Standard Oil had the Red Crown. The independents answered with a red top hat, stars around the band, and no pretense whatsoever about what they were doing. It was a parody, it was registered as a trademark anyway, and Standard of Indiana went to court over it.
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.
The Independent Oil Men of America registered Red Hat in June 1925 and lost the right to use it across fourteen Standard of Indiana states plus Nebraska, phased out by 1932. Everywhere else it kept running — marketers in Texas and elsewhere were still hanging Red Hat signs into the early 1960s. Look at the bottom of this one and you'll find the association thunderbird, the mark that tied all of it together. 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 knows the Red Hat story, the sign hunter working states where the mark survived, the restorer with a shop full of small-brand cans, the dad who enjoys a good corporate grudge, and anyone who thinks the underdog had the better logo.
The Faded Label Co. — keeping the golden age of American roadside art alive, one product at a time.
