Oil Industry and Gas Station Collectibles Bibliography

This Bibliography is based on two sources: (i) a US list compiled and edited by Guy Kudlemyer, and originally published as part of the now defunct Tiger Hightest website, and (ii) resources found in UK libraries, bookshops and online (Amazon).
Parts of this page were formerly appended to the Glossary.

It is arranged into five sections:-

1. Company Histories (including biographies of individuals associated with one company)
2. Popular Books about gas stations and roadside culture (principally from the USA)
3. Books on USA Gas Station Collectibles
4. Books on European Gas Station Collectables
5. General Books about the oil industry - a very small selection of some of the most important or widely available

Company Histories

This can only be a partial list, as many titles have been self published with small print runs. Books listed here concentrate on US and British titles. If you know of any others, then please let me know!

AGIP Frankel, Peter: Mattei Oil & Power Politics; Faber & Faber, London, ©1966

AMOCO Giddens, Paul E.: Standard Oil Co. (Indiana): Oil Pioneer of the Middle West; ©1955
AMOCO Dedmon, Emmett: Challenge and Response, A Modern History of the Standard Oil Company (Indiana); Mobium Press, Chicago, ©1984

AMPOL Simpson, Colin: Show Me a Mountain; Angus & Robertson, ©1961

ASHLAND Scott, OJ: The Exception; McGraw Hill, New York; ©1968

AZUR Un Siècle d'Industrie Française du Pétrole; Desmarais Frères, Paris, ©1961
AZUR d'Azur à Total - Desmarais Frères, le premier grand pétrolier français, Editions Drivers, Toulouse, ©2007

BP BP Fifty Years in Pictures; BP, London, ©1959
BP Longhurst, Henry: Adventure in Oil; Sidgwick & Jackson, London, ©1959
BP Ritchie, Berry: Portrait in Oil; James X James, London, ©1995
BP Bamberg, Johnson & Shaw: BP100 The First Hundred Years in Pictures; wonderlandWPA London, ©2009
BP Rowland, John & Lord Cadman: Ambassador for Oil: The Life and Times of the First Lord Cadman; Herbert Jenkins, London, ©1960
BP Anderson, JRL: East of Suez, Hodder & Stoughton, London, ©1969
BP Bamberg, JH: The History of the British Petroleum Company, Volume 2, The Anglo-Iranian Years, 1928-1954; Cambridge University Press, ©1994
BP Bamberg, JH: British Petroleum Company and Global Oil, 1950-75 The Challenge of Nationalism; Cambridge University Press, ©2000
BP Förster, Fren: Geschichte der Deutschen BP; Reuter & Klöckner, Hamburg, ©1979

BURMAH Corley, TAB: A History of the Burmah Oil Company, Volume I, 1886-1924, Volume II, 1924-66; Heinemann, London ©1983,1988

CARLESS Liveing, E: Pioneers of Petrol - a history of Carless, Capel & Leonard; Witherby, ©1959
CARLESS Pugh, P: Carless, Capel & Leonard PLC; ©1986

CASTROL Seymour-Ure, Kirsty (ed.): The First 100 Years; Bloomsbury, London, ©1998

CHEVRON Formative Years in the Far West (to 1919); Appleton Century Crofts, New York, ©1962
CHEVRON Standard Oil Co. of California: One Hundred Years helping to create the Future; ©1979

CITIES SERVICE Ellis, William Donohue: On the Oil Lands with Cities Service; ©1983

CONOCO Continental Oil Corp: Conoco The First 100 Years; Dell, New York, ©1975

DEA RWE-DEA: 100 Jahre RWE-DEA; Hamburg, © 1999

DUCKHAMS Wager, Robin: The Duckham's Story A Century of Fighting Friction; Haynes, Sparkford, © 1999

ESSO Larson + Porter: History of Humble Oil & Refining Company; Harper Bros, New York, ©1997

FINA Dumoulin, Michel: Petrofina - un Groupe Pétrolier International et la Gestion de L'Incertitude; Ed. Peeters, Louvain, ©1997

KESOIL Matti Toivonen: Kesoilin tarina: 1949-1996; Neste markkinointi, Liikennepalvelu, ©1998

MARATHON Spence, Hartcell: Portrait in Oil; McGraw Hill, New York, ©1962

MOBIL Mobil Oil UK: Mobil into the second century; Jaguar Press, London, ©1985
MOBIL Mobil Finland: Satularasvasta täyssynteettiseen 130-vuotias Mobil 90 vuotta Suomessa; Mobil, Helsinki, ©1996

