I was looking at some old 1926 year fuel delivery invoices from a Standard Oil bulk plant to a little country post-office/general-store.

The largest gas delivery was 40 gallons of Crown Gasoline at 26-cents/gallon.

There were also purchases of "Fire-Proof Oil" for 11-cents/gallon.

What was "Fire-Proof Oil" ??

Also, there were purchases of regular grade Polarine at 45-cents/gallon, with only five gallons per purchase.

There were three grades of Polarine, being regular, medium, and heavy-duty.

What was Polarine; and, what was it used for ??

Polarine was almost twice the cost of gasoline.

These invoices were for an old country store, which my cousin currently owns, that, in the time-period of the fuel purchases, would have had more team-and-wagon trade, by far, than automotive customers.

Thanks.

 

http://www.amespubliclibrary.org/far...n/Pub14116.htm

Polarine seems to be a brand.

 

That makes sense.

Possibly bulk engine-oil ??

 

Yep, Polarine was a brand of motor oil.

The Fire-Proof oil was lamp oil. Basically kerosene. They called it "Fire-Proof" because most of the low flash point stuff (like gasoline) had been refined out.

 

I didn't figure you to be old enough to know it by the name "lamp oil".

When I was a young lad, at our little filling-station, Hometown Oil to be exact, we actually had two seperate pumps for "lamp oil"; one pump was coal-oil, and the other was Kerosene.

Some preferred one, over the other, and many got rather distressed, when the refinery finally dropped the coal-oil.

I never thought of either as being "fire-proof", though.

 

Grandpa always refered to them as coal oil lamps and I guess I picked it up from him. Ever time I see one of the old coal oil style or a Dietz lantern I think of him calling them that.