Biddle and Smart
American carriage manufacturer that became a major producer of aluminum automobile bodies for Hudson and other automakers.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
Biddle and Smart was an American carriage and automobile-body manufacturer based in Amesbury, Massachusetts, a New England town with a long-established coachbuilding industry. The company emerged during the late nineteenth-century expansion of Amesbury’s carriage trade. Sources differ on whether trading began in 1870 or 1880, while an approximately contemporary account states that the Biddle, Smart Carriage Co. was organized in 1878 by William E. Biddle, William W. Smart, and M. D. F. Steeve and began production two years later. Its early business was the manufacture of horse-drawn carriages, and the firm became sufficiently successful to participate in the transition from traditional coachbuilding to motor-vehicle production. Biddle and Smart entered the automobile sector in 1905, becoming one of the first Amesbury carriage makers to manufacture automobile bodies. Rather than initially producing complete cars under its own marque, the company supplied bodies to vehicle manufacturers. An early customer was the Club Car Company of New York City, for which Biddle and Smart built cars during 1910 and 1911. In 1917 it purchased the factory of S. R. Bailey & Co., strengthening its manufacturing capacity and expanding its local industrial footprint. The company’s most important relationship was with Hudson. Biddle and Smart began making closed automobile bodies for Hudson in 1923 and became Hudson’s exclusive body producer from that year. This arrangement transformed the scale of the business: production reportedly tripled in 1923, reaching approximately 12,000 bodies. To support expansion, Biddle and Smart acquired several Amesbury coachbuilding concerns, including Currier Cameron & Co., Hollander & Morrill Body Co., Witham Body Co., T. W. Lane Company, Auto Body & Finishing Co., and Bryant Body Co. By March 1926 its operations occupied 41 shops, covering nearly half a million square feet across 21 buildings in six sections of Amesbury, with output reported at about 400 bodies per day. Biddle and Smart also served a broad group of prestige and mainstream manufacturers. Its customers and body-building contracts included Rolls-Royce of America, Lincoln, Peerless, Marmon, Mercer, White, Chalmers, Speedwell, and Haynes. The company completed a small Rolls-Royce order in 1919 and began regular body production for Rolls-Royce of America in 1925. Its Hudson Brougham, introduced in 1925, was a notable closed four-door sedan with blind rear quarters and a black-leather-covered roof and body treatment. The model continued, with revisions, through the 1926 and 1927 model years. A central limitation was manufacturing technology. Biddle and Smart built bodies in aluminum because it lacked the ability to stamp steel. This method supported lightweight, individually finished-looking bodies but left the company vulnerable as automakers integrated large-scale steel body production. Hudson opened a new body plant in Detroit in 1926, reportedly investing $10 million, and moved all of its steel-bodied production there by the end of that year. Hudson continued buying Biddle and Smart’s aluminum bodies and marketed them as custom-built, but the company’s Hudson production fell sharply. After 1927, Biddle and Smart also built Hudson models designed by the Walter M. Murphy Co. of Pasadena, California; these were promoted as “Design by Murphy.” The relationship continued until 1929, while Hudson increasingly divided production among its Detroit plant, Briggs Manufacturing Company, and its own factories. Hudson declined to renew its annual contract at the end of December 1929. Falling automobile prices during the Great Depression and the cost of transporting bodies from Massachusetts to Detroit made the business model increasingly difficult. Hudson production continued into 1930, but the company lost its last major customer by the end of that year. An unsuccessful attempt to market aluminum boats did not revive the business, and Biddle and Smart ceased operations in 1930.
History
Biddle and Smart developed within Amesbury’s carriage-making economy in Massachusetts. The company is variously associated with beginnings in 1870 or 1880, but an approximately contemporary account identifies the formation of the Biddle, Smart Carriage Co. in 1878 by William E. Biddle, William W. Smart, and M. D. F. Steeve, followed by production in 1880. Its original business was horse-drawn carriage manufacture. The firm began producing automobile bodies in 1905, making it an early Amesbury carriage company to adapt its craft and facilities to motor vehicles. It supplied the Club Car Company of New York City and built Club cars during 1910 and 1911. In 1917 Biddle and Smart purchased the S. R. Bailey & Co. factory, increasing its capacity. The company later supplied bodies for a range of manufacturers, including Lincoln, Peerless, Marmon, Mercer, White, Chalmers, Speedwell, and Haynes. It also completed a small Rolls-Royce order in 1919 and began producing bodies for Rolls-Royce of America in 1925. Hudson became the company’s defining customer. Biddle and Smart began manufacturing Hudson closed bodies in 1923 and became Hudson’s exclusive body producer from that year. Production reached about 12,000 bodies in 1923. Expansion involved the acquisition of multiple 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. By 1926 the combined operation reportedly comprised 41 shops in 21 buildings across six parts of Amesbury, covering almost 500,000 square feet and producing approximately 400 bodies per day. Peak Hudson shipments occurred in 1926, when roughly 41,000 bodies were delivered. Biddle and Smart’s bodies were made from aluminum because the company could not stamp steel. This became a strategic disadvantage after Hudson opened a large Detroit body plant in 1926 and moved its steel-bodied production there. Hudson retained Biddle and Smart for aluminum bodies and promoted them as custom-built, but the company’s Hudson output dropped by about 60 percent. From 1927, Biddle and Smart built certain Hudson designs associated with Walter M. Murphy Co. and advertised them as Design by Murphy. In 1929, Hudson’s model range divided production between Biddle and Smart, Briggs Manufacturing Company, and Hudson’s internal facilities. Hudson declined to renew its annual contract at the end of December 1929. The Depression reduced vehicle prices, while shipping bodies from Massachusetts to Detroit became uneconomic. Biddle and Smart continued producing for Hudson during 1930 but had no customers by the end of that year. An effort to diversify into aluminum boats failed, and the company went out of business in 1930.
