A.M. (automobile)
The A.M. was a range of automobiles manufactured by the French firm of Ateliers Veuve A. de Mesmay. The vehicles were produced in Saint-Quentin, Aisne, France, from 1906 to 1914 and marketed under the name Automobiles 'Abeille' de Mesmay (hence the AM nomenclature). They were powered by petrol engines of various sizes made by the de Mesmay firm, all marketed under the 'Abeille' (En:'Bee') trade name. The same engines and chassis were used in the AML and AMC range of commercial vehicles.
The company was run by Amélie de Mesmay (née Belin), the widow (fr:'veuve') of Adolphe de Mesmay, who had started manufacturing his 'Abeille' marine petrol engine in 1898.
The de Mesmay company also manufactured light agricultural tractors from 1911 to 1914; they also sold marine and stationary engines in 1-, 2-, and 4-cylinder configurations. Vehicle production ceased at the beginning of World War I. The firm continued to manufacture proprietary engines after the war, and closed in 1936.
(Marie Charles?) Adolphe de Mesmay was an engineer who had previously worked for the in Saint-Quentin. He built a factory in 1898 on the Quai Gayant (a quay on the Canal de Saint-Quentin) to manufacture his 'Abeille' marine engine. His wife Amélie (née Belin) collaborated with him in running the business. The 'Abeille' trade mark was registered in 1899; the Abeille engines were originally conceived as marine engines, and fitted to competition-winning motor boats.
The de Mesmay firm developed a number of 'Abeille' engines of different capacities. The two and four-cylinder engines were described (in French) in 1901 by the journal La Locomotion. 'Abeille' engines were fitted in cars by other makers, such as the Rocourt-Merlin of Marseille of 1901 and the 2-cylinder Brush car of 1902.
Adolphe de Mesmay died in May 1903; the business was carried on by his widow (fr:'veuve') Amélie and reconstructed as Ateliers Mme Veuve A. de Mesmay, with Louis Demilly as director. From c1906 the Ateliers Vve A. de Mesmay company fitted 'Abeille' engines to a chassis; advertised as Automobiles 'Abeille' de Mesmay, these were sold as complete automobiles, or as rolling chassis to be finished by other body-makers. In 1906, they were reported as offering for sale two 4-cylinder models producing 12 and 20 hp, as well as a 2-cylinder, 12 hp car. Abeille also manufactured a carburettor in c1909, similar to a Daimler device. The factory was expanded in 1908-1911 to include three sites in Saint-Quentin
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