Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Mystery CALSO Sign

I scored a mystery sign that was bolted as a portion of the wall on a small shed and then painted on both sides. Worked out a trade and I am only about $100 into this sign. Got to get the first coat of paint off of one side. I have never heard of Calso Gasoline. Got more work to do and get her cleaned up. Will post more pics when it's done.

size of sign please .. ...

77" wide x 58" tall

I've never seen that version of the Calso sign before. The more common version is similar to the cloth patch in my display.

sign of subject in holder .. ...

Originally, Chevron remained local to the western United States. In 1946, the company adopted the Calso name for the northeastern market,

and only from 1946 to 1958 (when the Calso name was changed to Chevron).

Thanks for the background info Randy!!!

Nice find! That sign and story are familiar too. It looks like I have one from the same wall. LOL. Just this year I finally decided to strip the paint. I posted on oldgas success with citristrip product. Good luck!

I can shed a little insight into this type Calso sign. This appears to date from the 1930's -1940's.

In the 1930's, Standard of California expanded eastward into Standard of Indiana territory, using the "Calso" name, derived from the name "The California Company". To set itself apart, Calso adopted lime green, white and blue instead of Standard's red, white and blue.

Apparently, after WWII, Standard of California decided to rebrand all its Calso stations in the Plains and Rockies to Chevron, and set up Calso (as the "California Oil Company" in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states, with a new logo design: the word "Calso" on a red background, with an elongated "L". The Chevron logo was eventually introduced on the East Coast by the mid-1950's, but both "old" and "new" Calsos would become "Chevron" by the 1960's.

chevron & calso .. ...

https://glcp.uvm.edu/landscape_new/dating/gas_stations/calso_chevron.php

Got one side completely cleaned up today. Will work on the other side during the week after work.

I love a happy ending!

Pretty snappy looking sign, like the colors, nice find!

According to the "Guide to Gasoline Logos" ; Calso started in the late 1930's in the Rocky Mtn states & in the Northeast states in 1945-46 & logo/sign was used in 1940-41.

Pictured map is a 1939 with the marketing area in the 2nd picture.

Dave