Rare Sinclair: Fueling a Near Century of Dinomania

AFTER NEARLY a century, oil industry giant Sinclair has been represented by a dinosaur. The company’s merchandise is solid evergreen, drawing interest from collectors of petroliana and dinosauria as well as other niches.

Sinclair’s first use of the dinosaur image was in a 1930 print advertisement, boasting that the crudes that went into their lubricants were the oldest, mellowing during the dinosaur age 270 million years ago, and therefore the best. Two years later Sinclair acquired for the trademark for “Dino.” The image represented an on-going educational outreach promoting the conservation of natural resources. Executives agreed that the dinosaur symbol was unifying and memorable, and hoped the public saw the same qualities in the Sinclair products: stamina and power. The marketing worked as “Dino” was more iconic than the animated silent sensation Gertie before him or Alley Oop’s comic strip pal Dinny. Sinclair steadily became synonymous with dinosaur and they survived the Depression with huge gains.

Explore more collector stories, vintage toy highlights, and market insights in the Antique Toy World Magazine – August 2026

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