Johnson Outboards 1903 Posters and Art Prints

The original company that made Johnson inboard motors and outboard motors was the Johnson Brothers Motor Company of Terre Haute, Indiana. They started building inboard 2-cycle marine engines in 1903 in a barn behind the house, along with matching boats. By 1908, they were making V4, V6, V8, and V12 aircraft and marine engines. In 1910, they built the first U.S. monoplane to exhibit their aircraft engines. Starting in 1922, they designed and built a radical new, lightweight outboard made largely of aluminum. By the mid-1920s, they were dominating the outboard racing scene, and continued to innovate and produce amazingly powerful and reliable outboards. The company was acquired by Outboard Marine Corporation (OMC) in 1935