79:, for whom they began making closed bodies in 1923. From 1923 the company became the exclusive producer of car bodies for Hudson, a turning point that would see production triple with 12,000 bodies manufactured in 1923. With expansion Biddle and Smart acquired a number of local coachbuilders, including
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The town of
Amesbury, Massachusetts, was a centre of carriage-making. Biddle and Smart began trading either in 1870 or 1880. An almost-contemporary source says that The Biddle, Smart Carriage Co. was formed by William E. Biddle, William W. Smart, and M. D. F. Steeve in 1878 and began production two
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By March 1926 its
Amesbury holdings had grown from nine shops to 41 shops and the output had grown to 400 bodies manufactured a day. Peak shipments came in 1926 when the firm delivered 41,000 bodies to Hudson. An inability to stamp steel meant that their products were made using aluminium.
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In May 1925, Hudson introduced the Biddle & Smart-built
Brougham, a closed-coupled four-door sedan with blind rear quarters covered, as was the entire roof in black leather. The Brougham was an immediate success and was continued into 1926 and 1927 with some modifications.
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In 1926 Hudson opened a brand new 10 million dollar body plant in
Detroit. By the end of 1926 all steel-bodied Hudsons were being built at the new plant, and because of the inability of Biddle and Smart to produce steel bodies, production for Hudson dropped by 60%.
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Hudson continued with the aluminum bodies from Biddle and Smart, advertising them as "custom-built" bodies even though they were exactly the same as the steel body models built at the Hudson factory. Hudson produced a range of cars designed by
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of
Pasadena, California after 1927 and these were built by Biddle and Smart, advertised as "Design by Murphy." Production continued until 1929. 10 Hudson body styles were sold in 1929 with Biddle and Smart producing two, Detroit-based
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1930 was the last year of Biddle and Smart production for Hudson, leaving the company with no customers by the end of the year. After a failed attempt at marketing aluminum boats the company went out of business in 1930.
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saw car prices decline and transport costs from
Massachusetts to Detroit become cost prohibitive. Hudson had to resort to local producers such as Briggs Manufacturing Co.
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300:"Biddle & Smart, Biddle and Smart, W.E. Biddle, W.W. Smart, Biddle & Smart Bodied, William E Biddle, Amesbury - Coachbult.com -"
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of New York City and from 1910 to 1911, the firm was the builder of Club’s cars. In 1917 Biddle and Smart purchased the factory of
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This brought the total space to nearly a half million square feet in 21 buildings in six different sections of town.
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A MICROCOSMIC HISTORY OF THE CARRIAGE INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES-A FEW LEADING CARRIAGE CENTERS, Hub
October 1897
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213:(Auction Description). Hershey, PA: RM Auctions/Sothebys. October 2011. Lot 264. Archived from
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At the end of
December 1929 Hudson declined to renew its yearly contract. The beginning of the
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in
Amesbury to begin the manufacture of automobile bodies. An early customer was the
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In addition to Hudson and Rolls-Royce, Biddle and Smart also built bodies for
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producing three, and Hudson producing the other five models inhouse.
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Storied
Independent Automakers: Nash, Hudson, and American Motors
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The Changing U.S. Auto Industry: A Geographical Analysis
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Defunct manufacturing companies based in Massachusetts
211:"1929 Hudson Model L Club Sedan by Biddle and Smart"
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In 1925, Biddle & Smart began making bodies for
60:In 1905, Biddle and Smart became one of the first
16:American carriage and automobile body manufacturer
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329:Auto parts suppliers of the United States
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75:By the early 1920s customers included
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30:and then automobile bodies based in
339:Coachbuilders of the United States
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85:Hollander & Morrill Body Co.
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231:Rubenstein, James M. (2002) .
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97:Auto Body & Finishing Co.
177:Briggs Manufacturing Company
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112:Springfield, Massachusetts
263:Hyde, Charles K. (2009).
237:. Routledge. p. 34.
81:Currier Cameron & Co.
324:Amesbury, Massachusetts
32:Amesbury, Massachusetts
108:Rolls-Royce of America
38:manufacturer in 1905.
70:S.R. Bailey & Co.
172:Walter M. Murphy Co.
304:www.coachbuilt.com
93:T. W. Lane Company
276:978-0-81433-446-1
244:978-1-13493-629-8
56:Automobile bodies
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24:manufacturer
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318:Categories
194:References
147:Speedwell
36:auto body
28:carriages
143:Chalmers
127:Peerless
123:Lincoln
42:History
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161:Demise
151:Haynes
135:Mercer
131:Marmon
99:, and
77:Hudson
22:was a
139:White
271:ISBN
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