When I first started researching the cans in this collection I didn't have the first idea of how to go about it. I spent weeks doing nothing but searching and reading, trying to absorb as much as possible from generous experts that have shared what they know.
It didn't help that one of the first cans I was trying to date was an obscure tall, square, one gallon Maytag multi-motor oil can with a very rare label and handle. I looked in all the obvious places, eBay, other auction sites, petroliana collectors forums, Google images, but I kept coming up with nothing that matched.
I would see the same logo colors on other types of cans or I would see similar types of cans but the colors and logos didn't match. This was actually one of the ways I learned that logos can be a big help in dating a can if you can find data on company history and when they were in use.
With the Maytag can it was a combination of color, logo style, can style and wire handle that finally led me to date that can between 1910 and 1930. Shortly after that I finally found a site with photos of two cans like it and I was able to email the collector to get his verification that I was correct and also a ball park idea of what he thought it might be worth.
Since then I have dated many rare cans by using the same method of comparing, trial and elimination. There are many sites with helpful information such as Collectors Weekly. I learned from them that the style of the can, the material it is made from and the way the seams (if any) are sealed can tell you a great deal about a general timeline.
When tracking down specific company logos, company sites, state historical sites and Wikipedia are invaluable sources for data.
This seems like a good place to give a very specific example.
In the collection I am selling there are many Mobil items from many timelines and with Mobil cans, the logo is one of the easiest ways to date them.
A simple Google search on Mobil logo history took me to a historical page at the University of Vermont that has a brief history on the use of the Red Pegasus when dating gas station signs. From them I learned that between 1911 and 1931 there was no red Pegasus. The gas stations used no logos but oil cans had the gargoyle. This was the era of Socony before Mobiloil. Socony is an anagram for Standard Oil Company of New York.
In 1931 Socony merged with the Vacuum oil company and Socony-Vacuum created and patented the flying red horse named Flying Horse Power (that was his official name). We now know it as the Mobil Pegasus trademark. This is also when they started using the Mobiloil/Mobilgas names.
In 1954 Socony-Vacuum shortened the name to Mobil and a smaller version of the Pegasus started appearing below the name.
In 1965 they redesigned the Pegasus with more bold lines and turned him to face the opposite direction (toward the right instead of the left when looking at it straight on). The horse was also put on a white disc.
Modern logos do not display the Pegasus. but I am having trouble pinning down an exact date when they stopped.
So you see it is a lot of detective work just to find out something as basic as "when was this can made?"
It is much easier with popular brands. I do have a few rare obscure cans that I have not been able to learn anything about. I will talk about them in a future post. But as I mentioned earlier in the blog, I am just happy that I find this subject so fascinating to me! Otherwise it would be like work. Ha ha.
Let me share some of the most helpful search terms I have found that yield up the best sources.
For well known companies search "company name, our history"
also "company name logo history"
for obscure companies "search company name and location"
or "History of company name in such and such location"
Also let me include here an image of a rare Socony-Vacuum can that is available to purchase right now at my eBay. You can tell from the logo of this can and the company name that it is dated between 1931 and 1954.
There is an additional characteristic of this can that lets me date it more specifically and that is the solder seam which dates it before the mid 1940s when they started crimping the seams. So I am pretty confident in saying this can is from the early half of the 1940s. I once thought it might be 1930s but the words "flying horse power" don't appear on anything I have been able to find before 1940.
Update: The can above has been sold. It was the only one like it that I had.
I hope that I shared some helpful tips and thanks for reading! Until next time, cheers!
It didn't help that one of the first cans I was trying to date was an obscure tall, square, one gallon Maytag multi-motor oil can with a very rare label and handle. I looked in all the obvious places, eBay, other auction sites, petroliana collectors forums, Google images, but I kept coming up with nothing that matched.
I would see the same logo colors on other types of cans or I would see similar types of cans but the colors and logos didn't match. This was actually one of the ways I learned that logos can be a big help in dating a can if you can find data on company history and when they were in use.
With the Maytag can it was a combination of color, logo style, can style and wire handle that finally led me to date that can between 1910 and 1930. Shortly after that I finally found a site with photos of two cans like it and I was able to email the collector to get his verification that I was correct and also a ball park idea of what he thought it might be worth.
Since then I have dated many rare cans by using the same method of comparing, trial and elimination. There are many sites with helpful information such as Collectors Weekly. I learned from them that the style of the can, the material it is made from and the way the seams (if any) are sealed can tell you a great deal about a general timeline.
When tracking down specific company logos, company sites, state historical sites and Wikipedia are invaluable sources for data.
This seems like a good place to give a very specific example.
In the collection I am selling there are many Mobil items from many timelines and with Mobil cans, the logo is one of the easiest ways to date them.
A simple Google search on Mobil logo history took me to a historical page at the University of Vermont that has a brief history on the use of the Red Pegasus when dating gas station signs. From them I learned that between 1911 and 1931 there was no red Pegasus. The gas stations used no logos but oil cans had the gargoyle. This was the era of Socony before Mobiloil. Socony is an anagram for Standard Oil Company of New York.
In 1931 Socony merged with the Vacuum oil company and Socony-Vacuum created and patented the flying red horse named Flying Horse Power (that was his official name). We now know it as the Mobil Pegasus trademark. This is also when they started using the Mobiloil/Mobilgas names.
In 1954 Socony-Vacuum shortened the name to Mobil and a smaller version of the Pegasus started appearing below the name.
In 1965 they redesigned the Pegasus with more bold lines and turned him to face the opposite direction (toward the right instead of the left when looking at it straight on). The horse was also put on a white disc.
Modern logos do not display the Pegasus. but I am having trouble pinning down an exact date when they stopped.
So you see it is a lot of detective work just to find out something as basic as "when was this can made?"
It is much easier with popular brands. I do have a few rare obscure cans that I have not been able to learn anything about. I will talk about them in a future post. But as I mentioned earlier in the blog, I am just happy that I find this subject so fascinating to me! Otherwise it would be like work. Ha ha.
Let me share some of the most helpful search terms I have found that yield up the best sources.
For well known companies search "company name, our history"
also "company name logo history"
for obscure companies "search company name and location"
or "History of company name in such and such location"
Also let me include here an image of a rare Socony-Vacuum can that is available to purchase right now at my eBay. You can tell from the logo of this can and the company name that it is dated between 1931 and 1954.
There is an additional characteristic of this can that lets me date it more specifically and that is the solder seam which dates it before the mid 1940s when they started crimping the seams. So I am pretty confident in saying this can is from the early half of the 1940s. I once thought it might be 1930s but the words "flying horse power" don't appear on anything I have been able to find before 1940.
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Update: The can above has been sold. It was the only one like it that I had.
I hope that I shared some helpful tips and thanks for reading! Until next time, cheers!
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