The conventional wisdom is that there are five New England Westinghouse logos. Two
"curved" with different arcs on the top line, two "straight" with 2mm
and 3mm tall letters, and one with Cyrillic letters. While the two curved ones are well
documented, the Cyrillic one is not, other than some written references to it. As for the
straight logos, if there is a difference in the height of the letters it is much more
subtle than 50%. The lettering on observed rifles measures slightly over 2mm but is not
nearly as large as 3mm. However, there is a difference in the spacing and alignment of the
letters.
Pictured below are nine different New England Westinghouse barrels in chronological
order based on serial number. Only two of them, the 6th (#643,760) and the 7th (#707,801),
are identical. Two others, the 2nd (#205,874) and the 9th (#1,158,882), are very similar
but have slight differences. In some cases the distinctive spacing of the letters is
identical in one area of the two logos, but different in another area. Information on
twelve other rifles gathered from pictures on the Survey Forum at Gunboards.com
is also included. Some of these are identical to each other or to the pictured rifles,
while others are unique themselves. The pictured rifles are numbered 1 through 9 for ease
of identification and the numbers are not meant to indicate logo "types". Rifles
not pictured are referenced by their actual serial numbers. Unlike the Russian arsenals
which started over at "1" each year, New England Westinghouse began with serial
number 1 and continued to the end of production. Ironically, all New England Westinghouse
M91s are dated 1915 regardless of the actual year of production, which continued until
1918.
Besides the style and spacing of the lettering, the imperial eagles also exhibit
differences in their several features. Some have sharp lines while others are softer, the
mark on the breast alternates between a diamond and a shield, the wing feathers are
different widths and point down or up and to varying degrees, and the tail feathers are
abbreviated or prominent. These features are used in various combinations to produce eight
distinct eagles on the nine rifles pictured on this page.
Other marks found on the rifles pictured include the provisional black powder proof
(top left #1), final black powder proof (top center #1), OTK/office of technical control
mark (bottom center #1), Finnish SA property mark (bottom left #3), Finnish D chamber
modification mark (bottom center #3), Finnish Civil Guard =S= acceptance mark (middle
right #8), Russian point of aim mark (top left #9), New England Westinghouse M with arrow
inspection mark (top center #9), Russian concentric circles accuracy mark (top right #9),
and German LTII Luft Transport II mark (bottom center #9). Rifle #2 is Romanian INSTRUCTIE
marked on the receiver and has had the Imperial eagle scrubbed.
In conclusion, there are certainly more than five different New England Westinghouse logos
as over a dozen are documented here not counting various combinations with the different
eagles or the reported Cyrillic logo. Even more interesting, there doesn't seem to be much
correlation between logos or eagles and serial numbers. However, in general terms it can
be said that the large curved logo is early, with the small curved logo following, and the
various straight logos used for the balance of production. The curved logos are certainly
less common which could be due in part to attrition during World War I. While there
doesn't appear to be a significant difference in the height of the letters among the
straight logos as reported elsewhere, the W and the last E in Westinghouse seem to
"flair out" to a larger size on two of the straight logos (#4 and to a lesser
extent #8) and the small curved logo (#3). This could explain the reported "2mm"
and "3mm" letters. Because many of the differences among the logos are so slight
it would be fair to say that there are three basic types; 1) large curved, 2) small
curved, and 3) straight; with many sub-types of each. It seems that when collecting New
England Westinghouse M91s the trick is not to find different logos, but rather to find two
that are alike.
