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Old gas stations

Ghostsoldier

Call Me a Cab
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2,410
Location
Starke, Florida, USA
31f2963cfa3ba09b35c6617b44cf67b3.jpg


792fe3b73ab5fa84598cc2873650800e.jpg


Rob
 

vitanola

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,254
Location
Gopher Prairie, MI
^^^^
The previous photo and this one:
2hwjkp5.jpg

"Taken for the Signal Gas and Oil Company in 1934, for an in-house campaign to show Signal
Gasoline station attendants how poor working habits annoy customers and damage their vehicles.

Each of the images demonstrates instances of messy and careless practices that can
scratch painted and chrome-plated surfaces and also allow dirt to get into the
consumers motor (gas pump on the the ground)." From Old Motor Oil Magazine.


Apparently a customer putting air on his tires was considered a "no-no"! :D

What was the bad practice shown in the picture with the two Packards? Remember that '14 was the first year Packard offered the Twin Six, and that '34 was the 20th anniversary of this milestone.
 

Ghostsoldier

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2,410
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Starke, Florida, USA
I posted that photo a few pages back, and got a lot of grief. Apparently it's a modern fake! Looks real to me.
Sorry I didn't catch it the first time around, but heck, it looks real to me, too.

What's supposedly 'fake' about it, I wonder? I could see if people thought that it was a gasoline hose he's dousing the kid with, but it looks like a water hose, to me. [emoji6]

Rob
 

2jakes

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,680
Location
Alamo Heights ☀️ Texas
Sorry I didn't catch it the first time around, but heck, it looks real to me, too.

What's supposedly 'fake' about it, I wonder? I could see if people thought that it was a gasoline hose he's dousing the kid with, but it looks like a water hose, to me.
emoji6.png


Rob


It was pointed out that "petroliana geeks" would have a fit with
"Mobiloil" pump plates on a Mobiloil pump which is a fake.
 
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LizzieMaine

Bartender
Messages
33,750
Location
Where The Tourists Meet The Sea
Sorry I didn't catch it the first time around, but heck, it looks real to me, too.

What's supposedly 'fake' about it, I wonder? I could see if people thought that it was a gasoline hose he's dousing the kid with, but it looks like a water hose, to me. [emoji6]

Rob

I think it's more a matter of petroliana buffs being likely to *assume* it's fake because of the presence of a Mobiloil sign on a Mobilgas pump == "ALL KNOWN REFERENCE SOURCES TELL US MOBILOIL PLATES WERE ONLY USED ON LUBESTERS NEVER ON GAS PUMPS SO OBVIOUSLY THIS CANNOT BE REAL BECAUSE AS WE ALL KNOW THERE WERE NEVER ANY EXCEPTIONS FROM OFFICIAL SPECIFICATIONS AT ANY TIME." Sort of like the way stitch-counters fly into a frenzy because some factory worker in 1944 could not possibly have stitched a pocket flap wrong.
 

2jakes

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,680
Location
Alamo Heights ☀️ Texas
I have some original 50s Schwinn bikes when they were made in Chicago.

The pin-striping on the frames was handpainted by different factory workers over the years.

Today there are "heated" discussions from members of bike forums as to what is correct and what isn't.

When this happens, I usually close my laptop and go ride a bike. :)
 
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Ghostsoldier

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2,410
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Starke, Florida, USA
Having been a WW2 living historian/reenactor for the last 15 to 16 years, I'm familiar with the "Stitch Nazi" types, who refuse to think outside the box when it comes to variations, or deviations on the accepted 'norm'...I just usually roll my eyes mentally, and walk away, lol.
 
Messages
17,211
Location
New York City
I think it's more a matter of petroliana buffs being likely to *assume* it's fake because of the presence of a Mobiloil sign on a Mobilgas pump == "ALL KNOWN REFERENCE SOURCES TELL US MOBILOIL PLATES WERE ONLY USED ON LUBESTERS NEVER ON GAS PUMPS SO OBVIOUSLY THIS CANNOT BE REAL BECAUSE AS WE ALL KNOW THERE WERE NEVER ANY EXCEPTIONS FROM OFFICIAL SPECIFICATIONS AT ANY TIME." Sort of like the way stitch-counters fly into a frenzy because some factory worker in 1944 could not possibly have stitched a pocket flap wrong.

What's your call Lizzie - real or fake (my money is one whatever you say)?
 

2jakes

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,680
Location
Alamo Heights ☀️ Texas
Having been a WW2 living historian/reenactor for the last 15 to 16 years, I'm familiar with the "Stitch Nazi" types, who refuse to think outside the box when it comes to variations, or deviations on the accepted 'norm'...I just usually roll my eyes mentally, and walk away, lol.

It's everywhere.
There's healots in other forums who feel that only their brand item is good.
Everything else is a p.o.s.

Thank goodness for the "block" option!

Just another day in paradise! :)
n48a3s.jpg
 

LizzieMaine

Bartender
Messages
33,750
Location
Where The Tourists Meet The Sea
I think it's a case of the installation crew grabbing the wrong signs at the bulk plant and not giving enough of a damn to turn around and go back to get the right ones. It looks like this particular station is a small-time operation, and is probably what they used to call a "paint lease" job -- a local jobber takes over operation of a pre-existing station, slaps a new coat of company paint onto whatever's already there, puts up some signs, and calls it good. Note that the pumps don't match here -- that's the sort of thing you'd see from an independent operation that didn't have the money to standardize. Probably they got a deal they couldn't refuse from the local Socony distributor, but that deal simply involved rebranding rather than installing "regulation" company equipment. New globes, an ad glass on the pump that needs it, hang a Flying Red Horse on the building somewhere, and boom, you're a Mobilgas dealer. Until the guy from Tydol comes by next year with a better offer.
 
Messages
17,211
Location
New York City
I think it's a case of the installation crew grabbing the wrong signs at the bulk plant and not giving enough of a damn to turn around and go back to get the right ones. It looks like this particular station is a small-time operation, and is probably what they used to call a "paint lease" job -- a local jobber takes over operation of a pre-existing station, slaps a new coat of company paint onto whatever's already there, puts up some signs, and calls it good. Note that the pumps don't match here -- that's the sort of thing you'd see from an independent operation that didn't have the money to standardize. Probably they got a deal they couldn't refuse from the local Socony distributor, but that deal simply involved rebranding rather than installing "regulation" company equipment. New globes, an ad glass on the pump that needs it, hang a Flying Red Horse on the building somewhere, and boom, you're a Mobilgas dealer. Until the guy from Tydol comes by next year with a better offer.

What she said. Kidding aside, my money is on this ⇧ answer.
 

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