- 1930
Production ends
[1]Biddle and Smart completed its final year of Hudson production, failed to establish an aluminum-boat business, and went out of business.
- 1929
Hudson contract not renewed
[1]Hudson declined to renew its annual contract at the end of December, as production economics and changing industry structure weakened the relationship.
- 1927
Design by Murphy bodies
[1]Biddle and Smart began building Hudson models designed by Walter M. Murphy Co., which Hudson advertised under the Design by Murphy name.
- 1926
Production reaches its reported peak
[1]Biddle and Smart reportedly delivered approximately 41,000 bodies to Hudson, while its Amesbury holdings expanded to 41 shops and output reached about 400 bodies per day.
- 1926
Hudson shifts steel-body production to Detroit
[1]Hudson opened a major Detroit body plant and moved its steel-bodied production there, reducing Biddle and Smart’s Hudson production because the Massachusetts company could not stamp steel.
- 1925
Rolls-Royce production and Hudson Brougham
[1]The company began making bodies for Rolls-Royce of America and supplied Hudson’s Brougham, a distinctive closed four-door sedan.
- 1923
Hudson body relationship expands
[1]Biddle and Smart began making closed bodies for Hudson and became the automaker’s exclusive body producer, with reported output of about 12,000 bodies during the year.
- 1917
S. R. Bailey factory acquired
[1]The company purchased the factory of S. R. Bailey & Co. to expand its production capacity.
- 1905
Entry into automobile bodies
[1]Biddle and Smart began manufacturing automobile bodies, adapting its carriage-building capabilities to the motor-vehicle industry.
- 1880
Carriage production begins
[1]The company reportedly began production two years after its organization, establishing its initial business in horse-drawn carriages.
Products and positioning
A large New England coachbuilder that evolved into an OEM body supplier, competing through body-design expertise, manufacturing scale, aluminum construction, and relationships with established automobile manufacturers.
Carriages
Horse-drawn carriages
Biddle and Smart began as a conventional Amesbury carriage maker. Its early products were horse-drawn carriages, reflecting the company’s origins in the region’s established coachbuilding trade before the transition to automobile bodies.
Automotive bodies · 1905
Automobile bodies
From 1905, Biddle and Smart manufactured bodies for automobiles rather than concentrating only on complete vehicles. It supplied bodies to numerous manufacturers and used aluminum construction when it could not stamp steel, combining coachbuilding methods with higher-volume production.
Closed sedan body · 1925
Hudson Brougham
Introduced by Hudson in 1925, the Brougham was a closed-coupled four-door sedan whose roof and body treatment used black leather covering and whose rear quarters were enclosed. Biddle and Smart built the body, and the model continued with modifications into the 1926 and 1927 model years.
Automotive bodies · 1927
Design by Murphy Hudson bodies
After 1927, Biddle and Smart produced selected Hudson bodies based on designs from the Walter M. Murphy Co. of Pasadena, California. Hudson marketed these vehicles as Design by Murphy, using the design association to distinguish the aluminum-bodied models.
Luxury automobile bodies · 1919
Rolls-Royce of America bodies
Biddle and Smart completed a small Rolls-Royce order in 1919 and began making bodies for Rolls-Royce of America at Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1925. These contracts extended the company’s role beyond Hudson into the luxury-vehicle market.
Brand decisions
1929
Attempted diversification into aluminum boatsStrategyBackground
The company faced the loss of its Hudson relationship and worsening automotive-market conditions.
Action taken
Biddle and Smart attempted to market aluminum boats as an alternative line of business.
Aftermath
The effort failed, and the company went out of business in 1930.
1927
Production of Design by Murphy Hudson modelsProduct launchBackground
Hudson continued using Biddle and Smart for aluminum bodies after shifting steel-body manufacturing to Detroit.
Action taken
Biddle and Smart built Hudson models designed by Walter M. Murphy Co. and supported their promotion as Design by Murphy.
Aftermath
The arrangement continued into 1929 but did not prevent the eventual loss of Hudson’s contract.
1923
Exclusive Hudson body-supply arrangementStrategyBackground
Hudson required substantial body-production capacity as closed automobile bodies became more important to its product range.
Action taken
Biddle and Smart became Hudson’s exclusive body producer and expanded its Amesbury operations through acquisitions of local coachbuilders.
Aftermath
Production reportedly tripled to about 12,000 bodies in 1923 and later reached a reported peak of approximately 41,000 Hudson bodies in 1926.
1905
Diversification from carriages into automobile bodiesStrategyBackground
Motor vehicles were creating a new market for coachbuilding and vehicle-body suppliers.
Action taken
Biddle and Smart began manufacturing automobile bodies while retaining its carriage-making heritage.
Aftermath
The move led to contracts with Club Car, Hudson, Rolls-Royce of America, and other manufacturers.
Sources1 sources
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