MOBILGAS PEGASUS

In the earliest days of oil refineries and filling stations, the Pegasus symbol was used by the Standard Oil Company of New York. The logo first appeared in 1911 on their gas pumps and petroleum products. When the Standard Oil Trust was broken up by the Supreme Court 1911, two of its divisions the Standard Oil Company of New York and the Vacuum Oil Company merged. The former brought with it the Pegasus logo, the latter brought the Mobilgas name.

The Pegasus appeared on Mobilgas products during 1911, but it was in 1931, with the forming of Socony-Vacuum, that it was officially adopted as a trademark. The flying horse was first colored red by an artist at the Mobil Sekiyu division in Japan. A major makeover was done in the 1930s by the commercial illustrator Robert Rex Elmer. Not only was it given a cleaner and more graphic appearance, but the horse now flew from left to right, as opposed to from right to left.

Through the years there have been gradual changes to the rendering of the red horse, but the symbol itself has stood strong. The Pegasus symbol is still used today by ExxonMobil, symbolizing imagination, power and speed.

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