NATIONAL Young, E.: Forty Years of Motoring 1919-59: The Story of National Benzole; Stanley Paul, London, ©1959

OK/IC Stolpe, Hermann: Olja i Samköp; Rabén & Sjögren, Stockholm, ©1967
OK Detta är OK; OK, Stockholm?, © 1984

PETRONAS Bowie, Paddie: A Vision Realised; Kuala Lumpur, ©2001
PETRONAS Hashim, Ishmail: The Young Turks of Petronas; Ismail Hashim, Kuala Lumpur, ©2004

PHILLIPS 66 Wertz, William C. (editor): Phillips-The First 66 Years; ©1983
PHILLIPS 66 Wallis, Michael: Oil Man: The Story of Frank Phillips and the Birth of Phillips Petroleum; ©1988

RICHFIELD Jones, Charles S.: From the Rio Grande to the Arctic: The Story of the Richfield Oil Corporation; University of Oklahoma Press, ©1972

SHELL The Royal Dutch Petroleum Company 1890-1950; Nijgh & van Ditmar, The Hague, ©1950
SHELL Beaton, Kendall: Enterprise In Oil: A History of Shell in the United States; Appleton Century Crofts, New York, ©1957
SHELL Bearsted: A biography of Marcus Samuel; Kelley, New York, © 1970
SHELL Howarth, Stephen: A Century in Oil; Weidenfeld & Nicholson, London, © 1997
SHELL Cooke, Peter: Shell in New Zealand; © 2004 - this book was claimed to have a large number of errors and led to an unofficial corrected version published under the name She'll be right at last in 2007 by Martin Whitfield Foster (which is available internationally by e-mail)

SIGNAL Tompkins, WA: Little Giant of Signal Hill: An Adventure in American Enterprise; Prentice-Hall, ©1964

SINCLAIR Sinclair Oil Corporation: A Great Name In Oil: Sinclair Through 50 Years; ©1966

SKELLY Ironside, Roberta: An Adventure Called Skelly; Appleton Century Crofts, New York, ©1970

STANDARD OIL Tarbell, Ida M.: The History of the Standard Oil Company; abridged reprint by Harper, ©1966
STANDARD OIL Chernow, Ron: Titan - the Life of John D. Rockefeller; Little Brown & Co, New York, ©1998
STANDARD OIL Henderson, Wayne; Benjamin, Scott: Standard Oil: The First 125 Years; ©1996

SUNOCO Giebelhaus, August W.: Business and Government in the Oil Industry: A Case Study of Sun Oil, 1876-1945; ©1947
SUNOCO Sun Oil Co.: Centennial Celebration: The Story of Sun Company; ©1986

TEXACO James, Marquis: The Texaco Story: The First Fifty Years 1902-1952; ©1953
TEXACO A Century of Energy; Texaco Inc, New York, ©2001

TOTAL Rondot, J: La Compagnie Française de Pétroles du franc-or au pétrole-franc; Plon, Paris, ©1962
TOTAL 1924/99 The Story of Total; Energies (magazine), Paris, ©1999

ULTRAMAR Atterbury, Paul; MacKenzie, Julia: A Golden Adventure: 50 Years of Ultramar; ©1985

UNION Erkki Lies-Alho & Ilkka Lavonius: Kuusikymmentä öljytippaa: Unionin historiikki 1931-1991; Helsinki; ©1991

UNION 76 Welty + Taylor: The Black Bonanza; McGraw Hill, New York, ©1956
UNION 76 Welty + Taylor: The 76 Bonanza; Lane Magazine & Book Co, ©1966
UNION 76 Waddell, Paul R.; Niven, Robert F.: Sign of the 76: The Fabulous Life and Times of the Union Oil Company of California; ©1977
UNION 76 Pedersen, Barbara L.: Unocal 1890-1990: A Century of Spirit; ©1990

YACCO Chauvin, Xavier: YACCO: L'huile des records du monde; Éditions E-T-A-I, F-92160 Antony, ©2011

Books about Gas Stations and Roadside Culture

As many of the books were published over 10 years ago, more recent information can be found in magazines such as Check The Oil! and Petroleum Collectibles Monthly, although both tend to be focused on the USA.

