Antique neon advertising signs are collected and displayed as treasures of roadside Americana, symbolizing an exuberant era in our nation’s history that is both threatened and prized. From the 1920s to the 1950s, most streets along Main Street were lit under their warm colorful glow. For many, these charming signs bring back fond memories of an age when life was simpler and grander. Nothing else seems to inspire passion or bring back vivid memories quite like neon.
Today these beautiful signs are pursued by collectors, displayed in museums and even restored to bring charm back to main street America. With so few surviving pieces, values for these highly coveted antiques have escalated to unprecedented levels of value.
Realizing that some of the rarest, most beautiful advertising signs ever designed may never be acquirable; VAULT® has created a limited collection of new hand-built originals of some of the world’s most sought-after classics.
Because we are committed to offering the finest advertising signs in the world, no expense has been spared in meticulously handcrafting our “Collector Series” signs to their original specifications. Each sign represents a detailed and meticulous “reverse engineering” where we figure out how something was made by working backwards from the finished parts.
By paying as close attention to the original design, materials and manufacturing techniques as possible, each Collector Series sign is built entirely by hand by skilled artisans utilizing premium components that have either been sourced from original suppliers or recreated.
Unlike others who make inferior reproductions using spray-painted artwork and thin aluminum face panels, we avoided cutting corners in favor of faithfully recreating the same porcelain enameling processes used on original signs. The vibrant artwork is not made using paint at all, but rather by using finely ground glass crystals which, when kiln fired at 1350 degrees, fuse to heavy-gauge steel panels. Porcelains brilliant colors, durable finish and incredible resistance to weather and fading made it the standard for outdoor advertising.
No small detail has been overlooked as brass tube supports and fasteners maintain the original vintage appearance. There are cheaper alternatives, but none are as accurate to the original.
If you have an idea for a custom one-of-a-kind porcelain neon sign that you would like to commission us to reproduce, contact our design team at VAULT® at (310) 622-4477 to discuss your project.