Looking forward to the upcoming Miller & Miller Petroliana and Advertising auction coming up June 13 and 14 – it’s got some astonishing pieces, including a number of items from the Cliff Love Collection. If you know early Fords, or just Fords, you likely known Cliff Love’s name. He was a master of the Model T and collected spectacular pieces from the gas and oil industry and the auto industry, especially, of course, Ford. With a keen eye for originality and condition, the Miller and Miller sale really has some amazing pieces on offer, many of which are guaranteed by The Authentication Company and eligible for free delivery to the Check the Oil Show on June 26. And, if Cars are more your thing, Miller and Miller will be bringing a lovely assortment of motor vehicles to the market on June 14, overlapping with the Petroliana and Advertising sale. Fun days, what a way to launch into summer! Take a look below.
Featured Lots
An Online Webcast Auction
June 13, 2026 at 9 AM EST
Bidding currently open. - LEARN MORE!
An Online Only Auction
June 14, 2026 at 6 PM EST Bidding currently open. - LEARN MORE!
Lot 158 - Single Sided Porcelain Die Cut "Ford The Universal Car" Sign
This winged pyramid “Ford The Universal Car” sign is a stunning example of a very rare piece of early Ford signage. Said to have been used between 1912 and 1916, the sign was normally found promoting Fords in the Canadian market. This particular sign was mounted to the front of the Duncan Garage in Duncan on Vancouver Island. Opened in 1913, it was one of the biggest garages on the island, servicing cars and trucks and eventually running the town’s ambulance and hearse service, as well as a fire truck and horse-drawn carriages. The Duncan Garage was massive, and this sign reflects it: measuring 35.5”x119.5,” the sign is presented as having excellent color and gloss with only minor imperfections to speak of.
Lot 209 - Canadian Tire Corp
With a terrific story in Canadian automotive history, Canadian Tire Corp was first established in 1927 with this inverted pyramid logo emerging in 1929. This single-sided porcelain die-cut neon sign is marked “Macy Neon” on both lower edges and is presented with very good color and gloss, suffering only minor streaks, hazing, and chips. The neon was replaced to the original specification and a replacement can was installed.
Lot 214 - Ford Punched Tin Smaltz Dealer Sign
Measuring 40.5”x70.75”x5.25,” this sign hails back to the 1910s and 1920s and features a hand-punched tin surface coated in smaltz, a finely cut glass or pigmented sand that shimmered in the sunlight. Really a stunning sight. The punched tin holes allowed for the incandescent light within to backlight the holes in the tin surface. Retaining much of the original smaltz, the paint is stable and retains a rich coloring.
Lot 114 - GM General Motors Products Neon Sign
One of the most sought-after neons by Canadian collectors, the “GM General Motors Products” sign was used only in 1940-41 and again in 1945. Using the red maple leaf, which was beginning to eclipse the more common green maple leaf, the sign was made by Vilas Emamal Products, which paused manufacturing for the 1942 through mid-1945, when it resumed making the sign. Rarity is an understatement here, for sure. Of the 800 or so GM dealerships across Canada during those 1940s, this sign is believed to have come from Beny Chevrolet Oldsmobile, Ltd. in Lethbridge, Alberta. Presenting with excellent color and gloss with minor chips on both sides, this is one of those lightning in a bottle moments for sure.
Lot 157 - 42" DSP McColl-Frontenac Red Indian Sign
Presented with excellent color and gloss, both sides have imperfections but none of them, even collectively, detract from the stunning nature of this sign, with a design described as “high-contrast minimalism.” The original frame is pitted and overpainted, but again nothing is out of line for the age. Produced by Vilas Enamel Products in its first year, the sign features one of Canada’s most iconic and valuable trademarks with three bold colors defining the Red Indian logo even from afar. Interesting note, when Texaco bought McColl-Frontenac in 1941, it ordered all the branded signs removed and destroyed. While many actually survived the onslaught, this sign remains one of the most elusive in the hobby.
Lot 188 - SSP Good Rich Safety Tires "Mountie" Vertical Sign
A remarkably desirable sign, it predates when Goodrich would become one word with a stylized “G” separating the two prior to 1940. Using a Royal Canadian Mounted Police Officer, the Canadian symbol of safety, was technically illegal in the day, but conveyed the message that Good Rich tires were safe to use. This sign shows excellent color and gloss with minor porcelain loss and a few chips.
Lot 74 - Chevrolet Oldsmobile Neon Dealer Sign
This double-sided sign shows blemishes and some light restoration work, but presents gorgeously. The neon has been replaced to original specifications along with new hardware. Retaining its original can, with bends and creases, it contains a replacement transformer. Used during the late 1940s through the early 1950s, this sign is considered odd by some as it promotes GM’s entry-level brand, Chevrolet, and its mid-level brand, Oldsmobile.The idea, of course, was to encourage the rung-purchasing system developed by GM allowing people to spend their car-buying lives at GM. Buy a Chevrolet early in your life, graduate to a Pontiac, then an Oldsmobile, then a Buick, then a Cadillac. While this might be the reasoning behind this sign, the leap from Chevrolet to Oldsmobile is odd, and we can’t help but wonder if this sign simply hailed from Beny Chevrolet Oldsmobile dealership as referenced in Lot 114. Regardless, it’s a very cool sign.
