Barrels, Barrels Everywhere, and Not a Drop to Drink!

Every six months or so, I get an email from someone who has a metal oil drum wanting more information about the object.  Today was the latest.  Vicky from Illinois had a metal drum marked "Property of S.O. Co. - IND." 

Above: Images from Vicky in Illinois.

Others have also emailed images wanting to know more about what they have. 

Above: Images of oil drum from Tyler in May 2010.

Above: Images of kerosene drume from Anonymous in July 2010.

Typically, my response is the same.  I tell them I am legally and ethically not allowed to provide any appraisal, i.e. assign a monetary value to the object, but I can provide some general information for them.  For Vicky, my response was the following:

The barrel looks to be very similar to others in the Museum’s collections.  These metal barrels were used to store and transport oil, often using a hand pump as well.  The “S.O. Co. – IND” probably stands for Standard Oil Company of Indiana.  After an anti-trust lawsuit in 1911, Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Trust was divided into different entities, creating Standard Oil of Indiana among others. 

 

 

Many of the oil drums are from an entity of the Standard Oil Trust after it was dissolved in 1911.  Standard Oil of New York (or Socony, later Mobil) was one such entity.  The history of Rockefeller's legacy is fascinating, but another topic for another post!