The Hoarde Vintage - www.thehoarde.com
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LJW ANTIQUES
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https://www.thehoarde.com/dealers/ljw-antiquesItem Details
An iconic piece of early automobilia, this double-sided enamel flange sign for the Vacuum Oil Company's Mobiloil, with the Gargoyle logo dates to some time between 1911-1931 and was produced by the Imperial Enamel Co. of Birmingham.
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 is a good example of an early and fairly uncommon piece. Bizarrely and unfortunately at some point in it's life someone cut a square hole just upper left of the centre of the sign ... Presumably wherever it was destined to hang - a bar of some sort had to intercept it! This hole goes through the Gargoyle logo on both sides... Aside from this and a couple of patches of enamel loss in the upper corners it's a very good example. The colours remain vibrant, the sign retains a reasonable surface gloss (see angled photos where I've tried to use the lighting to show this as best as possible) and the original flange remains present and functional. If you can over look the hole you can have an example that presents very well for around half the asking price of others listed online...
The sign measures 51cm wide x 41cm high and the flange is 4cm deep.
- Period: 1920s
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- Price: £540.00
- €624 Euro
- $721 US Dollar
- Location: London
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- Dimensions: H: 41cm (16.14in)
- W: 51cm (20.08in)
- D: 4cm (1.57in)
