Advertising thermometers first appeared in the 1900s and were widespread in the United States by the 1920s. Intended to be hung outside, the earliest were made of metals like tin, plus wood. Eventually, they were also made out of the same material as porcelain signs. Common shapes for vintage advertising thermometers include round signs with hands like a clock, and vertical rectangular or die-cut signs with a mercury meter in the middle. The sign might be cut into an ovoid “cigar-shape” or a soda bottle.
At the turn of the century, America was largely a rural nation, and it was difficult for advertisers to get the word out about their products. Most farming communities might not have a newspaper or even a train station nearby, so the local general store or diner would be the place people would gather to hear the latest news and gossip.
Traveling salesmen would often come bearing gifts, like beautiful tin or porcelain signs shilling their products, for the owner of the café, gas station, or the five-and-dime to hang at their establishment. Companies like Coca-Cola figured out that if an advertisement were also a utilitarian object, such as a chalkboard, a light fixture, or a clock, it would stay up at the store longer than an ordinary sign...
That’s why companies of all stripes began producing outdoor advertising thermometers in the 1920s. They were made by beverage, food, tobacco, automotive, and agricultural firms, as well as the health-care industry. These were hugely popular in rural areas, because knowing the temperature, as well as the wind direction, was key to predicting the weather.
Big brands like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, NeHi, Mail Pouch Tobacco, Hills Bros. Coffee, John Deere, Pabst, Sunbeam Bread, Nesbitt's, Exide Batteries, Royal Crown Cola, and Hire's Root Beer all produced metal thermometers. The earlier wooden thermometers tend to be for rare local brands.
Some are as small as circles 9 to 12 inches in diameter, while other rectangular versions were as big as 6 feet high. But the most common height for a rectangular thermometer is 16 to 17 inches. It was also typical to see popular cartoon characters, like Betty Boop, on these thermometers.
From around 1940 to 1976, the Pam Clock Company made many of the advertising thermometers for major companies, as well as advertising clocks. The 1940s was also the time that advertisers started making drugstore advertising thermometers out of Masonite.
In the 1980s, as antique thermometers grew in popularity as a collectible to hang on one’s wall at home, some companies started reproducing vintage thermometers to sell as retro-style décor. While they aren’t original, many of these are considered vintage now.
In recent years, particularly old and rare advertising thermometers sold for as much as $1,000 to $2,000. The most valuable antique advertising thermometers have a working temperature gauge. Even though condition is an important factor in an advertising thermometer’s value, collectors should be wary of any advertising thermometer that doesn’t show signs of wear from being hung outside—it could be fake. Same goes if a dealer has several of the same advertising thermometers for sale.
Interviews & Articles
The Disappearing Art of Porcelain Signs

I liked to collect things even as a child. Things that didn’t cost anything, like different colors of stones. There was somethin… [more]
Signs, Tins, and Other Advertising Antiques

How did I get started collecting advertising antiques? My dad was a lecturer and tutor in graphics and art from the 1960s onwards,… [more]
Best of the Web (“Hall of Fame”)
Advertising Antiques

This classy looking British site features hundreds of high resolution photos of antique porcelain pre-war (enamel) … [read review or visit site]
Historical Marker Database

If you're the type who pulls over when you see a 'historic marker ahead' sign, you'll love this site. Orchestrated … [read review or visit site]
Ad Access

Duke University's library has pulled together an impressive collection of over 7,000 ads printed in U.S. and Canadi… [read review or visit site]
Plan 59

From the Nostlagia Factory in Virginia comes this celebration of 'mid-century automotive advertising illustrations'… [read review or visit site]
Pittsburgh Signs Project

This group artistic effort to catalog the signs of Pittsburgh captures many vintage signs (porcelain, neon, wood, t… [read review or visit site]
American Package Museum

Ian House's gallery of early 20th Century American package designs. Browse the exhibits in slide show mode or view … [read review or visit site]
Falvo Collectables Gallery

Ralph and Carol Falvo's excellent collection of automobiles, petroliana, jukeboxes, soda, and general store items. … [read review or visit site]
Found in Moms Basement

Paula Zargaj-Reynolds’ blog, an extensive collection of 20th century vintage advertising, is a visual feast. Scro… [read review or visit site]
Vintage Guru Reveals Her Glamour Secrets
The Killer Mobile Device for Victorian Women
Gloriously Grotesque 19th-Century Pipes
The Beautiful Chaos of Improvisational Quilts
Our Dad, the Water Witch of Wyoming
This 1959 Goggomobil Is Insanely Cute and Gets 55 MPG. Why Can’t Detroit Do That?
California Cool: How the Wetsuit Became the Surfer's Second Skin
The Unfiltered History of Rolling Papers, Plus Tommy Chong's Big Fat Jamaican Vacation
World's Smallest Museum Finds the Wonder in Everyday Objects
Fightin’ Femmes: Unmasking Female Superheroes with Author Mike Madrid



by 