I Did Did You

Illustration of a blue winged shape on top of red and white stripes with an outer blue ring with white text

This pin is believed to be a Stewart-Warner promotion for selling war bonds in WWII. The central “wingled shield” design is consistent with Stewart-Warner advertising in the late 1930s and early 1940s. The red, white, and blue color scheme and stars and stripe design strongly suggest US patriotism. Stewart-Warner converted their plants to the war effort and took out aggressive advertising for war bonds, so it seems likely that this was promotion button recognizing war bond buyers and inducing others to buy war bonds.

Stewart-Warner started in Chicago as Stewart & Clark in 1905. They made automotive speedometers and horns and bought their rival, Warner Instrument Company, in 1912. They diversified into phonographs, Alenite and Zerk brand grease fittings, radios, and refrigerators by the late 1930s. During World War II, they exhorted Americans to buy war bonds with advertising verging on scare tactics. Postwar products included printed circuit boards and stadium scoreboards. Stewart-Warner was sold to British Tire and Rubber in 1987, and operations moved to Mexico two years later. The speedometer business was sold off and survives. In fact, they still used the “winged shield” logo on their website, and you can buy new Stewart-warner “Wings” gauges today.