Save The Old Signs...They're Retirement

black mamba

Across the road from this old shed were two old, much larger barns that belonged to a neighbor. They were literally covered from top to bottom on all four sides with old Texaco signs. The insides were also stuffed with Texaco signs and other Texaco items. The old guy who owned them ( who I had spoken to on several ocassions over the years ) had some health issues and the family staged an auction to sell what they could. When the auction was over, they had sold every item for a total exceeding $200,000. Buyers had come from all over the country to get in on the sale. His collection was well known and the bidding was brisk. Man, I'm going to get a bigger truck and start scouring the backroads.

Tom

Richard

Awesome.

rwells

This image will keep my eyes busy for a while.

Gotta' run, have to look at the picture some more.

adbsgicom

Great time of year to capture this with the fall colors. Great image of a potpourri of times gone by.

Eia

Reminds me of a classic postcard!

black mamba

Hey Richard,

Thanks for the kind remark.

Take care,

Tom

black mamba

Hi Randy,

I find these kind of places irresistible.....I see one, I have to stop. Most folks are happy to have you look around, particularly if they're trying to sell the stuff as this guy was. I have, though, on ocassion gone up to a farm house and ask the folks if they mind if I take pictures of their old barn, etc. I always take Darlene with me when I do that....if she's with me. She can charm the skin off of a snake.

Take care,

Tom

Nikolai

Nice shot, great story!

Azzaro

Hi Tom........Was the picture shot in N.C.???? Great shot..Thoese signs go back to a time when it was important to get rubber in second gear and we looked for the Burma Shave signs.. thumb azzaro

redleash

Wonderful!!

black mamba

Hi Andrew,

Yes, the Fall kind of sets this scene off. Thanks for the kind words.

Tom

black mamba

Hey Eia,

I can see the postcard thing. It certainly is a scene representative of the area.

Tom

black mamba

Hi Nikolai,

I really appreciate the gracious comments.

Tom

Dogdots

Old signs are in demand. My neighbor just put up a sign from his grandpa's old farm machine place. Haven't been able to get a good photo of it yet.

The little red car on thetop of the shed -- I remember driving around in one of those. Sure makes me old, but it was old when I was hummin' around in it

Sorry to hear about your neighbor's illness. Sad to see someone have to say goodbye to their collection that took a lifetime to gather.

Jack'll do

Howdy Tom
Those old signs are in great condition. I too am unable to pass by places like that without stopping. Those signs remind me of the gas stations we used to pull into in the late 1950's for a dollar's worth of gas which would keep us cruisin' all weekend!

black mamba

Hi Azzaro,

Yes, this was shot up in the NC high country....just outside of West Jefferson heading on over to TN. It's an area I ride through frequently.
Burma Shave !! Boy, I haven't thought of those in years. They used to be THE THING.

Take care,

Tom

black mamba

Hi Lauren,

Thanks for looking. I'm glad you liked it.

Be well,

Tom

redleash

This one fits the whole memories theme of this Tom's thread:

Shaving brushes / You'll soon see 'em / On the shelf / In some / Museum / Burma-Shave

I have the Burma-Shave book around somewhere; my folks had it and I got the biggest kick reading it as a kid.

black mamba

That's really interesting, Lauren. I didn't know there was a Burma-Shave book, but I'm not surprised. After all, those signs were a mainstay of highway travel for a long, long time.

Tom

black mamba

Hey Mary Kim,

I think we must have all enjoyed a pedal car at some point in time. At least those of us with any age on us.

I should have been a little more clear....the sign sale was for the neighbor of the guy who owned the shed in the picture. The guy, whose family staged the sale, had at one time been a wholesale Texaco dealer. I spoke with him several times, as I would stop and shoot his barns. He had acquired all that stuff with the idea of one day selling it all.

Since he had been a dealer, much of what he had saved ( signs and even a complete pump ) were still in their factory shipping wrappers. I was told that the pump sold for over $25,000.

Dogdots

black mamba wrote:

Hey Mary Kim,

I think we must have all enjoyed a pedal car at some point in time. At least those of us with any age on us.

I should have been a little more clear....the sign sale was for the neighbor of the guy who owned the shed in the picture. The guy, whose family staged the sale, had at one time been a wholesale Texaco dealer. I spoke with him several times, as I would stop and shoot his barns. He had acquired all that stuff with the idea of one day selling it all.

Since he had been a dealer, much of what he had saved ( signs and even a complete pump ) were still in their factory shipping wrappers. I was told that the pump sold for over $25,000.

Amazing what collectors will pay for something. Will really be a bummer if the next generation doesn't want "old things"

Azzaro

redleash wrote:

This one fits the whole memories theme of this Tom's thread:

Shaving brushes / You'll soon see 'em / On the shelf / In some / Museum / Burma-Shave

I have the Burma-Shave book around somewhere; my folks had it and I got the biggest kick reading it as a kid.

I will have to find the book.....When I was a kid my favorite was...Free free a trip to Mars 900 empty jars Burma Shave..... azzaro

redleash

It's called "Verse By The Side of the Road."