have you ever wondered how neon signs were invented the development of this
art closely mirrors the development of photography join me today to learn more
about it right here on the ancestral findings podcast
I recently had the opportunity to visit the American sign museum in Cincinnati a fascinating
experience let me tell you I spent a good amount of time taking photographs and I'd like to share
with you everything that I learned first however because these signs are so interesting and because
there is a lot of history behind them I'd like to share that history with you perhaps this will
help you with inspiration should you ever find yourself photographing neon signs the art of neon
lights started as a science much like photography which started with scientists experimenting with
chemicals and sunlight the neon lights started with scientists experimenting with different
types of lighting the precursor to neon lighting was invented in 1855 the Geissler tube which was
named for Heinrich Geissler Geisler was both a physicist and a glassblower these tubes were
used in experiments with electricity and different kinds of gases essentially scientists were trying
to find out what happened when electricity was applied to the gas contained in a Geissler tube
the invention of neon lights back in the 1800s was hindered by one thing the gas neon had not
yet been discovered that discovery came in 1898 by M W Travers and William Ramsay neon
is an incredibly rare gas present in the air at rates of about one part per 65,000 in order to
collect neon researchers needed to use a process called liquification which collects the gases
that are then separated in another process called fractional distillation from that point it would
still be a little while before the first true neon light was invented George's Claude was the
first scientist to experiment with neon gas in a Geissler tube Claude was French an inventor
engineer and chemist by trade he first applied electricity to sealed neon gas in 1902 thus
creating the very first neon light he continued to refine his design in on December 11th 1910
he put his first neon light on display in Paris Claude's first light much like the first cameras
wasn't anything fancy it would take a couple more years of developing the technology in
order to turn these lights into the beautiful neon lights we know today originally neon lighting was
red a very distinct color so Claude and others worked on ways to create lights of other colors
meanwhile Claude set about trying to market his neon lights in 1912 he sold the world's first
piece of neon advertising a sign for a barbershop in Paris then in 1913 he sold a sign that spelled
Cinzano in massive three and a half foot letters Claude knew he was onto something so he filed for
a United States Patent in 1911 he also started his own company Claude neon lights' Inc over
the years he developed both red and blue lights one of which rested at the entrance of the Paris
Opera House in 1923 clods big breakthrough came an auto dealer in Los Angeles by the name of Earl see
Anthony ordered two signs for his dealership each sign red packard after the cars he sold costing
him about $24,000 a son that would be worth more than 300,000 today with that the neon sign as we
know it today was born George's Claude became famous and neon signs were common everywhere
by the mid 1900s Claude passed away in 1960 but not before that most famous of neon cities Las
Vegas was already starting to roll out its bright lights neon lighting and photography the invention
of neon lighting parallels the invention of photography in so many ways both art forms started
as a science experiment and both went through decades of work before becoming a commercially
available tool that businesses and individuals the world over would use just as photography went
through a period development that brought us the color image so too did neon lighting originally
these lights were red then red and blue later on other gases were added to these tubes to create
the beautifully colored lights that we know and love today the most interesting parallel
I think is that both art forms are based solely on light neon lighting is the production of light in
beautiful colors and shapes photography is the capturing of that light the recording of those
shapes and colors perhaps that is why it feels so natural to create art centered around these lights
because the two mediums complement each other so well if you ever have the chance I highly
recommend that you visit the American sign museum and see the beautiful lights yourself if you won't
find yourself in Cincinnati any time soon then in the meantime perhaps you could start your own
project based around photographing lights if you know of businesses that still use neon lights to
advertise in your area check them out you may be able to come away with interesting artwork even
if you don't know of a good place to see these lights in all their beauty you could focus your
efforts on other types of lights like candles chandeliers or interesting lamps no matter what
you decide to do hopefully what I've shared here today inspires you to create something amazing
do you have an ancestor with an incredibly common surname or a surname that is a place-- verb or
noun these people can be tricky to identify in old records join me in the next episode and I'll give
you some tips for searching for them and finding them in old newspaper records all you need are
some fancy search tricks to reveal your ancestors thanks for joining me today I'll see you next time
on the ancestral findings podcast and for further info you can visit us at ancestral findings com