Paragon Oil Cotton Polo Shirt
S / Charcoal
$38.99
Sale price
$38.99
Regular price
Skip to product information
GhostCorp Apparel - resurrecting iconic corporate ghosts.
Bring a piece of New York’s fuel and heating history into everyday wear with this Paragon Oil Cotton Polo Shirt. Founded by the Schwartz brothers in 1925, the company grew from designing residential oil heaters into a regional fuel supplier. Its story reached city buildings, postwar shipments to Europe, and vessels serving the early Cold War. This shirt offers collectors a wearable nod to a family-built business whose name became part of the Northeast’s industrial past.
Paragon Oil was founded in New York City in 1925 by brothers Henry, Irving, Robert, Benjamin, and Arnold Schwartz. The family first built and sold oil heaters designed for residential buildings, earning several patents for their designs, then shifted toward distributing fuel oil to buildings using the heaters. In the early 1930s, the company won a contract to supply fuel to New York City-run buildings. It remained largely a local New York-area business until after World War II, when its location near the docks and five-gallon packaging helped it secure a U.S. government contract to supply fuel oil to Europe during postwar reconstruction. The business later supplied oil to U.S. submarines during the early Cold War and operated delivery trucks across the Northeast, as well as oil tankers. The Schwartz brothers sold the company to Texaco in the late 1950s; the sale became final in the early 1960s. Most of the brothers later used proceeds to help establish the Brookdale Foundation and support charitable and educational institutions, especially in the New York metropolitan area. The company is unrelated to a present-day Brooklyn business with a similar name.
Paragon Oil Cotton Polo Shirt
$38.99
Sale price
$38.99
Regular price
Bring a piece of New York’s fuel and heating history into everyday wear with this Paragon Oil Cotton Polo Shirt. Founded by the Schwartz brothers in 1925, the company grew from designing residential oil heaters into a regional fuel supplier. Its story reached city buildings, postwar shipments to Europe, and vessels serving the early Cold War. This shirt offers collectors a wearable nod to a family-built business whose name became part of the Northeast’s industrial past.
Paragon Oil was founded in New York City in 1925 by brothers Henry, Irving, Robert, Benjamin, and Arnold Schwartz. The family first built and sold oil heaters designed for residential buildings, earning several patents for their designs, then shifted toward distributing fuel oil to buildings using the heaters. In the early 1930s, the company won a contract to supply fuel to New York City-run buildings. It remained largely a local New York-area business until after World War II, when its location near the docks and five-gallon packaging helped it secure a U.S. government contract to supply fuel oil to Europe during postwar reconstruction. The business later supplied oil to U.S. submarines during the early Cold War and operated delivery trucks across the Northeast, as well as oil tankers. The Schwartz brothers sold the company to Texaco in the late 1950s; the sale became final in the early 1960s. Most of the brothers later used proceeds to help establish the Brookdale Foundation and support charitable and educational institutions, especially in the New York metropolitan area. The company is unrelated to a present-day Brooklyn business with a similar name.
Product features - Durable double-pique fabric designed for crisp embroidery - Modern classic fit with side seams and vents for better shape - Contoured welt collar and cuffs with a clean, topstitched shoulder - Soft Sport Grey option (90/10 cotton/poly) and 100% ring-spun cotton varieties - Tear-away label, dyed-to-match buttons, and finished placket for polished comfort Care instructions