didn’t provide enough work to keep the plant busy so they turned to making radio cabinets for another one of Uz McMurtrie’s business interests, the United States Radio and Television Corp.

A 1928 issue of Autobody announced:

“The Robbins Body Corporation, of Indianapolis, is devoting practically all of its facilities to the manufacture of radio cabinets. Most of the officers are interested in the radio business and the opportunity of securing large orders for this class of work without special solicitation is the reason why the company has already reached a capacity of 1,500 radio cabinets per day. It was expected that the last of the automobile bodies would be completed by the end of June, but as the corporation has had an excellent line of customers for whom it has built bodies continuously for 18 years, it is possible that the building of high-grade automobile bodies may resume in the future.”

US Radio & Television was based in Marion, Indiana and built radios under the Apex, Case, Gloritone, Radiotrope and US Apex brands. The Indianapolis plant produced cabinets between 1928 and 1930.

Although Robbins was no longer building automobile bodies in 1929, Graham-Paige used leftover Robbins-built bodies well into 1931 as did St Louis’ Gardner Motor Company. Robbins continued to be listed as a Stutz production body supplier for several years even though LeBaron-Detroit had supplied Stutz with all of their closed bodies "in the white" since 1928. According to coachbuilding historian Hugo Pfau, when Stutz closed their doors in 1935, a few unused Robbins-built Speedster bodies were eagerly acquired by existing Stutz owners to replace slightly more conservative coachwork.

Uz McMurtrie’s business empire crumbled following the stock market crash and by 1930 both US Radio & Television and Robbins Body Corp were in the hands of receivers. Robbins largest creditor was the Fletcher American National Bank of Indianapolis which held approximately $150,000 in Robbins Body Corporation notes.

For more information please read:

Raymond A. Katzell - The Splendid Stutz

Hugo Pfau - The Custom Body Era

Michael E. Keller - The Graham-Paige Legacy: Graham-Paige to 1932

Mark Meincke - the Complete Guide to Stationary Gas Engines

Benjamin G. Shinn - Blackford and Grant Counties, Indiana: A Chronicle of their People Past and Present with Family Lineage and Personal Memoirs. Volume I, The Lewis Publishing Company Chicago and New York 1914

Logan Esarey - History of Indiana From Its Exploration to 1922: With an Account of Indianapolis and Marion County Vol. IV, Dayton Historical Publishing Co., 1924

Beverly Rae Kimes - The Classic Car

Beverly Rae Kimes - The Classic Era

Beverly Rae Kimes - Packard: A History of the Motorcar and Company

Beverly Rae Kimes & Henry Austin Clark Jr. - Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942

Richard Burns Carson - The Olympian Cars

Marc Ralston - Pierce Arrow

Brooks T. Brierley - There Is No Mistaking a Pierce Arrow

Brooks T. Brierley - Auburn, Reo, Franklin and Pierce-Arrow Versus Cadillac, Chrysler, Lincoln and Packard

Brooks T. Brierley - Magic Motors 1930

Nick Georgano - The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile: Coachbuilding

John Gunnell - Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1946-1975

James M. Flammang & Ron Kowalke - Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1976-1999