Parenti Motors Corporation - Delaware 1920

Beautiful certificate from the Parenti Motors Corporation issued in 1920. This historic document was printed by Goes and has an ornate border around it with a vignette of an eagle. This item has the signatures of the Company's President, Joseph S. Parenti and Secretary and is over 86 years old. The company was in business from 1920 to 1922. Amall piece missing in upper left corner.


Certificate Vignette

In December of 1919 announcement was made that Lieutenant Dion Parenti of the Parenti-Bissi Company of Italy was in Buffalo to help Joseph S. Parenti to get his car company going. Parenti Motors Corporation followed early in 1920, and so did the Parenti car, which had a number of intriguing ideas.

First, it had no axles, Parenti Springs and Ten Point Suspension serving as substitute. (There were three transverse springs in the front, two in the rear.) Second, the car had considerably less metal than most, its unit-built body and frame being Haskelite plywood, the use of plywood extending even to the disc wheels. Third was the engine, an in-house design, what Parenti called its "Direct Blast" air-cooled V-8. Were not all of the foregoing enough to attract attention, some of the early models were painted in bright orange, purple and yellow to make sure they would not be missed in the showroom. Despite all this, or perhaps because of it, the Parenti did not enjoy an immediate following.

It did enjoy the flattery of imitation, however, and in October of 1921 Parenti sued Adria for patent infringement of its suspension system, alleging that three former employees (Adria's president among them) had obtained secret possession of Parenti blueprints and patents while assisting him in experimental work. The former employees argued that they had taught Parenti everything he knew. Meanwhile, the Parenti "Direct Blast" V-8 had been scrapped for an air-cooled Cameron six-cylinder engine, which in turn was replaced by a Falls six for 1922. By that time plywood had given way to a pressed steel frame and aluminum body. The suspension system was the only intriguing idea remaining in the car. Alas, Parenti discovered the ordinary didn't sell any better than the extraordinary. By the summer of 1922 the firm had no cash in the bank.

The Parenti plant and assets were sold to the Hanover Motor Car Company of Pennsylvania, though it would be six months before the purchase was finalized. A total of $225,000 was realized in the sale, less than half the amount of the claims filed against Parenti in Federal court. More than 11,000 people had invested $3,000,000 in Parenti Motors Corporation, and they would not receive a penny. A total of 18 Parenti cars had been built.

History from Wikipedia.