A gold eagle dropping across a red sun, ringed in green, with the Ethyl antiknock badge hung beneath it like a medal. Golden Eagle spent more on this one graphic than most independents spent on an entire sign program, and it shows — five colors and a bird rendered feather by feather.
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.
Golden Eagle was the California brand of Wasatch Oil Company of Utah, later absorbed by Ultramar, and it ran up and down the West Coast through the middle of the century. The badge at the bottom dates the piece: it reads Ethyl Corporation, the name the antiknock licensor took in 1942, which places this graphic after the earlier Ethyl Gasoline Corporation marks. 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 West Coast collector, the sign hunter who cares about which Ethyl badge is on it, the restorer chasing a California-delivered car, the dad who reads a pump plate like a date stamp, and anyone who wants a bird on the chest that isn't a sports team.
The Faded Label Co. — keeping the golden age of American roadside art alive, one product at a time.
