I don't know about the gargoyle - but the flying horse was the symbol of the
Magnolia Petroleum Company (still is atop the Magnolia Building in Dallas).
Magnolia merged with Socony Mobil in 1959 to become Mobil.  Socony Mobil was
formed, I think, out of some Standard Oil subsidiaries - one of which may
have been Sinclair - which used the dinosaur as its symbol.  How
appropriate!

Stephen P. Austin

----- Original Message -----
From: "Dendy, John" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, February 17, 2003 12:52 PM
Subject: Re: GARGOYLE brand cans


> Does anybody else find the transformation of the gargolye to a flying
horse
> interesting? Who did the MR for Mobiloil in those days, or is this just a
> simple transition in form?
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Robert Keeler
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Sent: 2/17/2003 10:55 AM
> Subject: Re: GARGOYLE brand cans
>
> I saw that show too; but I thought the reason the cans were so valuable
> to collectors was that they dated from the 1880s, not 1905, and that
> many were in a remarkable state of preservation having landed in wood
> chips under the house rather than in the dirt.
>
> >>> [log in to unmask] 02/16/03 12:51AM >>>
> Who would have thought oil cans would have a market. This evening I saw
> a guy
> at Antiques Road Show who found a pile of cans from around 1905 under a
> house he was restoring. Those cans are collectible, some fetching up to
> $400
> each. Just astonishing. Of course, estate sale cans from a garage are
> fair
> game.
>
> Ron May
> Legacy 106, Inc.