Twenty-Nine (29) Printed Photographic Images of Homes with Creo-Dipt Stained Roofing and/or Siding Shingles, circa 1920s-1930s

Item Details

North Tonawanda, NY, Creo-Dipt Company, Inc., circa 1920s-1930s

VG+ to Near Fine

[ARCHITECTURE]  BUILDING SUPPLIES]  [SHINGLES]  [ADVERTISING]  [SALESMEN EXAMPLES]  Creo-Dipt Company, Inc.  Twenty-nine (29) 5 7/8 x 8 7/8 inch images of photographs of homes with Creo-Dipt stained roofing and/or siding shingles, photo mechanically printed on thin, glossy paper stock, each measuring approximately 5 7/8 x 8 7/8 inches, meant to be used by salespeople to show potential customers how Creo-Dipt shingles could enhance a new home or a remodel, circa 1920s-1930s.  Several of the images also show homes with Thatched Creo-Dipt stained shingles that were installed to make a house look like it had a thatch roof.

Each of the 29 images shows a house of different architectural styles with a printed component usually giving the architect and home owner’s names and the house’s  location, along with the size and type of Creo-Dipt shingles used.  The pictured homes are from many different regions, including the states of NY, TN, IN, IL, NJ, CT, OH, MA, TX, MI, and Washington D.C.  All but two of the house images are in Near Fine to Fine condition, but one is toned and another has a crease.  Overall, the group is in VG+ to Near Fine condition.  [26-63]

The Creo-Dipt Company, originally named Standard Stained Shingle Co., began in Rochester, NY in 1908.  The company’s creosote dipped cedar shingles became so popular that the company changed its name to become better associated with its successful product.  Unlike today’s preference for shingles with its natural wood appearance, architectural tastes in the late 19^th and early 20^th century bent more towards colored shingles.  The Creo-Dipt Company used creosote to better hold the color within a shingle and had the side benefit of being a wood preservative.  The company soon relocated to North Tonawanda, NY and had its main office and a factory there.  The company supplied both 18-inch and 24-inch wide stained shingles, both regular length and long.   As the result of a massive, sustained advertising campaign, the business grew with sales throughout the United States.  Factories were added in St. Paul, MN, Kansas City, MO, Vancouver, B.C., Seattle, WA and other locations.  In the 1920s-1940s, the Creo-Dipt Company was the leading manufacturer/supplier of creosote dipped stained wood shingles.  As wood shingles became less popular by the last quarter of the 20^th century, the company eventually closed.

Because of the Creo-Dipt Company’s nationwide advertising campaign spanning many decades in many different printing formats, there are a host of small advertising pieces of company produced ephemera.  However, these photograph-like promotional pieces are scarce.  Several individual house views have appeared on eBay, but not single bulk lot of them.  The one institution holding similar views, the Ohio Historical Connection, has a portfolio of around 50 of them, citing a circa date of 1920s-1930s.