» Esso

Esso Visible Gas Pump

vintagevending — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 14:04:49 +0000

This is an Esso visible gas pump, called the G&B model 177, made in 1925. The manufacturer was Gilbert & Barker Manufacturing Company. The first gas pumps were “visible” gas pumps that drew the gasoline out of the ground and into a 5 to 10 gallon glass cylinder before it was released into the car. The glass allowed the customer to see how much gas was pumped and whether or not it was clean, which was too often not the case. The gas was pumped from the ground using a lever on the pump (not visible in this photo), by pulling it back and forth. When the gas was released, gravity allowed it to flow out of the tall cylinder and in into the car’s gas tank.

The Gilbert & Barker Manufacturing Company was located in Springfield, Massachusetts. They began manufacturing gas pumps around 1902. The company name was changed to Gilbarco in 1965. In 1966 they relocated to Greensboro, North Carolina where they operate today as Gilbarco Veeder-Root, a subsidiary of the Danaher Corporation. They remain one of the leading gas pump manufacturers in the world today.

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

Esso Cup and Saucer

vintagevending — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:51:49 +0000

Vintage Cups, Glasses and Mugs

It’s interesting to see the different promotional and corporate products made over the years. Every week we will feature a cool retro cup, glass or mug from our large collection. We’ll share what we’ve learned about them and welcome your additional input and comments.

The manufacturer of this cup and saucer was the Walker China Company of Bedford, Ohio. They were originally incorporated in 1923 by Albert M. Walker and Henry Bailey as Bailey Walker China. The name was changed in 1942 to The Walker China Company. By then they were making durable dishware for restaurants, hotels, clubs and steamships. The mark on the bottom of the cup reads “2-39”. To date Walker China, you add 1922 to the second number. Therefore, the cup dates to 1961 and the saucer, that reads “11-37” dates to 1959.

This cup and saucer were made for the Esso Oil Corporation for use on their oil tankers. Heavy-duty dishes like these would be a necessity in a mess hall, due to their repeated use. Esso began as the first foreign offshoot of the Standard Oil Trust in 1888. The name “Esso” was first used in 1926 and was officially changed to the company name in 1951. By 1972 the name was changed to the Exxon Corporation.

Manufactured by:
The Walker China Company
Bedford, Ohio

Esso Tiger Advertising Statue

vintagevending — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:41:09 +0000

1950’s Esso Tiger Advertising Statue “Put a Tiger In Your Tank”

These pictures and video are of the Esso Tiger we restored a few years back and that still guards the Retroplanet.com world headquarters. The pictures show the ‘before’, ‘during’ and ‘after’ stages. At Vintage Vending we restored 3 of these over the years. This one is the smaller of the two sizes that were used by Esso, and is different then most Tigers because of the embossed Esso logo on the back leg.

The Tiger is fiberglass so the restoration process entailed stripping the old paint, fiberglass repair work, primer, sanding, a basecoat of paint, airbrushing the details and then clear coat to finish.

Here are a couple of tips if you decide to restore one.
1. If you sandblast—be very careful. Use a media that is not that abrasive; you do not want to break through that outer layer of fiberglass. I believe we used crushed walnut shells.
2. Also, do your best to find one with its tail. Many are missing theirs and they’re not the easiest things to duplicate.

All in all, it is not a hard restoration, especially if you have access to a good airbrush artist. Good luck.