For the love of an era
A treasured Petroliana collection comes to auction
The Jason Patzer Collection of Gas, Oil and General Store Advertising comes to auction on November 15th at Miller & Miller.
Jay Patzer didn’t exactly choose to collect Petroliana.
“It chose me,” he says. “I really enjoyed the treasure hunt and once you get digging and learn the history, well, you’re hooked.”
Over the years Jay gathered more than 350 pieces of Petroliana, 90 per cent of it Canadian and with a focus on the rarer pieces. He also couldn’t resist a few American GMC and Chevrolet pieces.
A builder of luxury homes in the London, Ontario area, Jay is a man who embraces change and enjoys a challenge. This is why he’s decided to sell his impressive collection - to clear the way for something new, something else to collect, but what that is has yet to be determined.
And so, his Petroliana collection will now be sold at Miller & Miller’s November 15th sale Patzer’s Petroliana: Gas, Oil, Soda and General Store Advertising.
Highlights from the Jason Patzer Collection coming to Miller & Miller on November 15. Click each item to view in the online catalogue.
During his many four-hour drives to the family cottage, Jay would keep his eyes open for ‘finds’, stopping along the way at farms that looked like they might have something of interest lying around. During one trip on the way home he developed a slow leak in one of his tires and pulled into an old garage that had an air pump outside. An elderly man came out to help and offered to plug the hole. While they were talking Jay noticed an old White Rose oil can inside the station. “Was this a White Rose station at one point?” Jay asked. “It was when my dad owned it,” replied the man, who looked close to 80, adding, “the signs are all gone now, but if you want to climb up into the attic and poke around you’re welcome to.”
(The White Rose brand was offered by Canadian Oil Companies, Limited who eventually sold to Shell in 1963.) Jay jumped at the man’s offer and quickly discovered 150 White Rose related quart cans in five original boxes, all covered in dust and grease. They had all had been opened underneath so they could still be displayed and look unused. Jay paid the man more than he asked for the lot and off he drove, tire happily repaired and a load of greasy treasures on board. Once Jay cleaned them up, they looked like new again. “People can’t believe this stuff still happens,” he says.
The Hot Shot Antifreeze Tins pictured above were among Patzer’s finds at a service station he stopped at on his way home from his family cottage after discovering a leaking tire. They are offered as lot 405 in the online-only evening segment of the November 15th sale.
Another time, someone brought him a minnitoy tanker truck and offered it to him at a fraction of its value. Jay snapped it up, but soon discovered through an online posting that it had been stolen during a break-in at another dealer’s residence. Jay contacted the dealer and told him to come pick it up. He didn’t want anything to do with stolen goods and he sympathized with the victim, who he knew. Unfortunately, while the minnitoy tanker was sitting on a table it somehow rolled off onto the floor and crashed into a valuable gas pump globe, smashing it. “Poltergeist,” says Jay jokingly, still a hint of regret in his voice.
A peek inside Jay Patzer’s collection display before it was dismantled for the upcoming auction.
Not surprisingly most of the highlights in the Nov. 15th auction are Petroliana related and mostly Canadian. They include a double-sided porcelain 5-foot Supertest dealer sign bearing the rare script that was only used by the company from 1957 to 1962 (estimate CA$12,000 to $15,000). Another double-sided porcelain sign is the White Rose sign in the rare six-foot size (estimate CA$9,000 to $12,000).
Two diecut porcelain signs are also expected to turn heads: a General Motors sign featuring the short-lived McLaughlin Buick brand is expected to hit CA$9000 to $12,000 and an oversized Ford V-8 sign is estimated at CA$20,000 to $25,000.
Lot 98 - General Motors Sign with Chevrolet Oldsmobile Service Hanging Signs. The period images above depict similar versions of this sign in the type of setting where it would have originally been displayed. Photos courtesy of Don Cooper.
Lot 189 - Ford V8 Dealer Sign. The historical image above is a representation of how this sign may have looked hanging in front of a Ford Dealership.
Jay says he chose Miller & Miller Auctions to handle the sale of his collection for a number of reasons. “I’ve met the guys and I know they’ll do a great job for me and I totally trust them. I also like the way they do their auctions,” he says. “I especially enjoy the live auction part of the process. So many auctions these days are exclusively online and there’s no personal involvement. I enjoy the competition and the excitement of a live auction. Miller & Miller has also made it easy for Americans to buy – and a world market versus a local market is always preferable.”
For Jay, it’s been a joy collecting Petroliana and he loves the history. But he also recognizes that the stories from the era reside with the people who lived and worked through those times. And they are diminishing in numbers.
“We’re running out of people who have first-hand knowledge of this stuff. We’re losing those guys, which is sad.”
By Diane Sewell
Diane Sewell has been a writer for more than 25 years, producing feature stories for some of the country’s top newspapers and consumer magazines, as well as client newsletters and commissioned books.
SALE INFORMATION:
Gas, Oil & General Store Advertising | The Jason Patzer Collection
November 15, 2025. 9am EST
A Miller & Miller Online Webcast Auction
Please note: An additional selection of items from the Jason Patzer Collection will be offered in an online-only evening segment on November 15th. Lots will automatically close in lot order beginning at 6pm EST. Click here to view.
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