Associated Oil Company started as thirty-four separate outfits agreeing to stop competing and start merging. Founded in San Francisco in 1901, Associated built its business across the Pacific West Coast before creating the Flying A brand in 1932 for its premium-grade fuel — a name that would eventually outlive the Associated brand itself.
Printed on a soft, broken-in cotton twill cap with deliberate distressing built in from day one. Unstructured, low-profile construction with a curved visor, self-fabric hideaway strap, and metal D-ring for an adjustable fit. Each hat carries slight natural variation in distress and color, so no two wear in exactly the same way. Spot clean with warm water and dish soap; a soft-bristled brush handles the stubborn spots.
By the mid-1930s, Associated merged with Tide Water Oil Company to form Tidewater Associated Oil Co., and the Flying A name gradually took over as the company's primary brand across the system. The Associated name itself hung on regionally into the 1950s before being phased out entirely — which makes original Associated-branded pieces a genuine bridge between two eras of West Coast oil history.
The perfect gift for petroliana collectors who track West Coast oil history, classic car enthusiasts, Flying A collectors filling in the brand's earlier chapter, garage and man-cave decorators, and gas station history buffs.
The Faded Label Co. — keeping the golden age of American roadside art alive, one product at a time.
