OKLAHOMA MADE
Bright
lights,
big city Claude Neon Federal Sign Company has national presence
64 Tulsa World Magazine
NICOLE MARSHALL MIDDLETON Tulsa World Magazine
Y
ou don’t have to look far to see the impact that Claude Neon Federal Sign Company has had on Tulsa. There are signs literally all around you. We spoke to employees Pete Webb and Joe Kesterson about the company’s history and current work. It was impressive and eye-opening to learn how many signs here boast the CNF brand. They explained that CNF Tulsa was opened in 1926 as a branch office with an additional branch office in Oklahoma City. The home office originated in Wichita, Kansas. What does the name Claude Neon Federal refer to? Here’s the history. In the early 1920s, a French scientist named Georges Claude filled a glass vacuum tube with a rare gas called neon. He connected this tube to high voltage electricity by means of an electrode on each end, causing it to glow with a brightness. Georges Claude obtained international patent rights for his discovery, which bore the name Claude Neon. The first neon signs were built in France and imported to the United States; however, this method of producing signs was impractical, and soon licensing rights for the manufacture of neon tubing in the U.S. was sold to Federal Sign & Signal Co. of Chicago. In turn, Federal Sign sold franchises to other sign companies in various cities throughout the USA. The name of the company was derived from “Claude,” the inventor, “neon” from the product itself, and “federal” from the licensing company.
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