Number |
Logo Description |
Eagle Description |
Picture/Serial Number |
|
Large curved, identical to #60,157, similar to #1 and #510,444, different
spacing on bottom two lines. 79 before following rifle. |
Identical to #1 |
60,078 |
|
Large curved, identical to #60,078, similar to #1 and #510,444, different
spacing on bottom two lines. 79 after previous rifle, 28,949 before following rifle. |
Identical to #1 |
60,157 |
1 |
Large curved logo with NEW ENGLAND in a "90 degree" arch over
the eagle and WESTINGHOUSE COMPANY below it. 28,949 after previous rifle, 116,768 before
following rifle. |
Sharp lines, diamond on breast, narrow wing feathers pointing up and down. |
|
2 |
Straight logo with the N in WESTINGHOUSE slightly to the left of the P in
COMPANY. In all other logos documented on this page the N is distinctly further to the
left of the P or overlapping it slightly with the exception of #9 (serial number
1,158,882) where the second N in ENGLAND only slightly overlaps the U in WESTINGHOUSE
rather than overlapping it approximately half way as it does on this logo. 116,768 after
previous rifle, 247,480 before following rifle. |
Scrubbed/unknown. |
|
|
Small curved, identical to #3. 247,480 after previous rifle, 3,099
before following rifle. |
Identical to #3 |
453,354 |
3 |
Small curved logo with NEW ENGLAND in a "60 degree" arch over
the eagle and WESTINGHOUSE COMPANY below it with the W and E in WESTINGHOUSE taller on the
outer ends. 3,099 after previous rifle, 1,810 before following rifle. |
Sharp lines, diamond on breast, narrow wing feathers pointing up only. |
|
|
Small curved, identical to #3. 1,810 after previous rifle, 38,800 before
following rifle. |
Identical to #3 |
458,263 |
|
Straight, similar to #7 and #8, identical to #806,910. 38,800 after
previous rifle, 13,381 before following rifle. |
Identical to #3 |
497,063 |
|
Large curved, unique, similar to #1 and #60,078, different spacing on
bottom two lines. 13,381 after previous rifle, 86,607 before following rifle. |
Identical to #1 |
510,444 |
4 |
Straight logo with the L in ENGLAND "over" the H in WESTINGHOUSE
distinct from all other logos on this page and with the W and E in WESTINGHOUSE taller on
the outer ends. 86,607 after previous rifle, 8,737 before following rifle. |
Soft lines, shield on breast, wide wing feathers, pronounced tail
feathers. |
|
|
Straight, identical to #5. 8,737 after previous rifle, 4,597 before
following rifle. |
Identical to #5 |
605,788 |
5 |
Straight logo with the Y in COMPANY "under" the S in
WESTINGHOUSE distinct from all other straight logos on this page, but similar to the large
curved logo (#1, serial number 60,157). 4,597 after previous rifle, 10,776 before
following rifle. |
Soft lines, shield on breast, wide wing feathers, abbreviated tail
feathers. |
|
|
Straight, unique, similar to #4. 10,776 after previous rifle, 22,599
before following rifle. |
Identical to #5 |
621,161 |
6 |
Straight logo with the first S in WESTINGHOUSE to the left of the C in
COMPANY distinct from all other logos on this page with the exception of #8 (serial number
1,070,117) where the E in ENGLAND is over the I in WESTINGHOUSE rather than to the right
of it as it is on this logo. 22,599 after previous rifle, 64,041 before following rifle. |
Sharp lines, diamond on breast, narrow wing feathers pointing up. Similar
to #3 (serial number 456,453) but the feathers point up more and other subtle differences. |
|
7 |
Identical to #6. 64,041 after previous rifle, 99,109 before following
rifle. |
Identical to #6. |
|
|
Straight, similar to #7, #8 and #1,230,527; identical to #497,063. 99,109
after previous rifle, 94,796 before following rifle. |
Identical to #7 |
806,910 |
|
Straight, identical to #4. 94,796 after previous rifle, 117,547 before
following rifle. |
Identical to #4 |
901,706 |
|
Straight, unique, similar to #5. 117,547 after previous rifle, 50,864
before following rifle. |
Identical to #4 |
1,019,253 |
8 |
Straight logo with the first S in WESTINGHOUSE to the left of the C in
COMPANY distinct from all other logos on this page with the exception of #6 and #7
(identical logos, serial numbers 643,760 and 707,801 respectively) where the E in ENGLAND
is to the right of the I in WESTINGHOUSE rather than over it as it is in this logo. The W
and E in WESTINGHOUSE are slightly taller on the outer ends but not to the extent of #3
and #4. 50,864 after previous rifle, 88,765 before following rifle. |
Sharp lines, diamond on breast, narrow wing feathers pointing up. Similar
to the #6 and #7, but with tail feathers more like #3 (serial number 456,453). |
|
9 |
Straight logo with the left side of the second N in ENGLAND lined up with
the right side of the U in WESTINGHOUSE. Very similar to #2 (serial number 205,874) but
with subtle differences. 88,765 after previous rifle, 71,645 before following rifle. |
Soft lines, shield on breast, wide wing feathers, pronounced tail
feathers. Similar to #4 (serial number 597,051) but with even wider tail feathers. |
|
|
Straight, unique, similar to #8 and 806,910. 71,645 after previous
rifle. |
Likely the same as #6, but possibly #3 |
1,230,527 |