This is the pecten before it went flat. A realistic scallop shell in tan and cream, shaded like a natural history plate, sitting in a red inner ring on a field of soft ochre — the Shell mark back when it was still trying to look like an actual shell rather than a symbol of one.
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 ring reads Petroleum Products rather than naming a grade, which makes it a general company mark rather than a pump sign for a specific fuel. The pecten went through a long series of simplifications across the century, each version flatter and more geometric than the last, until it arrived at the hard-edged shape used today. Collectors sort Shell signage by how literal the shell still is. This one is early.
The perfect gift for the collector who can date a pecten at a glance, the designer interested in how a mark evolves, the restorer with a period-correct service bay, the dad who remembers when the shell had shading, and anyone who prefers the version before the redesign.
The Faded Label Co. — keeping the golden age of American roadside art alive, one product at a time.
