I worked at my Uncle's gas station the summer of '65 and one of my tasks was to repaint the "No Parking" sign. The paint didn't take to the surface of the re-purposed oil sign very well. Years later a fellow car enthusiast asked me if I could persuade my Uncle to sell him this old sign he had been trying to buy. I lost track of it until we were at the Uncle's funeral last weekend and the current manger of the business told me he had some old stuff from the service station for me to look at. There was the sign. I brought it home and removed the old paint to find a wonderful old Mobiloil enameled sign. Checking the internet I find it is apparently worth more than I would have imagined. It will always have a home in my garage now.
Rich
VERY COOL, great history too!
I like your T, too!
My favorite since Reid Welch wrote about his.
In 1965 that old sign was already approaching the half century mark. Some of the old Model T photos we see have the gargoyle in them.
And yes, the prices these old signs and other gas & oil items bring now are amazing. A few years ago you could buy a visible pump for a fraction of what they cost now, and the same goes for the signs.
What year is your t? Looks familiar as I have a coupelet.
Richard, that is a really, really neat story! It is great that you took a picture of the sign before you stripped off the paint, too.
Thanks guys. I'm calling the coupe a '22 because of the engine I am using but it's a combination of parts I have found over the years. To the purists it's not a legitimate barn find, just something I have slapped together but lots of fun. I'll post some pictures of it when I get more together.
I read that the sign would be about 1930. Was Gargoyle earlier than that?
Rich
These old signs sure do bring the coin. I good friend gave me a 1930's Enarco large round sign. I got home and googled it, and told him he had to take it back, it was worth too much. He told me to keep it, but don't sell it. It holds a place of honor on my shop wall.
The sign could be as late as 1930, but the gargoyle itself arrived before the Model T, and the version with the red-centered letters, like yours, was on the scene by 1915. As I mentioned, some of the old Model T pictures posted here on the forum have had that sign in them.
Thanks Steve. I feel better now about having it in the garage with the T's. Also I can take pictures with it in the background without it being out of place.
Rich
At many En-Ar-Co (National Refining Company) stations the little boy held a real chalk board where the dealers posted their specials of the day.