...sure looks like an old clock with a new face to me...the font at the bottom, used for the 'Pam Clock Company' type, is Helvetica...I'm all but positive it should be a different font...
...any thoughts?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Richfield-gas-oil-service-station-clock-sign-/270756186829
No expert but, all the pams I sold read "Brooklyn 1, NY" at the bottom and the font is not right at the bottom either. No copyright symbol either.
that isn't even Helvetica - it's Grotesque*. Note the shape of the stem of the letter "R".
*yes, that is what the font is called. it's about the least grotesque font out there, but that is its name.
Grotesque, the font, was invented in 1911, so it is plausible, but what is less plausible is the horizontal stretching by about 40%, which is evident not only in the new width, but also the fact that the stroke thickness is much more on vertical strokes than on horizontal ones.
Stretching a font like that is extremely difficult to do with older projection systems, but very, very easy to do digitally.
I don't know anything about clocks, but I do know fonts and digital design and that copyright blurb screams "digital".