An Arctic seal on an ice floe, icebergs behind it, rendered in two blues on white. Bolene sold gasoline in the American interior and put a polar scene on the sign, because the point wasn't geography — it was the word Blue Seal, and somebody decided to draw it literally.
Printed on a Gildan 18500 heavy blend hooded sweatshirt — 8 oz cotton-poly, classic fit, double-lined hood with a color-matched drawcord and a front pouch pocket. Tubular knit with no side seams. Tear-away label. Machine wash cold, tumble dry low.
Note the spelling around the rim: Gasolene, with an E. That variant was common in early American usage and dropped out over the 1920s and 1930s, which makes it one of the more reliable ways to place an undated sign in the earlier part of the era. A blue seal was also a common quality mark on packaged goods of the period — the pun was doing double work. This design comes from a 1980s silk screen ceramic reproduction of the original graphic, part of a set that has been in the family collection for decades.
The perfect gift for the collector who dates a sign by its spelling, the sign hunter drawn to the strangest imagery on the wall, the restorer with an early brass-era project, the dad who notices the extra E, and anyone who wants an Arctic seal on a gasoline logo for no defensible reason.
The Faded Label Co. — keeping the golden age of American roadside art alive, one product at a time.
