Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion new to this, question about GLOBES

In my about 5 weeks walk in this hobby, I have come across a couple different style of globes.

1. Seemingly obvious originals with aged metal bodies and faded glass.
2. Real glass but plastic bodies.
3. And a couple different ones that look like all plastic.

First, Can plastic ever be real? In other words, did any of the gas companies use plastic or a combination of plastic and glass on there actual pumps?

Thanks

Yes, there are lots of globes that were originally on the Capco plastic bodies. Those were introduced in the early 1930's and were used up through the end of globe usage. In response to #3, some globes, say Phillips 66 globes in the shape of a shield, were all plastic, lenses and all. I'm personally not aware of any round plastic lenses. I see in Ebay listings a lot of times non-collectors think the lenses in a plastic Capco body are plastic but they are glass. They do make an odd sound sometimes when they are tight in a body that makes them not sound like glass when they are tapped.
If you are thinking about seriously collecting globes, you should get the two volume set of Gas Globe books by Scott Benjamin and Wayne Henderson. The detailed section tells you how the globes were originally set up, on glass bodies, on Capcos, metal, ripple body, etc. It is fun just to look through them and see all of the globes. New ones are still being discovered today, in photos and physical examples. I don't know if Scott is going to use it in an upcoming issue of PCM, but I found a new discovery Dixie (Michigan brand) one piece globe in a photo recently. I hope one may be found someday, hopefully by me, lol!
Darin

I agree with Darin. Champlin had an original round plastic lens 1962-70, and Vickers and Co-op have original plastic globes. Richard

I have a 13.5 " pure plastic lense that they used and there were a few others that used plastic lenses.

So please clarify this type frame for me.

That is a capco body short for cincinatti advertising products, they also made other items.

is this in any way fintage original? or is just a product that they make so that people can display the lenses?

Plastic Globe Bodies have been used since the 1930's
History of Plastic

I would say there are far more capco (plastic) bodies out there than anything else. Once you see and feel an original plastic and a repo plastic body you will know the differences. Most of the value is in the lenses of a capco globe anyways and not the body.