Miller & Miller Will Hold Auctions Feb 28 (soda Advertising & Push Bars) & March 1-2 (petroliana)

By Author: Ethan Miller
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Rare vintage signs for Indian Motorcycles, Texaco Marine Motor Oil, Red Indian Motor Oil and Pepsi-Cola, as well as highly collectible push bars and door push signs, will all cross the auction block during three days of online-only auctions scheduled for the weekend of February 28th thru March 2nd by Miller & Miller Auctions. Ltd.

Things will get going on Friday, February 28th, at 6pm Eastern time, with a Soda Advertising & Push Bars auction. “We’re calling it ‘When push comes to shove’,” said Ethan Miller of Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd. “It’s a high-grade, fresh-to-market offering of around one hundred push bars, door pushes and soda advertising. Most of the push bars come from the same 50-year collection. It includes Stubby, Co-op, Peer’s, Cloverdale and a Lyon’s Tea door push.”

The higher-ticket items will come up for bid on March 1st and 2nd, during the Petroliana & Advertising auction – nearly 600 lots in total. “All day Saturday ‘it’s a Bud thing,’ featuring the exclusive collection of the late Arthur ‘Bud’ Irving,” Mr. Miller said. “Bidders will instantly ...
... recognize Bud’s passion for Texaco, Irving and Chevrolet. Sunday includes petroliana, soda and county store advertising. Many of the items have been held by private collectors for decades.”

Start times both days on March 1st and 2nd are 9am Eastern. The overall expected top lot of the three days will be offered on Day 3, March 2nd, with an Indian Motorcycles neon dealership sign, made in America in the 1930s or ‘40s. It’s a stunning piece of motorcycle and advertising history that would complement any collection merely as a piece of artwork. Graded 8.25 out of 10 for condition and impressive at 66 ½ inches by 35 ½ inches, the sign boasts strong color and gloss to the porcelain, and the neon has been restored. The sign is expected to sell for $50,000-$60,000.

All estimates in this report are in Canadian dollars.

The detailed nautical scene in the Texaco Marine Motor Oil double-sided porcelain sign, made in America in 1953, puts the sign among the most desirable and highly sought after of all the Texaco signs. Graded 9.09/9.25 in excellent condition and measuring 11 inches by 21 ½ inches, the sign carries a pre-sale estimate of $20,000-$25,000. Like all items offered during the three days, the sign is eligible for delivery to the Spring Dixie Gas & Oil Show on April 10th-12th.

The Canadian single-sided porcelain sign for Red Indian Motor Oil, produced in the 1930s, is self-framed and in very good condition, overall an extremely presentable example. It’s stout, too, measuring 26 inches by 72 inches. The sign expected to change hands for $18,000-$22,000.

An Irving IOKA Motor Oil bottle rack, made in Canada in the 1930s, is comprised of four single-sided porcelain panels, with an overall size of 23 ¾ inches by 19 inches by 20 ½ inches. The rack exhibits excellent color and gloss and carries a pre-sale estimate of $9,000-$12,000.

A Fry “Mae West” Texaco 10-gallon visible gasoline pump, made in America in the 1920s, has been restored to Texaco gasoline branding and features reproduction tags, DPS paddle and globe. The painted metal pump is 118 inches tall by 24 inches wide and should sell for $5,000-$7,000.

A Pepsi-Cola “Obey That Impulse!” single-sided embossed tin sign, made in America in the 1930s, is a spectacular early sign advertising Pepsi-Cola with Pepsi cooler graphics. The logo on the sign is known as the “double dot” (or “logo with a colon”), for the two dots that separate the words “Pepsi” and “Cola”. The lady shown in Art Deco style fashion is seen removing a 12-ounce bottle of Pepsi from the cooler, which would date the sign to post-1934, when Pepsi first introduced the 12-ounce bottle. The 32 ¼ inch by 59 inch sign has an estimate of $1,000-$1,200.

Backing up to Friday evening, February 28th, and the Soda Advertising & Push Bars auction, a Coca-Cola “Christmas Bottle” embossed single-sided tin door push sign, marked “made in USA 1931”, is graded 9.25 excellent condition and measures 12 ½ inches by 4 ½ inches. It has great color and gloss, with only minor surface wear. It should find a new home for $2,000-$3,000.

A rare Canadian 1930s single-sided porcelain convex door push sign for Lyon’s Tea, is also graded well at 9.25 and exhibits wonderful color and gloss. All the original grommets are intact on the 10 inch by 3 inch door push sign, which has a modest pre-sale estimate of $2,000-$2,500.

The Friday, February 28th sale is an online-only auction, with no live webcast portion. Lots will close in sequential order beginning at 6pm Eastern time on Friday, February 28th. The March 1st and 2nd weekend sale is an online-only auction. There will be no in-person event to attend, but bidders can tune in to the live webcast on March 1st and 2nd to watch the lots close in real time.

Here is a link to the February 28th Soda Advertising & Push Bars auction on the Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd. website: https://live.millerandmillerauctions.com/auctions/4-FVKF3Z/soda-advertising-push-bars

Here is a link to the March 1st Petroliana & Advertising auction, also on the Miller & Miller site: https://live.millerandmillerauctions.com/auctions/4-FRB4PW/petroliana-advertising-the-late-arthur-bud-irving-collection

Here is a link to the March 2nd Petroliana & Advertising auction, also on the Miller & Miller site:

https://live.millerandmillerauctions.com/auctions/4-FRM4DG/petroliana-advertising

After the Feb. 28-March 2 auctions, Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd. has a full slate of other upcoming online-only auctions, to include the following:

- March 22: Firearms & Sporting, featuring the G. Wayne Connor collection

- April 12: East Coast Canadiana & Folk Art, featuring the Chris Huntington collection.

- May 3: Pop Culture – Comics, Toys and Music Memorabilia

To learn more about Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd. and the Feb. 28 & March 1-2 auctions, visit www.MillerandMillerAuctions.com.