White Rose Gasoline signs bloom at Miller & Miller petroliana sale

NEW HAMBURG, Canada – A pair of Canadian White Rose Gasoline service station signs from the 1940s sold for a combined $63,130, and a red 1951 Ford Custom convertible car sped off with $17,700 in an online-only Petroliana & Advertising auction held on March 11 by Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd. Prices quoted are in Canadian dollars.

The top lot of the auction was a round White Rose Gasoline double-sided porcelain sign, six feet in diameter and marked “P&M Orillia” at the lower edge. It blasted through its $10,000-$13,000 estimate to finish at $44,250. The other White Rose sign – a three-piece single-sided porcelain banner sign – the more difficult-to-find, scaled-up version of the set, with the round center sign 48in in diameter (it is more typically 36in) and each of the banners 119 ½in long, hit $18,880.

The 1951 Ford Custom convertible, professionally repainted in Carnival Red, retained its original 239 cubic inch flathead V8 engine with two-barrel carburetor and a three-speed manual transmission. The car had just 82,870 original miles on its odometer and was mostly original with a straight-fitting body. It was built in Windsor, Canada and spent years in Edmonton in a salt-free environment.

The two runners-up to the top three finishers posted identical selling prices of $12,980. One was a Canadian 1950s North Star Gasoline double-sided porcelain service station sign, which bested its $7,000-$9,000 estimate. The other was a Canadian 1930s Red Indian Gasoline single-sided porcelain service station sign, marked “The W. F. Vilas Co. Ltd., Cowansville, P.Q.” at the lower center edge. It was also estimated at $7,000-$9,000.

The Ford brand was well represented in the auction and managed to muscle its way into the list of top lots. A few of the better performers were as follows:

A Canadian 1940s single-sided porcelain Ford Monarch dealer sign with bullnose ends, 45 ¼ by 74in. It would have originally been displayed with a second sign, identical to this one, attached back-to-back, creating a double-sided sign. It earned $10,030.

A Canadian Ford double-sided porcelain sign from the 1920s, described as having a “winged pyramid” design and retaining the original hanging loops and short lengths of chain. The sign flew far above its $3,500-$5,000 estimate to reach $8,850.

Also doing well was a 1930s French Canadian single-sided porcelain sign for Molson’s Beer, known as a “hotel sign,” with script in French that translates to “Here we serve Molson’s Beer.” It had great color and gloss and ultimately achieved $8,850.

Rounding out the highlights was a NOS (new old stock) 1971 Schwinn Sting-Ray three-speed muscle bike, made in America with applied decals and rubber components, painted campus green, and including factory sales literature, which rolled away with $7,670. The bicycle came from a closed-down Schwinn dealership in the U.S. and was originally found in a factory-sealed box with the original order slip attached.

To consign a single piece, an estate or a collection, call Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd. at 519-573-3710; or email info@millerandmillerauctions.com. To learn more about Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd., visit www.millerandmillerauctions.com.

 

The current rate of exchange is dollar CA 1 = 72 cents.

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