Neon Signs History

Though neon signs continue to capture our attention every time we walk down some busy street, not many of us are familiar with their history which is also quite fascinating.

Neon signs are basically the luminous-tube signs which contain neon gas at low pressure. As the high voltage applied to them makes the gas glow brightly, it gives them the bright appearance, which doesn't fail to catch our eye. That these signs can be made from any inert gas, and not necessarily neon, is a fact that continues to elude most people out there.

Neon signs are most often used for promotional advertising. More recently, however, their use as an art has also gained wide prominence in various parts of the world.

There has been some conflict as far as the invention of neon signs is concerned, with different sources giving the credit to different individuals. However, most of the trustworthy sources give the credit to Georges Claude, a French engineer and chemist. Before we move on to the invention part, let's have a brief look at some fascinating chapters of its history.

The basic principle on which these signs work can be traced back to the year 1675, wherein Jean Picard, an eminent French astronomer, noticed a faint glow in the mercury barometer tube he was using. This glow, referred to as the barometric light, basically occurred when the barometer tube was shaken.

Today we may know that the actual cause of this glow is static electricity, however, at that time no one was able to understand that, which doesn't come as a surprise, as back in 1675 electricity wasn't even discovered.

Named after the German glassblower and physicist, Heinrich Geissler, the invention of the Geissler tube in 1855 was an important milestone in the history of these signs. The gas present in the tube was placed under low pressure condition and electric voltage was applied to it, thus making it glow.

This was considered a milestone as many researchers began experimenting with the application of electric voltage to gas tubes to make them glow.

Neon was discovered by M. W. Travers and William Ramsey in London in the year 1898. The word 'neon' is derived from the Greek word 'neos', meaning the new gas. One of the rarest gaseous elements present in the atmosphere of the Earth, neon is obtained by liquefaction of air and separated from other gases by the process of fractional distillation.

In 1902, Georges Claude invented the neon lamp by passing electric current through a tube containing neon, which made it glow brightly. Claude was partly inspired by Daniel McFarlan Moore's similar invention, the Moore's Lamp. He displayed his first neon lamp to general public in Paris on December 11, 1910.

On January 19, 1915, Claude got a patent for his neon lighting tube. He was quick to cash in on the popularity of these neon tubes and came up with the unique idea of using these tubes to make advertising signs. He manufactured these signs under the brand name of his French company, 'Claude Neon'.

Soon enough, Claude introduced his unique neon signs in the United States. His first customer was Earle C. Anthony from the Packard car dealership in Los Angeles, who bought two neon signs, which read as 'Packard', for $1,250 each.

The trend of using custom neon signs for outdoor advertising flourished owing to its uniqueness which captured people's attention. Today, almost a hundred years after Claude came up with these signs, their popularity continues to soar―a walk down any of the commercially flourishing streets in any of the major cities in the world, proves that.