The notion of neon signs first came to
be in 1675
when Jean Picard, a French astronomer observed that mercury in a
barometer emitted a faint glow. When the barometer was
shaken,
the amount of light emitted by the glow increased. Picard and
other scientists continued to investigate this concept, even though the
idea of barometric light was not yet understood by the scientific
community. After the basic principals of electricity were
identified, scientists began developing the concepts that defined
various forms of lighting including that which would become known as
neon lights.
In 1902 a French inventor by the name of Georges Claude was the first
to apply an electrical charge to a sealed tube of neon gas in order to
use the emissions to create a lamp but it wasn’t until 1910
that
Claude was ready to display his invention to the public. In
1910
he put his neon lamp – the world’s first
– on display
in Paris. He then created a company which he named Claude
Neon to
manufacture and sell his invention. His invention was first
introduced to the United States when Claude manufactured two neon
lights that were to be used as signage for a Packard dealership in Los
Angeles, California. Each sign said
“Packard” and
were purchased by the dealerships owner, Earl Anthony for $12,000 each
in 1923. The concept of neon signs used as signs quickly spread from
the Packard signs to becoming a popular fixture for outdoor advertising
of all sorts. Because the neon lights were visible in the
daytime
as well as the night, they were highly effective in attracting the
attention of potential customers.
Creating neon lights requires a great deal of work with various lengths
of glass tubing, high amounts of heat, gasses, and electrical
voltage. Neon produces a red hued glow. Other
colors are
made by incorporating other gasses including argon, mercury and
phosphor. Regardless of the color of emissions, all signs and
lights that are made using this basic premise, are generally considered
to be neon lights.