A Goodrich Tires “Mountie” porcelain sign from the 1930s, a pair of circular Supertest Service Station double-sided porcelain hanging signs, and a 1930s Good Year Tires double-sided porcelain flange sign – all Canadian in origin – are just a few of the headliners in Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd.’s online-only Petroliana & Advertising auction, featuring the Bill McNevan collection, slated for Saturday, May 15th, at 9 am Eastern.
“Most collectors of petroliana will recognize the McNevan name,” said Ethan Miller of Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd. “Bill’s collection ranges from scarce dealer signs to rare service station ephemera and tins. Collectors will agree that gas and oil related advertising has become increasingly difficult to find, particularly in the condition McNevan demanded. To step into Bill’s garage was to enter an automotive time warp. His trappings have attracted huge interest.”
McNevan’s carefully curated, outstanding collection includes investment-grade service station memorabilia from Supertest, Red Indian, British American, Imperial, Reliance, Texaco, Fina, Cities Service, White Rose and more. Automobilia will include signs from Ford, General Motors, Dominion Tires, Good Year, Goodrich, Hart Batteries, AC and Champion Spark Plugs and more. Collectors of petroliana need to mark their calendars.
With a stout pre-sale estimate of $16,000-$20,000 (all prices quoted are in Canadian dollars), the Depression-era Goodrich Tires “Mountie” porcelain sign is the expected top lot of the auction. The 56 inch by 20 inch sign is arguably Canada’s most recognizable, iconic and highly sought-after automotive advertising sign. It features a full-figure Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer in uniform, shown in eight vibrant colors of porcelain, with only minor scattered porcelain loss.
The Supertest Service Station (“Canada’s All Canadian Company”) double-sided porcelain hanging signs both have estimates of $6,000-$8,000. One, from the 1930s, is 48 inches in diameter and housed in the original frame. The other is from the 1940s and larger in size, at 60 inches in diameter. It’s in the original aluminum frame. Both signs show minor loss and fade.
The Good Year Tires double-sided porcelain wall-mounting flange sign from the 1930s is quite rare and features Good Year’s “tire around the world” graphic. The sign measures 27 ¾ inches by 20 inches and is expected to change hands for $6,000-$8,000. It exhibits minor flaws one might expect from a 90-year-old sign: minor patches of porcelain loss and a little oxidation.
To learn more about Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd. and the Petroliana & Advertising auction scheduled for Saturday, May 15th at 9 am Eastern time, please visit www.MillerandMillerAuctions.com. Updates are posted frequently.