ART DECO EDISON MAZDA MAXFIELD PARRISH DOUBLE TIN SI (03/28/2011)...

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ART DECO EDISON MAZDA MAXFIELD PARRISH DOUBLE TIN SIGN

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ART DECO EDISON MAZDA MAXFIELD PARRISH DOUBLE TIN SIGN

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Sold Date: 03/28/2011
Channel: Online Auction
Source: eBay
Category: Advertising

Extremely rare 1920's Maxfield Parrish double sided tin Edison Mazda sign. Heading "For Your Car" Edison Mazda Lamps and other Standard Accesories. Measures 19 inches in height x 12 inches in width 2 inch flange for installation.

The M azda Lamp Story...

In 1909, General Electric first used the name Mazda on their lamps. Today, we associate the name with automobiles, but when it was first used by GE it was chosen to represent the best that the American lighting industry had to offer at the time, and was selected due to the fact that Persian mythology gave the name Ahura Mazda to the god of light...

The earliest light bulb filaments were made of various carbonized materials, including bamboo. Light output was rated in candlepower, with 1 candlepower or (1CP) being roughly equivalent to the light output of a single beeswax candle. Most carbon Christmas lights were rated at either one or two CP, but sadly, the output from each lamp varied widely. Practically speaking, it was virtually impossible to accurately rate the output from carbon filaments, even though each filament was made to the same standards.

In the early days of electric light bulbs, most of the bulb manufacturers each had their own set of production standards, and light bulb quality and light output was quite different both from brand to brand and from lamp to lamp within each brand. Lamp bases were not standardized, and light output ratings would vary greatly. This inconsistency was most frustrating to the consumer, which resulted in less than stellar light bulb sales. In 1909, General Electric came up with the idea of a set of manufacturing specifications to which all American lamp manufacturers could adhere, thereby effectively "standardizing" light bulbs in the United States.

1917 Mazda logo by Maxfield Parrish

General Electric's new service would be available for a price to all lamp makers who subscribed, and the MAZDA name would be widely advertised by GE in almost all of the popular magazines of the day. The MAZDA name and standards were available for license only for lamps using tungsten filaments.Tungsten, a vast improvement over the carbon filaments, had a brighter, whiter light output which was much more even from lamp to lamp, assuring equal brightness when used in a string of Christmas lights. Improvements to household light bulbs were not usually incorporated into the small and much less used Christmas light bulbs until several years later due to increased production costs, and the use of tungsten in the manufacture of Christmas lamps did not appear until about 1916. It had been available in household lamps since 1907.

This ad, from the a 1917 issue of Popular Science magazine, explains the Mazda "mission", and reads as follows:
"NOT THE NAME OF A THING, BUT THE MARK OF A SERVICE."
"The new light that MAZDA service throws on lamp-manufacturers' problems is reflected in the brighter, whiter light that MAZDA Lamps give in your home."
"The Meaning of MAZDA"
"MAZDA is the trademark of a world-wide service to certain lamp manufacturers. Its purpose is to collect and select scientific and practical information concerning progress and developments in the art of incandescent lamp manufacturing and to distribute this information to the companies entitled to receive this Service. MAZDA Service is centered in the Research Laboratories of the General Electric Company at Schenectady, New York. The mark MAZDA can appear only on lamps which meet the standards of MAZDA service. It is thus an assurance of quality. This trademark is the property of the General Electric Company."

circa 1920 box of Westinghouse MAZDA Christmas lamps

Many of the lighting companies then in business licensed the MAZDA name, among them the various Edison, Westinghouse and National companies. Most Christmas lamps after about 1925 or so will be found with either the General Electric or Westinghouse name on them, as the pair was by far the largest supplier of Christmas and other light bulbs in the Un...