Rare Auction Showcases the Golden Age of Brand Iconography

In June, 2018, RM Sotheby’s held the last of three auctions it conducted of the entire Dingman Collection of automobiliana and historical neon signs. In 2012, a similar auction they held generated $ 9.88 million in sales.

While many will be there to purchase one of the 25 mint-condition automobiles in the collection, just as many will be out to secure one of the nearly extinct ribbons of electric light that once beckoned the American consumer, brand giants from both the past and present.

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The RM Sotheby’s auction of the Dingman Collection is a rare opportunity to see these completely refurbished signs in all their glory.

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Courtesy RM Sothebys

For Michael Dingman, it was automobile advertising that first stole his heart.

The billionaire tycoon who for 21 years, served on the board of General Motors and who in the span of four decades collected an astounding collection of Automobiliana, including hundreds of consumer product signs.

Arguably the pinnacle of American advertising occurred from the 1930’s through the 1950’s when brands put heavy investment in signs of all kinds, along the highways and boulevards of its golden cities.

Many, like the Camel cigarettes sign in New York’s Times Square, became tourist attractions all their own.

In those days, cities were defined by signs; the glow of neon and rich graphic iconography were a symphony of light that underscored modern 20^th century life. For the newly minted middle-class, signs were a lurid lullaby of commercial desire: Arrow Shirts, Ovaltine, 7-up, and Oldsmobile.

Courtesy RM Sotheby’s

Courtesy RM Sotheby’s

While the Dingman Collection put an emphasis on Ford, Dingman was equally enthralled by the artistry of neon and enamel signs in general. He saw the slow decline of the art form and began collecting as much out of love as out of a desire to memorialize.

By the 1960’s and 70’s, most cities had decreed that signs had overtaken the skylines and many were dismantled or destroyed. Few original signs remain today, which is why the RM Sotheby’s auction of the Dingman Collection is a rare opportunity to see these completely refurbished signs in all their glory – before they disappear once again into a private collection.

Courtesy RM Sotheby’s

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