Discoveries
When we announced a while back that we were working on a new globe CD and were looking for odd or rare globes that missed the last books, we patiently waited. At first, the response was slow. But now, the flood gates have been opened! We are finding a lot of unknown globes tucked in collections and surprisingly, many outside the hobby that are being “discovered.”
There are too many to list here other than a few highlights I’ll mention. In the last three weeks the number of new globes discovered exceeds 30!
A few weeks ago a rare Streett’s Ideal gas globe turned up on eBay. Then, two weeks later, we purchased a collection and there was the mate-a Street’s Economy gas globe. But note the different spelling in the word “Street’s” on the two globes! We’re still trying to figure that one out!
The real surprise was the Pan Am Sunset Palace globe that turned up in Connecticut from an old Pan Am/Amoco jobber. Wayne traced this globe to a restaurant/dance hall/bar on Barton Lake. The globe is from the 1930s and was made for banded glass. The area that says, “Sunset Palace” was put into the globe at a factory or such but was done after the insert was made. Very few such inserts exist like that.
We have at least two new Co-Op globes, A Sav Mor we’ve never seen and the list goes on from there. If you have any globes that are unique and want to see them in the new CD, please send photos soon. We will give anyone a free globe CD if you contribute to the new project-just remind me!
As far as other items, we are still hearing about a lot turning up. Pumps, signs, cans and other items continue to be found.
What’s New?
We had to completely reconstruct the PCM website (see pcmpublishing.com) to overcome some software glitches and as of this writing we are almost there. Jim Potts is handling that for us. So the "What’s New" section has not been updated for about one month but will be soon. Here you can find all the data about the current issue as to when it was mailed, what’s in the latest issue as well as the last few years worth of PCM issues.
The globe CD is coming along quite well as we have added over 30 new discoveries since the last issue! Thanks to the many PCM readers who have dug into their collections and sent us photos of many globes we have never seen before. Remind me and we’ll send a free CD out to anyone who has sent us globe photos for the new CD. Thanks!
Please remember that PCM magazine is always sent out on the 1st day of the month, often sooner and is never late, delayed, etc. We cannot do anything when you neighbor gets his magazine one week before you do! I wish we could, but we cannot. If you have continued problems, contact your post office to see what they can do, check your mailing label to make sure it is correct and don’t let you subscription expire!
All ads can be sent directly to jnet36@aol.com, photos to pcmpublishing@triad.rr.com and other inquiries to Scott at scottpcm@aol.com or call me at 440-355-6608 9-8 EST.
Thanks again for all your support.
Repro Alert
Someday we may take every repro alert we’ve ever done and place them into a CD! The information is priceless and until that day, please review past issues for this very important information. Some of the more common inquiries which have come up recently are touched on below:
Standard Crowns, if real, have seven inch bases and there is no exception to that rule. Some have threaded bases; the older ones do not. But with or without a screw base, they will measure seven inches. Note - any crown with the screw threading that has no base will measure less than seven inches, about 5.75 or so. Nonetheless, this should be a real crown - it’s just missing the base. The only crowns that can have a base without a threading are any of the five different raised letters or etched crowns, early white, red or blue crowns. Any green crowns, gold crowns or gray crowns will have threaded bases and there is no exception to that rule either. Be careful on the repainted crowns in that they are only worth about $350.
Reproduction car globes are now 35 years old and turn up on a regular basis. The only real car globes on glass ever found were a few Oldsmobile Service. Note - these real ones have double strength glass and deep notches. Phony ones are all single strength and may have deep notches.
The only real known Ford Service globes are one piece etched and are nearly full sized globes. We have seen smaller versions that are not real. We have seen 15” metal versions that are not real. By the way, Ford Benzol globes are only keyhole shaped and there are a couple known 15” metals but these inserts are flat and non-baked. There may be a real 13.5” glass that is similar to the 15” but note there are many undated phonies that were made at the same time the car globes were made.
Remember to watch the PCM site for updates on undated reproductions (see pcmpublishing.com).
Questions about Gas Globes by Scott Benjamin
I thought I would answer some common and not-so-common questions I get on a regular basis about gas globes. Some of these questions have come up before but are important enough to bring up again.
1. “I found some 15” inserts with no alignment notch on the bottom. These are phony, correct?”
No, these very well may be real. Many 15” original inserts are not notched on the bottom. I have several of these in my collection. Let me say yes, most are, like the Koolmotor 15” inserts. These are reproductions and hard to tell from the phony ones. The real ones are notched, the phony ones are not. The phony ones are too dark green anyway and you should be able to tell these from the color alone. But, I could name dozens of original companies that used 15” inserts with no alignment notch on the bottom. This is especially true of the older metal frame globes. As I’ve said over and over through the years, get the reproduction catalogues and look at them. When you are at a show stop by where people are selling reproductions and take a minute to look at them. There are no perfect reproduction globes out there!