Anderson, Warren H.: Vanishing Roadside America; ©1981

Baeder, John: Gas, Food & Lodging: A Post Card Odyssey Through The Great American Roadside; ©1982

Baker, Eric; Blik, Tyler: Trademarks of the '40's and '50's; ©1985

Baker, Eric; Blik, Tyler: Trademarks of the '20's and '30's; ©1985

Benjamin, Scott: Guide to Gasoline Logos; ©1997

Brouws, Jeffrey: Twenty-Six Abandoned Gasoline Stations; ©1992

Bush, Donald J.: The Streamlined Decade; ©1975

Davies, Vivian; Kuna, Darin: California's Route 66; ©1993

Draeger, James & Jim; Speltz Mark: Fill 'Er Up: The Glory Days of Wisconsin's Gas Stations; ©2008

Drivas, Larry T.; Powell, J. Peterson: Gas and Oil Trademarks, Volume 3; ©1992

Dubois, Thierry: C'était la Nationale 7; 3rd edition, ©2012

Gordijn, Araun: Alle Benzinestations (All Fillingstations) 1988-2008 - Schilderijen (Paintings); ©2009

Grassi, Decio; Bossaglia, Rossana: Gasoline; ©1995

Henderson, Wayne; Benjamin, Scott: Gas Stations; ©1994

Jakle, John A., and Sculle, Keith A.: The Gas Station in America; ©1994

Kirn, M. (editor): American Service Stations; ©1995

Kirn, M. (editor): Phillips 66: 1945-1953; ©1995

Liebs, Chester: Main Street To Miracle Mile: American Roadside Architecture; © 1985

Love, Ed: Gas and Oil Trademarks, Volume 2; ©1990

Love, Ed; Drivas, Larry T.: Gas and Oil Trademarks, Volume 1; ©1988

Love, Ed: Gas Stations and Related Designs, Volumes 2, 3, & 4: United States Design Patents, Series One, Vols. 2, 3 & 4; ©1990, 1990, 1992

Margolies, John: The End of the Road: Vanishing Highway Architecture in America; ©1981

Margolies, John: Pump and Circumstance; ©1993

Margolies, John: Pump and Circumstance: 30 Gas Station Postcards; ©1993

Margolies, John; Gwathmey, Emily: Signs of Our Time; ©1993

McCabe, Max; Love, Ed: Gas Stations and Related Designs, Volume 1: United States Design Patents, Series 1; ©1989

Morgan, Hal: Symbols of America: A Lavish Celebration of America's Best-Loved Trademarks and the Products They Symbolize-Their History, Folklore and Enduring Mystique; ©1986

National Trust for Historic Preservation: Ducks and Diners; ©1989

National Trust for Historic Preservation: Mostly Moderne: Views From America's Past; ©1989

Paganoni, Giovanni: Gas Station; ©1992

Partridge, Bellamy: Fill'er Up!: The Story of Fifty Years of Motoring; ©1952

Polster, Berndt: Super oder Normal; ©1996

Ruscha, Edward: Twenty-Six Gasoline Stations; ©1962

Russell, Tim: Fill 'er Up! The Great American Gas Station; ©2007

Vieyra, Daniel I.: Fill 'Er Up: An Architectural History of America's Gas Stations; ©1979

Witzel, Michael Karl: The American Gas Station; ©1992

Witzel, Michael Karl: Gas Station Memories; ©1994

Witzel, Michael Karl : Route 66 Remembered; ©1996

Wood, Donald F.: Gas & Oil Trucks; ©1997

Gas Station Collectibles

There was a rash of volumes in the mid to late 1990s, with competition between Schiffer Publishing and Motorbooks International leading to sometimes similar titles being issued. Most of these titles can still be found secondhand on Amazon, although some command high prices.

Anderson, Scott: Check The Oil: Gas Station Collectibles With Prices; ©1986

Ball, Robert W. D.: Texaco Collectibles; ©1994

Bender, Rob & Tammy Cannoy: Mobil Collectibles: Chasing the Red Horse; ©1999

Benjamin, Scott: Gasoline Pump Globes: Amoco to Mobil and Affiliates; ©1999
Benjamin, Scott: Gasoline Pump Globes: Pennzoil to Union and Affiliates; ©1999

Benjamin, Scott; Henderson, Wayne: Gas Pump Globes; ©1993

Benjamin, Scott; Henderson, Wayne: Mobil Collector's and Price Guide; ©1998
Benjamin, Scott; Henderson, Wayne: Sinclair Collectibles; ©1997
Benjamin, Scott; Henderson, Wayne: Texaco Collectors Guide; ©1997

