GREENVILLE, SC — One of the American auction industry’s most prolific antique advertising players has announced a big three-day sale of ‘nine’ (out of 10) top-condition examples of 20th-century commercial advertising. Scheduled for Thursday, September 19, Friday, September 20 and Saturday, September 21 is the Premier Antique Advertising sale by Richmond Auctions, with numerous new-old stock (never used) petroliana examples leading the field. The house provides a generic $25-$1 million estimate range for all lots, so the featured lots are covered here.
Despite growing competition for advertising collections from some of the biggest names in the industry, Richmond continues to lure some of the rarest and best-condition examples of petroliana to market. A prime example are two new-old stock General Motors Parts porcelain and neon signs still in the original shipping crate. The neon burns bright and the entire setup is in new condition. Probably dating to the early 1950s, the crate contains two single-sided porcelain neon signs, packed back to back, one graded 9.5 and the other 9.0+.
American Art Works Inc. of Coshocton, Ohio created hundreds of advertising signs for a wide variety of consumer brands. This 1932 monumental Coca-Cola embossed tin-lithographed sign stands an impressive 39.5in in height and comes to market as new-old stock with its original wooden shipping case, also marked with the Coca-Cola script. Richmond rates both the ‘exceptional’ sign and ‘exceedingly rare’ crate at 8.75.
A. J. Darring (1931-2019) founded Rebel Oil Company in Mobile, Alabama decades ago as a local retail chain of service stations. He later added Mustang Oil Company in Fairport, Alabama to his stable of brands and obviously had affinity for the latter, as this double-sided new-old stock sign comes from his personal collection. Six feet in diameter, the sign would have been the front-facing branding icon for the station. Described by Richmond as having ‘day one color and gloss,’ the Mustang Oil sign would make an impressive addition to any petroliana collection, particular one focused on small, regional brands.
