Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums Showcase and Stories, Petroliana COTM: SHELL

December is here and it's time to feature Shell as our company of the month. Thanks to Doc for the banner and to Jim for the great site. I feel honored for the priviledge of hosting a company so revered by collectors. I don't consider myself to be a historian of the company, I'm mainly a collector, but there is a lot of information available and I'll do my best. I collect lots of stuff including Texaco, Mobil, Richfield, Flying A, Chevron, and Signal, but I'd have to say Shell gets me the most excited. I have a modest collection of Shell items and we'll be seeing some of that here, but I know there are some incredible collections out there and a lot of stuff I don't have or probably never even seen. So lets all join the party, share pictures of our stuff and make this an all time topic. I'm shooting for ten pages!

The origins of this global enterprise can be traced back to Marcus Samuel in London, England circa 1833. He started an import export business selling sea shells to Victorian natural history enthusiasts. Later his son expanded the business into exporting Russian oil products to asian markets. The name "Shell" first appeared in 1891 as a trademark for kerosene being shipped to the far east. In 1892 the first tanker load of kerosene was delivered to Singapore and Bangkok. 1897 saw the formation of the Shell Transport and Trading Company.

Meanwhile, a Netherlands company named Royal Dutch was competing with the British for overseas petroleum markets. A merger with with Samuel's company was arranged and in 1907 the Royal Dutch/Shell group of companies was created and a worldwide enterprise was born.

History of the Pecten: First appeared in 1901 as a Mussel shell and in 1904 gained more of an imagery status as a Scallop shell.




1909 saw it refined to the early image we are most familiar with. Major changes were made in 1948 and 1955. Why red and yellow? The companies first kerosene shipments were in red containers, traced to Spanish origins. Early Shell of California stations seeking visual impact saw the connection to the state's Spanish heritage and red and yellow were chosen.

I'll be adding more history bits later, hopefully to include the formation of Shell of California and Roxana Petroleum Company. But we want to see pumps, cans, signage, globes, all that good stuff, right?

Cans from Shell of California late teens early twenties



Golden Shell cans



30's or 40's vintage cans



Five quart cans



Grease cans early and later, note the Roxana Petroleum logo



Variety of containers



I'll be back later tonight with other stuff. Enjoy!


[This message has been edited by gaspower (edited 12-02-2006).]

[This message has been edited by gaspower (edited 12-02-2006).]

Here are some pictures I photographed at the Shell Museum in Roxanna, Illinois.








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Scott Shipers
WANTED: Quart Picture Cans
Kansas City, Missouri

Here are some misc. Shell items I have photographed at shows or in collections.






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Scott Shipers
WANTED: Quart Picture Cans
Kansas City, Missouri

Here is a porcelain thermometer from a friends collection.


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Scott Shipers
WANTED: Quart Picture Cans
Kansas City, Missouri

Thanks Scott, good stuff. That Shell thermometer commands a hefty price when one comes up for sale.

Here's a link from this site to the Shell History Museum:
http://www.oldgas.com/info/shellmus.htm

And the official museum web site:
http://www.wrrhm.org/

Shell clam station
http://www.oldgas.com/info/ws_shell.htm

Restored Bowser 310 in my basement



We're not going to go in any particular order here, so feel free to post your signs, cans, whatever at any time.

Great stuff so far! Check your email Vern. I sent you a couple of pictures.

Royal Shell's next move was to gain a foothold in the United States. Their presence here grew out of two organizations founded in 1912, the Pacific coast based American Gasoline Company and the midwest based Roxana Petroleum Company. Royal Dutch Shell purchased the property for a refinery in 1917 in what was to become "the town that Shell built", Roxana Illinois. The town was incorporated in 1921 and supposedly took it's name from the wife of the owner of Royal Dutch, Roxanne.

Roxana Petroleum items are at the top of the Shell collectibles food chain. Here's some items from Roxana Petroleum in my collection I've added this year.









[This message has been edited by gaspower (edited 12-02-2006).]

A look at some signs







From the world famous flyingausa collection



Foreign sign





[This message has been edited by gaspower (edited 12-10-2006).]

Nice Bennett 541 from Paul Fuhrlinger (flyingausa), looks very authentic



[This message has been edited by gaspower (edited 12-03-2006).]

Posting these for Jim White (leonardoil)

"1) I need to know the era,I have never seen one with the red lines going almost all the way thru the sign.Early?
2)This is a porc 36" single sided Roxanna era sign."



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Jim "Oldgas" Potts
Your host and moderator

Thanks Jim

Picked this up on ebay. It is 7", curved, heavy porcelain. Looks like it may have gone on a curb type pump? Based on the logos it looks to be an early piece. I think it is foreign.

Does anyone have any info on the small curved sign I posted?