Ethyl Cards
Description: In early internal combustion engines, “knocking” resulted from the out-of-sequence detonation of the gasoline-air mixture in a cylinder. The constant shock added to exhaust valve wear and frequently damaged engines. After five years of lab work to find an additive to eliminate pre-ignition “knock” problems of gasoline, General Motors researchers Thomas Midgely Jr. and Charles Kettering discovered the anti-knock properties of tetraethyl lead. Their early experiments had examined the properties of knock suppressors such as bromine, iodine and tin – and compare these to new additives such as arsenic, sulfur, silicon and lead.
Description: Boston's Beacon Oil Company was founded in 1919 and named after the city’s Beacon Hill. By 1992 they had opened more than 350 service stations throughout New York State and New England, most of which used elements of the 1700s era Massachusetts State House. This design emphasized the colonial past with its use of the State House dome, columns, balustrade and the prominent lantern which was humorously enough, mistaken for a typical coastal lighthouse. Beacon ran with the greater public perception and eventually played up the lighthouse in their logo design, including this 1942 example. Sometime in the '50s, Standard Oil of New Jersey bought out Beacon and all of their service station were converted to Esso stations.
Description: Sav'n Sam's Service Stations were found primarily throughout California, though did make their way into Nevada and possibly Oregon. They were an independent chain that carried 3 grades of gasoline, Regular, Ethyl, and Super Ethyl. The original artwork has been painstakingly recreated from resource material to create a nice, authentic t-shirt where Sav'n Sam can live on!
Description: Phillips 66 With Ethyl Woolaroc Oklahoma by Debra Martz I had forgotten all about the years of fuel with Ethyl until I saw it on this antique gasoline pump!! A 1927 vintage cottage style station which was built at the Bartlesville, OK airport and in service until 1948, is now located just inside the Woolaroc entrance. Late in 2014 it was moved to the grounds of Woolaroc and a short while later it underwent a full restoration. In 1925 oilman Frank Phillips built a ranch retreat, Woolaroc, on 3,700 acres in the Osage Hills in northern Oklahoma. Today it is a wildlife preserve, home to many species of native and exotic animals and includes a large museum with an outstanding collection of western art and artifacts, Native American ma...
