Biddle and Smart

Carriagemakers

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 years later.

Automobile bodies

In 1905, Biddle and Smart became one of the first carriagemakers in Amesbury to begin the manufacture of automobile bodies. An early customer was the Club Car Company 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 S.R. Bailey & Co., allowing greater production.

By the early 1920s customers included Hudson, 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 Currier Cameron & Co., Hollander & Morrill Body Co., Witham Body Co., T. W. Lane Company, Auto Body & Finishing Co., and Bryant Body Co. This brought the total space to nearly a half million square feet in 21 buildings in six different sections of town.

In 1925, Biddle & Smart began making bodies for Rolls-Royce of America at Springfield, Massachusetts. The company had fulfilled a small order for Rolls-Royce previously in 1919.

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.

In addition to Hudson and Rolls-Royce, Biddle and Smart also built bodies for Lincoln, Peerless, Marmon, Mercer, White, Chalmers, Speedwell and Haynes.

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.