Petroliana and automobilia at Check the Oil auction, June 23 in Dublin, Ohio Hundreds of examples of petroliana (gas station collectibles) and automobilia – to include porcelain and tin signs, countertop displays, cardboard advertising, globes and more – will be sold June 23rd
News-Antique.com - May 29,2012 - (DUBLIN, Ohio) – Hundreds of examples of petroliana (gas station collectibles) and automobilia – to include porcelain and tin signs, countertop displays, cardboard advertising, globes and more – will come up for bid on Saturday, June 23, when Matthews Auctions, LLC, based in Nokomis, Ill., holds its annual Check the Oil Show auction in Dublin, near Columbus.
Like last year, the 2012 auction will be held at the Embassy Suites Hotel, in the northwest corner of metro Columbus, on the second day of the popular Check the Oil Gas & Oil Show, an annual gathering of petroliana and automobilia enthusiasts from around the country. “It just makes sense that we’d have our auction during the show. The folks love it,” Dan Matthews said.
Bidders will have the choice of attending the auction live, or online through Proxibid.com or Auctionzip.com. Phone and absentee bids will also be accepted. The first gavel is scheduled to come down promptly at 11 a.m. (EST). “We’ve got a few surprises in the form of special items sure to get attention,” Matthews said. “This may just be our best Check the Oil auction ever.”
Four items in particular are expected to generate strong bidder interest. One is a rare Case Agency tin flange sign, rated 8.9 out of 10 for condition and measuring 24 inches by 16 inches (est. $7,000-$9,000). The sign features great graphics, with Old Abe (the Case Agency mascot) perched on a world globe. The sign is clearly marked “The H.D. Beach Co., Coshocton, Ohio.”
Old Abe was an eaglet that Chippewa Indians in Wisconsin found and kept as a pet after felling a tree in 1861. When the young bird got too big to keep, the Indians traded it for a bushel of corn to a man who later joined Company C of the Eighth Wisconsin Regiment during the Civil War. He brought the eagle, who he named Old Abe, into battle and kept him as a mascot.
After the war, the story of Old Abe reached Jerome Case, a businessman, who adopted Old Abe as the symbol of his business. The Case Agency was the automotive division of the J.I. Case Company, which in 1910 purchased the Pierce Motor Company and renamed the cars Case. Case produced cars from 1911-1926, including the Jay-Eye-See Brougham and the Touring-Y.
The second item is a framed photo of the United States Airship Akron, built by the Goodyear Zeppelin Corporation. The photo, signed by the photographer, Margaret Bourke White, had been given to the winner of a Goodyear tire sales contest in 1931. It shows the USS Akron and the airship dock where it was built. The photo is expected to realize $5,000-$7,000.
Measuring 20 inches by 26 inches, the photo is housed in a frame made of Duralumin, the same material used to make the framework of the airship. The USS Akron was a helium-filled rigid airship of the U.S. Navy and served as a flying aircraft carrier made for launching F9C Sparrowhawk bi-plane
