We love antique gas pumps for their honest, mechanical forms, glass meters, bright colors, variation of styles and designs, but most of all, we love them for the colorful, art-deco masterpieces adorning their tops like glowing crowns—the gas pump globe. These delicate, hand-painted milk glass orbs illuminated with a soft but attention-grabbing light, designed to attract motorists with emptying tanks to gas station forecourts. Each of the hundreds of then-extant brands had their own colors and logos, and frequently even their own shape—sometimes straying wildly from the standard globe form to more exotic three-dimensional six-sided crosses, octagons, donuts, cubes, and numerous other designs.
Here’s a small gallery of some of the coolest we could find. Click here to see the collection from Globes and Signs.
Richfield Gasoline of Power Globe – $2800
Pan-Am Ethyl Globe – $1400
Thrifty Gas Globe – $1700
United Gasoline Globe – $600
Tydol Ethyl – $950
Knight Oil Co. Regular Globe – $3250
Johnson Ethyl Globe – $4000
Photo Sources from Globes and Signs
