Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion What is the Color Scheme for Pierce Pennant?

My dad has a one piece Pierce Pennant Globe that I have wanted to use with a visible pump that I have. It is a Rush model K visible gas pump. I believe I read on this forum that this pump was a type that was purchased by Pierce Petroleum Co. in the 1920s. I would like to do an authentic restoration. However, I have no idea how the pump should be painted. Does anyone one have any photos showing what the Pierce Pennant color scheme should be for this era pump. Does anyone have any modern photos of a pump restored this way?

Today, too many assumptions are made about how pumps were painted. Pierce made have purchased some pump, but probably their distributors purchased the pump for what ever part of the state/country they were in. Each state/county/city had requirments as to where the lead sign was to be placed. Some areas required it to be on the front of the pump, others allowed it to be on the side of the pump. I have original Bennett blue prints that were developed after the distributor ordered the pumps and they showed where the lead sign was to be, where the colors changed and how many inched below the cylinder the Pierce decals or signs were to be.

Again, my point is that Pierce/Standard/Shell/Sinclair, etc., pumps were not painted the same all over the country, each distributor or division sent their requirements to the pump company and the pump company prepared them as to their requirements. So asking how was a certain pump prepared/painted, etc., depended on who was purchasing the pump.

Jack Sim

Thanks Jack -- Knowing that, I guess my desire would be to accurately (as much as possible) try to re-create a Pierce Pennant pump that would have been used in the vicinity of Route-66 through Missouri. I have never even seen a good original photograph of a Pierce visible pump from the 1920s. I have no idea how they were painted, the size or placement of decals, or even what the decals looked like. Does anyone even produce any reproduction Pierce Pennant decals today? If I could find a reasonably good photo of a pump then I would have some idea. This is a project that I have been kicking around in my head for many years now. My eventual goal is to restore several pumps of the types that would have been used along Route 66. I like to take them to various Route 66 festivals to use as a historical display. I also plan to restore one or more visible pumps for the Purity Oil Company that was based in Springfield, Missouri.

You are on the right track.All pictures I have found of pierce stations are using the Rush Stove Pipes. You see some colorful restored visibles,but stations primarily used factory red pumps and done advertising with the globe. I may be wrong,if so I will be corrected but I don't think the lead sign was mandated to be displayed till later.I could send you some pics but they would be black and white copies of orginals and wouldn't help you a bit.
Jim at twaygrapics can make you decals and he has one decal on his website. I've only seen decals on bulk oil containers,some call lubsters.

Thanks Loyd -- At this point, I'd love to see ANY photos of Pierce Pennant visible pumps. If you could send me some scans of photos (or post them on this forum) of any Pierce gas pumps, they would be greatly appreciated.

I though Loyd would have answered your question before my post.

Loyd could probably tell you what states Pierce supplied gasoline to. Notice I said "supplied gasoline to." Pierce did not owned all the stations that they sold gasoline to, many were just Mon and Pops stations with only one pump outside. These were just some old pump, or if they had the money to purchase a new pump, they ordered it from the local petroleum equipment company and the mon and pop purchased a Wayne, Tokheim, what ever the equipment company sold. Rush was not a big supplier of pumps when compared to American. Bennett, Bowser, Erie, National, Tokheim, Wayne, or even a local company here in St. Louis named Western. I hope to accumulate enough information on Western to astonish most of you.

Again, you are making too many assumptions, back in the times of visible pumps people driving down Route 66 (and by the way I believe Rt. 66 is about 2000 miles long) were looking for Pierce gasoline. If they needed gas they purchased it from the next station they came to.

One more thing, you are assuming that the pump was originally purchased and used by a Pierce dealer. Gas pumps were purchased, traded in on newer pumps, re branded god knows how many time. Gus here on OG had posted pictures of pumps that had three, four and even five decals all painted over them, because they were just old used pumps. Just like the used car business, the business of selling used/rebuilt pumps was a very large business, and actually is still today.

Why all of this, just restore the pump to what ever you want. Here in St. Louis, a few and I mean very few might recognize the name Pierce, but in Arizona they will ask about who was Pierce. Route 66 is a long highway.

Jack Sim

Jack is correct mom and pops used what they could afford. I have several pics of one pump, that are not rush pumps. Have you some pics of larger stations put together to send you. PM me your mailing address. I only ask that you don't start a ebay franchise with them.
States that Pierce done business in,well I can somewhat answer that. From the St.Louis Coal Oil Works founded in 1855 to Waters Pierce Oil Co. who broke from Standard oil in 1911 was a midwestern regional independant distributor for Standard. When the final supreme court case busted standard for price fixing it was ruled that Pierce retained rights to do business in Southern MO., Western Louisania,ARK., OK., and TX.. Later building three refinerys in Mexico. One professor wrote a paper and made mention of deal Pierce had with Sinclair to use freighters to move oil from Mexico refiners to northern regions allowing Pierce to stay active in other regions than what he was awarded permission. He gave no dates and only made mentioned when speaking to Pierce's efforts to skirt the ruling and go head to head with Rockefeller, but this would have been as a bulk oil supplier.