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.
[av_button label=’Click to view the auction catalog complete with prices realized’ icon_select=’no’ icon=’ue800′ font=’entypo-fontello’ link=’manually,https://www.liveauctioneers.com/catalog/279301_petroliana-and-advertising/’ link_target=’_blank’ size=’small’ position=’center’ label_display=” title_attr=” size-text=” av-desktop-font-size-text=” av-medium-font-size-text=” av-small-font-size-text=” av-mini-font-size-text=” margin=” margin_sync=’true’ padding=” padding_sync=’true’ av-desktop-margin=” av-desktop-margin_sync=’true’ av-desktop-padding=” av-desktop-padding_sync=’true’ av-medium-margin=” av-medium-margin_sync=’true’ av-medium-padding=” av-medium-padding_sync=’true’ av-small-margin=” av-small-margin_sync=’true’ av-small-padding=” av-small-padding_sync=’true’ av-mini-margin=” av-mini-margin_sync=’true’ av-mini-padding=” av-mini-padding_sync=’true’ color_options=” color=’theme-color’ custom_bg=’#444444′ custom_font=’#ffffff’ btn_color_bg=’theme-color’ btn_custom_grad_direction=’vertical’ btn_custom_grad_1=’#000000′ btn_custom_grad_2=’#ffffff’ btn_custom_grad_3=” btn_custom_grad_opacity=’0.7′ btn_custom_bg=’#444444′ btn_color_bg_hover=’theme-color-highlight’ btn_custom_bg_hover=’#444444′ btn_color_font=’theme-color’ btn_custom_font=’#ffffff’ btn_color_font_hover=’white’ btn_custom_font_hover=’#ffffff’ border=” border_width=” border_width_sync=’true’ border_color=” border_radius=” border_radius_sync=’true’ box_shadow=” box_shadow_style=’0px,0px,0px,0px’ box_shadow_color=” animation=” animation_duration=” animation_custom_bg_color=” animation_z_index_curtain=’100′ hover_opacity=” sonar_effect_effect=” sonar_effect_color=” sonar_effect_duration=’1′ sonar_effect_scale=” sonar_effect_opac=’0.5′ css_position=” css_position_location=’,,,’ css_position_z_index=” av-desktop-css_position=” av-desktop-css_position_location=’,,,’ av-desktop-css_position_z_index=” av-medium-css_position=” av-medium-css_position_location=’,,,’ av-medium-css_position_z_index=” av-small-css_position=” av-small-css_position_location=’,,,’ av-small-css_position_z_index=” av-mini-css_position=” av-mini-css_position_location=’,,,’ av-mini-css_position_z_index=” id=” custom_class=” template_class=” av_uid=’av-8zsxk7x’ sc_version=’1.0′ admin_preview_bg=”]
The current rate of exchange is dollar CA 1 = 72 cents.
Click to view top auction results on LiveAuctioneers: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/pages/recent-auction-sales/