A cardboard diorama advertising Mayo-Skinner Automatic Windshield Cleaner was a standout when it fetched $5,060 at a Peotone petroliana and advertising auction October 16 by Matthews Auctions, LLC, of Nokomis, Ill. The auction was held the day before the start of the annual Fall Chicagoland Advertising Show in Peotone.
“The diorama was just a great piece with great graphics, in all-around good condition,” said Dan Matthews of Matthews Auctions. “It also showed that cardboard advertising signs can command high dollar prices at auction right along with gas globes, lenses, porcelain signs and more glamorous items.” The diorama measured 27 by 32 by 12 inches.
About 440 lots changed hands at the sale, which grossed a little more than $250,000. Around 125 people attended the event in person, while about that many bidders participated online. An additional 25 to 30 people bid by phone, while more than 20 bidders submitted fax and left bids. “We were very happy to take the online bids, but there’s nothing like selling to the room and by phone,” Matthews said.
“The auction did about as well as we expected,” he added, “but how we got there wasn’t what we expected. Some of the lots we figured would bring top dollar ended up selling flat, while other items we didn’t think would do too well sold for way more than their high estimate. It made for an interesting day. And the good news is, people came to spend their money. Bidding was very spirited.”
The top lot of the sale was a Marine Gasoline 15-inch single lens in metal globe body with a speedboat graphic. It soared to $10,450. A Hancock “Cock o’ the Walk” 15-inch single lens in metal globe body, with rooster graphic, brought $7,979, and an Oldsmobile Service 42-inch double-sided porcelain sign with crest logo hit $5,170.
A Conoco Gasoline 26-inch double-sided porcelain sign with soldier graphic garnered $5,500; a Paragon Gasoline 25-inch double-sided porcelain sign with truck, derrick and refiner scene, with pole and generic base, changed hands for $6,600; and a (Red Indian) Gasoline Motor Oil single-sided 60-inch porcelain sign reached $5,500.
A Buick Valve-in-Head Authorized Service double-sided 42-inch porcelain sign, marked Walker & Co. (Detroit) breezed to $4,400, while an updated Refiners Gasoline Motor Oil double-sided porcelain sign, 36-inch (not 42-inch), attained $3,300 and a Studebaker Authorized Service double-sided porcelain sign, 42-inch, went for $3,025.
Other sign highlights included a Wesco 48-inch single-sided porcelain sign with big “W” and jet logo at $4,125; an 18-by-21-inch McColl-Frontenac (Red Indian) Products single-sided die-cut porcelain sign, marked P&M from 1946 at $3,740; and a Weed Chains “As Necessary As Gasoline” single-sided tin price board sign, 24 by 17 inches, rose to $3,575.
Porcelain standouts included a Texaco Gasoline Motor Oil 42-inch double-sided porcelain sign with black “T”, with hanging ring, which coasted to $5,225; a Dodge-Plymouth “Dependable Service With Dodge Trucks” double-sided die-cut sign, 48 by 48 inches, at $4,620; and a Waverly Motor Oil double-sided die-cut curb sign that brought $3,300.
A Mobil (Flame Socony) Vacuum Bottle Gas double-sided porcelain sign with iconic Pegasus horse bracket, sign was 17 by 30 inches, Pegasus 32 by 25 inches, sold as one lot for $2,750, while a Frontier Gas “Rarin’ to Go!” 13½-inch display lenses on a glass globe body, commanded $2,750.
Rounding out the sale were a Johnson Gasoline Motor Oil double-sided porcelain sign, 48-inch, with chrome hanging ring at $2,750; a Rolling Ridge Polled Herefords (Paul Greening, Owner) double-sided porcelain sign, 48 by 60 inches, for $1,100; and a Texaco Motor Oil “Free Crankcase Service” single-sided porcelain sign, 30 by 30 inches, that made $880.
All prices reported include the buyer’s premium. For more information, 217-563-8880 or 217-259-7059 www.MatthewsAuctions.com .
