Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums Showcase and Stories, Petroliana Collectible of the Month - License Plate Toppers

This months collectible is the license plate topper. There are hundreds of license toppers and they can be categorized in several different groups. We will concentrate on those associated with the petroleum industry but recognize that there are collectors for other types also.

Other general categories include: political; events (world fairs, Olympics, etc.); car brands; car dealers; individual gasoline stations; fraternal organizations; insurance companies; airplanes and flying; sport teams; colleges and high schools; soda and beer; trains; patriotic; humorous; safety messages; auto accessories (batteries, tires, etc.); places (cities, national parks); and professions.

What is a license plate topper? License plate toppers (attachments, emblems, markers, badges, tags, pectins {more on this later}) were usually made of metal and attached to the top or the bottom of the license plate frame to advertise and/or display where the vehicle had been or give a hint of the owners interests.

No definitive information is available on when the first toppers were distributed but radiator badges and toppers probably began in the early 1900's. The American Automobile Association (AAA) was organized in March, 1904. There first logo was two wheels with the AAA. Toppers in that form are seen. In 1912 the oval logo with AAA was adopted. I included this information because the development of one of the petroleum toppers is linked to the presence of the AAA topper.

While my main collecting interest is the Socony toppers I am also interested in toppers that can be dated by published dates of distribution. A later post will include information specific to Shell, Tydol, and Goodrich tires.

The license plate hobby in the past was often pursued by collectors on limited budgets who couldn't afford signs and pumps. Twenty years ago there were many toppers available for under $20.00. Like everything else that has changed. There are still good buys for under hundred, but rare NOS toppers often sell in the $200 to $400 range. This year one of the unusual Irving Oil toppers sold for $1,075.00. As with all collectibles, they are worth what you are willing to pay and prices are sometimes inflated by two novice bidders who are unaware of the average current selling price.

My primary interest is in the Socony-Vacuum toppers. Although they are most often called Mobil toppers they actually represented the Pegasus, the logo adopted by the Socony (Standard Oil Company of New York)-Vacuum Company and its regional divisions. These included Vacuum Oil Company, Inc. Serving Pennsylvania, Ohio and Northern Illinois; Wadhams Oil Company serving Wisconsin and adjacent territory; White Eagle Oil Corporation serving the Middle West and the Northwest states; Magnolia Petroleum Company serving Texas, Oklahoma and adjoining states; Lubrite Refining Corporation serving Eastern Missouri, and parts of Illinois, Indiana and Iowa; White Star Refining Company serving Michigan and adjoining territory; and Standard Oil Company of New York, Inc. Serving New York State and New England.

They all sold Mobiloil and Mobilgas but the company didn't use the Mobil name until 1955 when it became Socony Mobil Oil Company and in 1966 Mobil Oil Corporation

In 1934 Socony-Vacuum had began the use of the Pegasus as their logo and were looking at ways to gain public awareness of the brand. They had started using the "Flying Red Horse" in advertising in 1933. They initially wanted to use radiator cap ornaments and a few prototypes were produced. They soon found that the many different styles of radiator caps and changes in car design made this impractical and too expensive. The next idea was for decals for windows but they learned that many states had already passed legislation prohibiting decals in windows of vehicles. It was suggested that they make license plate markers as the ones in use by AAA and Goodrich tire had been successful. While not mentioned in the 1935 article where I found this information, Shell had introduced their Shell topper in 1933. They made an initial run of 50,000 toppers in 1934 and they were so popular that they contracted with three suppliers and by the end of 1935 they had distributed 5,700,000 toppers. Other versions followed and by 1941 at least 15 different versions had been released. From my research I believe that the last of the original USA Pegasus toppers was released in 1941. Australia and New Zealand had versions in the 1950's. The first reproductions of the toppers began to show up in the late 1960's and this probably accounts for some collectors who are sure the toppers they have is authentic because it has been in their Dad's or Grandpa's workshop for 40 years. I wrote a booklet this past year specifically to describe the differences between the originals and reproductions and continue to locate new collectors especially in Australia who have new versions.

I am posting pictures of my collection as mounted. If anyone needs a close up of a particular topper just ask.

I think my red one is the same as 2nd pic. 2nd row #3, but mine has been bent like line drawing.
2nd one is a rusty Gold.

There are several base styles of this third style of topper. They were produced by three different shops. The most commom is the base with three vertical ridges and one horizonital ridge above the oval mounting hole. Next most common is three vertical ridges and one horizonital ridge but with the center vertical ridge in two sections. There are two styles with only two vertical ridges, one having no horizonital ridge and one having a horizonital ridge. These are more rare. The last style has three vertical and one horizonital ridge and has ridges or corregations over the body as in your rusty gold one.

Both of them have 3 Vert. & 1 Hor. lines.
THANK YOU.
db

Here is a picture of the one plate topper I have. I got it from eBay, believe it to be foreign.

Any help on the Sinclair. I don't know much about them.


The first dated Petoleum topper that can I can verify is the Shell topper patented in 1933. Several Shell toppers were produced and in 1939 were advertised as a part of Shell's Safety Program. These pictures show the 1939 ad and two post cards mailed to Safety Club members. TCP additive was introduced in 1955 and dates the introduction of that topper.








[This message has been edited by mobilford (edited 03-12-2008).]

Why are license plate toppers (attachments, markers, and badges) called pectins?

A pectin is a heteropolysaccharide derived from the cell wall of plants. Pectin is used as a gelling agent and stabilizer in food. So how did metal license plate attachments come to be referred to as pectins?

It apparently is a proprietary eponym and a misspelling. Proprietary eponyms are words that were once proprietary brands that are used to identify a group or class of items. Two of the more common ones are Kleenex, which is used to identify facial tissues of any brand, and Xerox which is used to identify any copy.

The Shell Oil Company derived their logo from the fact that the original London business dealt in antiques and oriental seashells. It used the word “Shell” as a trademark in 1891. In 1897, the owner, Marcus Samuel, formed the “Shell” Transport and Trading Company. The first logo in 1901 was a mussel shell, but in 1904 a scallop or “Pecten” emblem was adopted. Pecten is the genus name for this group of scallops and is used to describe shells of that shape.

Shell Oil was one of the first to introduce license plate attachments in the shape of their logo, 1933 patent # 1,902,440, and referred to them as pectens (the common name for the seashell shape). The word was adopted by many to refer to any license plate attachment and is often misspelled as pectin.

Here is one Pure Oil license plate topper that my dad and I don't have! This one belongs to a friend. If anyone has one they'd like to sell, please contact me!

Here are the other Pure Oil toppers we do have. The first two look identical, but the ribbon area on the first picture is a bit rolled up on the ends, while the second is not.




[This message has been edited by mapper (edited 03-12-2008).]

Here is one of my freedom toppers.

Thanks for the pics. Here are some pictures of a friends toppers. There are a few that are not oil related.

Here are my favorites. Not all gas.