Conroy, Bob; Love, Ed: Master List of United States Oil Containers, Sixth Edition; ©1992

Funk, Tom (editor): Mobilia Sourcebook; ©1997

Helms, Todd P.: The CONOCO Collector's Bible; ©1995

Henderson, Wayne; Benjamin, Scott: Gas Pump Collectors Guide; ©1995
Henderson, Wayne; Benjamin, Scott: Oil Company Signs: A Collector's Guide; ©1996

Lee, Bob: Gilbert & Barker Gilbarco, Inc.: A Pictorial History of the Growth of a Great Company; ©1989
Lee, Bob: S. F. Bowser & Co., Inc., Vol. 1; ©1989
Lee, Bob: Tokheim Pump Co., Ft. Wayne, Indiana: An Illustrated History 1901-1980; ©1980

Love, Ed; Wicks, Ollie: American Oil Can Encyclopedia, Volume 1; ©1989
Love, Ed; Wicks, Ollie: American Oil Can Encyclopedia, Volume 2; ©1991
Love, Ed; Wicks, Ollie: American Oil Can Encyclopedia, Volume 3; ©1992

McIntyre, Sam J.: The Esso Collectibles Handbook: Memorabilia from Standard Oil of New Jersey ; ©1998

Miller, W. Clark & Sonewald, Sabra: Collecting Oil Cans; ©1996
Miller, W. Clark & Sonewald, Sabra: More Oil Cans for the Collector; ©2001

Miller, W. Clark & Sonewald, Sabra: An Unauthorised Guide to Collecting Sohio

Moncrief, David J.: Got A Drop of Oil: Price Guide to Small Oilers; ©1998

Pease, Rick: Filling Station Collectibles; ©1996

Pease, Rick: A Tour with Texaco; ©1999

Sim, Jack: An Illustrated Guide to Gas Pumps: Identification and Price Guide; ©2003

Whitworth, Charles: Gulf Oil Collectibles; ©1998
Whitworth, Charles: More Gulf Oil Collectibles: An unauthorized guide; ©1999

Yorke, Douglas A. Jr.; Margolies, John; Baker, Eric: Hitting The Road: The Art of the American Road Map; ©1996

European Petrol Station Collectables

There are many fewer European titles, although some more general Swedish and German titles cross over into collectables. Some of the titles listed are self published, and so may only be obtained direct from the author or through specialist retailers.

Berry, Mike: Petroleum Collectables; (A Shire book) ©2004

Chandler, Alan: Petroliana.co.uk The first book...; ©2006
Chandler, Alan: Petroliana.co.uk The Hunt; ©2009
Chandler, Alan: Petroliana On Location; ©2012
Alan Chandler's latest books can be purchased from the petroliana.co.uk website.

Defradat, Serge: C'est Shell que j'aime! 1919-2009; ©2010

Rihet, Bruno: Au fil de l'Huile; ©2006
Rihet, Bruno: Au fil de l'Huile 2; ©2011

Two books about petrol tankers, both from the UK:

Edge, Graham: A Century of Petroleum Transport; ©1998

Sheryn, Hinton J.: An iilustrated history of Road Tankers; ©2001

General Books about the oil industry

The following titles are slightly randomly selected. Of the UK titles, the books by Christopher Tugendhat and Anthony Sampson were perhaps groundbreaking. Marcello Minale's book is the only design-led book looking at modern service stations. Apart from the World Petroleum Directory, the annual FT Oil and Gas Yearbook (formerly known as Skinner's) and the Oil & Gas Journal annual directories can be valuable for providing company summaries.

Anderson, Robert O.: Fundamentals of the Petroleum Industry; ©1984

Cone, Andrew; Johns, Walter R.: Petrolia: A Brief History of the Pennsylvania Petroleum Region; ©1994

Dolson, Hildegard: They Struck Oil: the first oil rush: Pennsylvania 1859-80; ©1959

Hamilton, Adrian: OIL The Price of Power; ©1986

Minale, Marcello: How to Design a Successful Petrol Station; ©2000

Palmer, Russell: World Petroleum Directory, 1st Edition, 1932-33; ©1933

Sampson, Anthony: The Seven Sisters: The Great Oil Companies and the World They Made; ©1975

Tugendhat, Christopher: OIL The Biggest Business; ©1968

Williamson, Harold F., Andreano, Ralph L., Daum, Arnold R., Klose, Gilbert C.: The American Petroleum Industry: The Age of Energy, 1899-1959; ©1963