Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums Showcase and Stories, Petroliana Amoco Orange Ad Glass & Original Invoice

Posted some pics of these neat "orange" ad glass pieces a while ago, when i was fortunate enough to obtain them from a great friend. Was surprised a month or so back when he presented to me the original Packing slip that he found from when they were delivered to the gas station in zelienople Pa on May 29th 1940 from the wayne pump company. Just thought i would share a bit of their history with some of you whom might enjoy seeing some provenance to go along with the seldom seen ad glass.

Interesting that the receipt is still with them. They appear to have been installed due to the paint edge and the State weights & measures decal.

Correct you are Dave! The decal is stamped "butler Pa" and i think dated 1940 as well

Great bit of history for sure and the paper work is in incredible shape as well.




________________
Kurt

Does anyone know why Amoco called this regular grade gas "Orange"? Was the color of the gas orange? Hmmm, I should have asked Dick Bennett. He would have known! Always wondered about this when I owned some of these plates.

I believe, that like many oil companies in the 20s and 30s, they dyed American orange to make it stand out and sell better.

After the 1925 health scare, any gasoline containing tetraethyl lead was required to be dyed. At the time only the highest quality grade was allowed to contain tetraethyl. In 1932 Ethyl Gasoline Corporation relaxed the requirements and allowed a lesser amount of tetraethyl lead be added to approved refiners regular grade products. American Gas, American Oil Company's regular grade product, became a leaded regular grade product at that time, and off and on during the 1930s the slogan "Orange American Gas" was used, in several marketing campaigns, referring to the orange dye used to indicate that the fuel had some lead content. Affiliate company Pan-AM went so far as to brand their regular grade product as Pan-Am Orange. As visible pumps were gradually phased out in the 1940s, the color dyes used became less visible and therefore less of an advertising factor.

Very nice!