On Nov. 9, 1911, the U.S. patent office received a document which read:  “Be it known that I, Georges Claude, a citizen of the republic of France, have invented a certain new and useful improvement in systems of illuminating by luminescent tubes, of which the following is a specification.”   In the 17th Century, many scientists experimented with atmospheric air, including Italian physicist Evangelista Torricelli, who, in 1644, constructed the first recorded mercury column barometer in which he observed that, when shaken, it would emit a bluish light in the dark.  When such scientists as Henry Cavendish and Benjamin Franklin investigated “electrified atmospheres,” they discovered that the resulting light’s color is also dependent on the chemical composition of gas and pressure.  They didn’t have much success “diluting” the gases because the vacuum technique was very primitive.  Scientists’ primary problem (keeping gases under low pressure pure inside the tube) was solved in 1858 by German glassblower Heinrich Geissler, who discovered platinum wire inserted through Thuringian glass creates a perfect vacuum-tight seal.  In 1895, German engineer Carl von Linde found a way to liquify air and, in 1902, he discovered how to separate its main compounds (oxygen and nitrogen) by low-temperature distillation.  During the air separation process, such inert gases as argon, neon, krypton and xenon were leftover as surplus waste products.  Linde’s concurrent, Frenchman Georges Claude, was seeking a commercial use for such “waste” gases.  In addition to his knowledge about the Moore tube, Claude knew that a chemical reaction between the gas and electrode material caused a drop in gas pressure.  Thus, by experimenting with different gasses and electrode materials, he discovered that the gas should be chemically inert, and that the electrical load for a given electrode surface must remain below a level of 4.5mA/cm2 (29mA per sq. in.).  Claude also found neon to have the best light output vs. electrical-resistance ratio.  Consequently, the neon-lighting tube was developed and became patented on Jan. 19th, 1915, as U.S. Patent 1,125,476.  Claude fully exploited his patent commercially.  He alone made and sold the signs in Paris and quickly spread out to other big cities.  In 1922, Claude sold the first two identical signs to the Los Angeles-based Packard dealership of Earle C. Anthony for $1,250 apiece.  The demand for neon signs increased to such an extent that Claude couldn’t fulfill all the requests he received.  Thus, he finally decided to sell franchise licenses outside of France for $100,000, plus royalties for each one.  The popularity of neon continued to rise, and “Claude Neon” became so popular that many thought Neon was the last name of the inventor.  Because so many people wanted a piece of this breakthrough technology’s success, fierce commercial strife began to emerge.  In the patent war that took place from the 1920s up to 1932, the courts declared numerous claims made by the Claude organization invalid, but the fundamental claim on electrode size was declared valid.  In the early 1980s, an energy crisis lead to a push in low-consumption lightsources, triggering new research on new luminous materials.  Highly efficient fluorescent materials were introduced to the neon world from the lighting business, and the range of available colors increased to nearly 100.  See pictures at http://www.americansignmuseum.org/happy-birthday-neon/

The Young Electric Sign Company (YESCO) was created by Thomas Young on March 20, 1920.  The young sign painter had left England just a decade earlier to immigrate with his family to Ogden,  Utah. In the beginning, his shop specialized in coffin plates, gold leaf window lettering, lighted signs and painted advertisements.  As the science of lighting and sign-making advanced, so did Tom Young’s signs.  In 1933, YESCO opened a branch office in the Apache Hotel in Las Vegas.  The company erected the first neon sign in Las Vegas for the Boulder Club.  YESCO soon became recognized as a leader in the sign industry, tackling large and complex sign projects.  For example, it erected the first neon spectacular sign in Las Vegas for the Boulder Club in the late ’30s, and in 1995 it completed the four-block-long Fremont Street Experience canopy in Las Vegas.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Electric_Sign_Company 

See history of the Young Electric Sign Company at http://digital.library.unlv.edu/topicproject-type/architect/young-electric-sign-company

Local author Paul Many has pledged $1,000 of advance book royalties to the Early Literacy Campaign of the Toledo Lucas County Public Library if his sci-fi novel SilverSky wins enough nominations to be accepted as a Kindle e-book.  If the book receives enough nominations, and Amazon offers a Kindle contract, Many pledges to donate $1,000 of his $1,500 advance to the Literacy Campaign.    

The book, inspired by Edgar Rice Burroughs' pulp fiction titles such as "The Gods of Mars," has made the first cut in the new  Kindle "Scout" program from Amazon that seeks to crowd-source new books for electronic publication.  To nominate the book with no cost or obligation, search "SilverSky Kindle Scout" on Google, or go directly to https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/1P5LJG10GMOZE

Many,  a retired University of Toledo professor, is the author of three teen books and two children's picture books with another forthcoming--all from major publishers.         

With nearly one-third of Toledo-area children not prepared to enter kindergarten ready to read and write, the Library Legacy Foundation initiated the Early Literacy Campaign to bring essential early literacy skills and training to the areas of the Toledo community that are most at-risk.  A specially-equipped library van to bring materials into target neighborhoods is already up and running, and the program provides other features such as literacy kits for parents and daycare teachers.

The New York Public Library’s vaunted Rose Main Reading Room has been closed since a plaster rosette fell from its ceiling in May, so for the Library Lions gala November 3, 2014, the library transformed hallways and other rooms of the Stephen A. Schwarzman building into a twinkling, Narnia-esque forest.  Two of this year’s lions, the author Margaret Atwood and Robert Silvers, editor of the New York Review of Books, stood chatting, medallions hanging around their necks on thick red ribbons.  Ms. Atwood and several other authors have pledged to auction the name of a character in a coming story to raise money for Freedom from Torture, which provides therapy and support to torture survivors.  The other three honorees were the authors Dave Eggers and Kazuo Ishiguro, and the actress and playwright Anna Deavere Smith.  Jennifer Maloney  http://online.wsj.com/articles/atwood-eggers-honored-at-library-gala-1415135721  Find former Library Lions honorees and link to information on eight other awards from the New York Public Library at http://www.nypl.org/former-honorees

A painting is a world without change and without sound.  Johannes Vermeer's paintings are full of musical instruments and people making music.  In almost one third of his paintings, music is present in one way or another.  The fact that Vermeer portrayed so many musical themes is not surprising in itself, "at least ten percent of all 17th-century paintings, music makes its appearance in one way or another.  In genre pieces, in which category Vermeer's work is generally placed, the percentage is even higher.  For example, about 20 per cent of Frans van Mieris' works, 25 per cent of Pieter de Hoogh's and almost half of Jacob Ochtervelt's deal in some way with music."  Link to more information, including articles on seven different instruments in Vermeer's paintings at http://www.essentialvermeer.com/  Link to "music in the time of Vermeer" under the heading Dutch Music in Vermeer's Time.   

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 1214  November 7, 2014  On this date in 1929, in New York City, the Museum of Modern Art opened to the public.  On this date in 1967, Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, establishing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.