What a better way to establish the superiority of your brand by calling it “Pennant”? I think it is safe to assume that the word pennant connotates a winner or champion, so naming an automobile oil “Pennant”, you would assume this oil is going to help your car run either fast or extremely well! And for a car owner, you want performance, and if you are a man, typically speed. The Pierce Oil Company did a great job in naming their flagship brand of oil Pennant, and possibly by doing that, the brand became one of the leading brands of auto oil in the early 1900’s. The logo often found on Pennant Oil advertising products is featured on this metal sign, that being, “Efficient and Economical”. Besides this sign, collectors can oftentimes find old tin oil rocker cans with the Pennant Logo and name on them too.
The Pierce-Pennant Oil Company was a successor to the Waters-Pierce Oil Company, and was founded in 1855 by Henry Pierce and W.H. Waters. This company was primarily known as one of the largest distributors of Standard Oil Products in the early 1900’s. As fast as this company skyrocketed to a leadership position in the oil industry, the demise came as fast when the Saint Louis based company sold out to the Sinclair Refining Company in 1930.