The Mazda 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 United
States.
General Electric heavily
advertised their MAZDA trademark once it became
associated exclusively with the new tungsten filaments. The lamps were
more expensive, but promised better, more reliable and economical
operation. The 1917 ad pictured here on the right is typical of those
found in many magazines of the time. Gradually, the buying public
abandoned their old carbon filament lamps in favor of the new tungsten.
The Edison Mazda companies commissioned world famous artist Maxfield
Parrish to create a series of calendars and other advertising
paraphernalia based loosely on major events in the history of lighting.
The picture on the left is from a 1923 calendar and is entitled "The
Lamplighter of Bagdad". Apparently neither the Edison companies nor
Parrish himself caught the misspelling of the name "Baghdad." Parrish's
beautiful works of art for this advertising campaign are highly
collectible and most sought after.
By 1920 or so, the conversion to tungsten in the
Christmas lighting industry was complete. The major exception was with
lamps imported from Japan, many of which continued to utilize carbon
filaments until 1927. This was most evident in their clear glass
figural lamps, but smooth cone miniature base C-6 lamps from Japan can
be found with carbon filaments as well. Pictured below are two examples
of these late 1920s Japanese lamps:
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1925
Japanese carbon figural |
1927
Japanese carbon cone |
Pictured here on the left is a typical 1920s and by General
Electric/Edison Mazda, and is from the December 12, 1925 edition of The
Saturday Evening Post. The charming picture is by book illustrator
Rundle. The ad promotes the use of electric lights for the Christmas
tree and reads in part:
"Nothing adds
so much to Christmas cheer and the decoration of your home as electric
light. It is the least expensive of the season's joys.
For the cost of an old fashioned Christmas tree candle, for the cost of
a few tree ornaments, you can light up your whole house in a blaze of
cheer. And keep the cheer of Christmastide in your home throughout the
year. Use light freely, for electric light is the cheapest light the
world has known. Just remember that the best and cheapest light lamps
to burn are Mazda Lamps. Mazda-the mark of a research service."
"Edison Mazda Lamps are a General Electric Product."
As the decade of the 1930s began,
Americans had fully accepted the MAZDA name as a symbol of quality for
their Christmas light bulb needs, and many outfits proudly proclaimed
the inclusion of MAZDA lamps in their sets. Only the economic factors
continued to be a bit of a hindrance, as a typical MAZDA Christmas lamp
sold for 5 cents, while the Japanese tungsten equivalent were two for a
nickel. Competition from the Japanese became more fierce as the effects
of the Great Depression settled in, and many lighting outfit
advertisements from NOMA and General Electric urged they buying public
to "Buy American". Comparison studies of American MAZDA versus Japanese
tungsten lamps were commissioned by both General Electric and
Westinghouse. Although the test criteria would probably not withstand
close scrutiny by today's testing standards, results of the studies
showed an average life of 46.8 hours for the Japanese tungsten lamps,
compared to an average 207.4 hours for a MAZDA tungsten lamp, a
dramatic difference. Nonetheless, the Japanese lamps gave good
enough service to be huge sellers up until the beginning of World War
II.
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