2. “I have a pair of inserts that seem slightly too big for a regular glass frame, but they measure 13.5”. What can I do with them?”
This is interesting as it rarely happens. Some inserts were made just slightly larger and this may be a factory error. There are true 14” inserts made by the Solar Electric Company out of Chicago but these very rare inserts take a full 14” glass frame. So what can you do with these oversized inserts? First off, Pergl Gas Globes makes the best glass frame available. They found the mold that Sinclair/Richfield used and this frame has the recessed inside border with the narrow body format. These frames will hold just about any inserts for glass or even plastic/Capco. Now I have never tried to place an oversized insert onto one of these but if anything might work it would be this frame. You can find original frames like this - look for older Richfield or Sinclair 1940s glass frame narrow body globes. If this still doesn’t work, there are other options. You can try the full 13.5” Gill body which should work. But note that most Gill frames are the 13.25” style (like the ripples) and this will not hold 13.5” inserts of any style. Banded glass inserts are 13-5/8” so these oversized inserts would probably work on the banded frames. The problem is banded frames are even harder to find than Gill frames and they are not cheap. The last resort - which I hate to see people do, is to silicone the inserts onto a regular glass frame. If done carefully, it can look good until you can find the right frame.
3. ‘I’m afraid to place a snap ring on my zillion dollar insert in the metal frame. Any Ideas?”
You know this never bothered me until some inserts approached crazy prices. I still use snap rings on all my globes in my collection - except one! Metal frame inserts are not really that fragile and were made to withstand temperatures from minus 20 to plus 100. I know they can break. Keep this in mind. Inserts will not break from a snap ring being set into place - unless the frame is warped! Place the insert onto the frame and if does not “sit” properly and even, you are asking for trouble. It should not wobble, shift or vibrate. If it does any of the above, then place the insert onto the frame and put a spot of hot glue or silicone at the four edges. Make sure it is secure. I would not place large or long beads of glue all the way around the edges or so thick that when you put the insert into place the glue oozes under and or around the edges. You’ll never get it off if you do that! Silicone and hot glues cuts easy with a knife - if you can get at it! Then, so it looks normal, I place the snap ring over the insert like it should be. That is what I have done to that one exception noted above. Sometimes the glue sticks up enough to unseat the snap ring but you can play with it and often make it work. Personally, I just don’t like the look of the insert held on with glue without the snap rings so I try to do both. But the advantage is that once you do this the insert has no downward pressure being put on it with an uneven frame below it to crack it. The inserts “floats” on the beads of glue.
4. “How can I clean my globe inserts or frames?”
Any abrasive cleanser will clean an insert or glass frame without damage to it. The only exception are the non-baked, which are nearly impossible to clean or improve or a fired insert that is showing considerable wear, in which case hard rubbing will facilitate the rest of the paint being removed. Ajax cleaner with a toothbrush, Bar Keeper’s Friend, even rubbing compound with water will not hurt any fired on insert or fired/baked one piece globe. You would be surprised what you can do with a dirty insert.
My favorite story was about one knucklehead and one great globe. I call him that because later he was caught stealing globes from a friend of mine. He sold me a Sinclair Aircraft baked on one piece globe. This was back in the 1970s. The globe had lost all its red color and was now a dark reddish brown color. It didn’t look very good but I paid the $600 for it and was still happy. Back then, few Sinclair Aircraft globes existed so I was happy to get it anyway. I started with some rubbing compound and water and tried a small area of the globe. To my surprise the original red paint underneath it was totally intact. The more I cleaned the better the globe got. This globe went from a condition six to a nine in about an hour! Then I waxed it to give it a great shine. The globe was now a beautiful bright red color. The knucklehead later on saw that same globe. All he could say was, “If I knew that globe would have cleaned up that nice, I would have never sold it to you in the first place!” I wanted to say, “That’s why you’re still a knucklehead” but instead I just laughed at him!
5. “How many error globes out there exist?”
I have in my collection a Sinclair H-C globe with the “H-C” put in backwards. Years ago at Hershey I saw a dealer/collector with a 13.5” glass globe with an upside down Ethyl Logo! But these globes are fired into the glass. I have seen a couple Richfield globes for metal where the patent data on the very bottom of the insert was upside down but the insert overall was normal. Any globes of this type normally would have been destroyed at the factory but it’s obvious a few escaped. So my question is. Anyone out there have a globe, or even a sign that has a mistake on it?
If you have any questions you would like me to address please let me know!
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