An iconic piece of early automobilia, this double-sided enamel sign for the Vacuum Oil Company's Mobiloil, with the Gargoyle logo dates to some time between 1911-1931.

 

At the start of the 20th century, the Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey was the largest oil refiner in the world. The size / power of the Standard Oil Co. made the United States Government very un-easy and in 1911, under the Sherman Anti-trust Act, Standard Oil was split into 34 companies. The Vacuum Oil company had been incorporated into Standard Oil in 1879, but after the 1911 split became an independent company again and used the Gargoyle logo we see here in combination with the Mobiloil brand... The Gargoyle remained in use until 1931 when it was replaced with the Pegasus logo we widely associate with Mobiloil / Mobil. 

 

This double-sided flange sign was designed to be mounted to a workshop / garage wall and be visible from customers coming from either direction. It's not had the easiest of lives, but has survived the decades to tell it's tale. The sign's flange, which is generally a weak spot, remains intact and functional. The outer face is in good order, with a little enamel loss around the outer edges and some discolouring leaching through the white enamel layer, but generally it remains bright, with a vivid red and a reasonable gloss (see the close up photo - it's dulled in some areas, but isn't too bad). The inner face however hasn't fared so well - there's a large patch of enamel loss running through the middle of the sign and a further patch to the middle of the right hand edge, there's also some staining around this. With the staining underneath the enamel layers I wouldn't be surprised to learn that this sign has spent sometime buried or attached to a building that had fallen into a bad state of repair... Condition with pieces like this is subjective - it's a long way from a collector's example, but if I didn't want to spend collector's prices I'd definitely rather an example like this with one good, clean face as opposed to an example that's a bit rough all round. This sign can be displayed with the good face pointing in the direction that will be seen the most, whilst the other-side carry's the history, character and charm of the piece. 

 

The sign measures 51cm wide x 41cm high and the flange is 4cm deep. 

 

S/N: #1346