Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums Showcase and Stories, Petroliana COTM for October 2013 Gilmore

If you see this sign, it's fake... walk away... W-A-L-K AWAY!!!



Besides the font used, the most glaring, obvious reason is that the "Red Lion" image isn't the Gilmore lion image, it's the other Lion Oil Co. lion image.

You could say that again!!

If you GOOGLE Gilmore Oil, one of the first results you'll get is the article Alan Darr wrote for OLD CAR ILLUSTRATED in Sept., 1977. This article is the first time I had heard of the old west coast oil company...

http://mlsandy.home.tsixroads.com/Corinth_MLSANDY/rt118.html

Here's some photos of his collection that appeared in a STREET RODDER mag a year or two ago...

Awesome stuff guys!!
I don't have any Gilmore in my collection but I saw this car at the 60th Hotrod Hillclimb in Georgetown CO a couple of weeks ago thought it was pretty cool and I also have some video of it racing, it's pretty cool that the city still allows this with all the "liability" since they race through town and a bunch of houses. Even got to meet some of the original racers from 1953 if you ever get the chance to go I would suggest going it's more of a social event now as they don't race as they used to but some still go for it pretty hard.

My favorite Gilmore piece I own.

My Gilmore collection is very small. Gilmore stuff is hard to find these days.

Thanks to all of you that posted so far. Gilmore has some of the best graphics.

WOWSERS..I LOVE Gilmore stuff..its rare and awesome. I wish i had something more to contribute but..here is a Bennett 541 I did to Gilmore years ago

I received an email from another member, relating to a post I made in another thread, and thought I would share my answer here. Was asked if I knew when Gilmore's Blu-Green gas came to be and if there was a different globe version(s) before the version that is known today and reproduced.

This all comes from researching numerous newspapers, from items and photographs I have and have seen...

Gilmore Blu-Green was introduced in March of 1928. Before that, it was known as BANG Boyce-Ite Blu-Green. BANG was a Gilmore refined mixture of the Boyce-Ite Blu-Green carbon preventing additive that was mixed with Gilmore gasoline. After adding the additive, the color of the gasoline was a greenish-blue, hence the name. Due to the popularity of the additive bottles/cans in the early-mid '20s, the Boyce-Veeder company selected several refiners across the nation to produce a blend of gas with their product. Gilmore was selected to be the (So) California refiner. They named their mixed blend BANG. Below is a pic of a BANG curb sign and pump at a Gilmore station...



The patent numbers for the Boyce-Ite product and Gilmore Blu-Green are the same. I do not know if Gilmore bought the patent or know the what/why of the story. I have read that the Boyce-Veeder company was having financial problems during the mid-20s, so for this, I believe it a possibility that Gilmore did buy the patent... don't know for sure though.

Below are the lion images I posted in another thread. The first image (ca. 1928) is what I have down for the "first" lion logo for Gilmore Blu-Green, and is very similar, if not the same, as what Gilmore used for their Higher Gravity and Low Flashpoint gasolines... and possibly others, I do not have photos showing all the previous blends. The last photo, is the logo that appeared in late 1930. Which I believe was created for Gilmore's upcoming new oil product- Lion Head motor oil. Which was released in March of 1931...

As for different globe version(s), some think yes and some say no. I do not have photo or documental evidence to show/support either theory. I'm leaning towards that they did though. Who knows, somebody may have it in a collection somewhere, or perhaps they were all destroyed. Dunno. Not every collector wants to show their collections nor is every collector a member of this site. I've met WAY more people through ebay than here. Some like to remain anonymous.

I found this image researching old newspapers. Sorry, best resolution/quality I have for it. What is that on top of the pump?... a sign, a globe? Photo dates early 1930, before the lion image in the known Blu-Green globe lenses was used. Unless I'm wrong and they used that lion image before what my research tells me...???

top notch stuff.

Last pic shows a Tok 280/285/290/295 pump [not clear enough to know which] & maybe a 1931 Ford.
Hope that helps to date pic.

EDIT: sorry, that should read January of 1931, not March.

These are the oil "brands" I have that Gilmore sold...

GILCO
EASTOIL
WESTOIL
LION HEAD
GOLDEN LION
SMACKO

Anybody know of others?

I also don't know why some of my pics aren't showing or showing as deleted. The joys of using Imageshack.

Great photos everyone. It's great to see items I've never seen before!

Anybody have this sign?...