|
Figural Christmas lights first
became available in America in about 1908, and in that year, the Sears and
Roebuck catalog featured a small offering of the lights. It is interesting
to note that they were offered for battery powered use as table
decorations, with no mention of putting them on the Christmas tree. Here
is the catalog listing:
In 1910, the November 12th
edition of Scientific American Magazine carried this small article on the
new lights, transcribed here in its entirety:
|
"NEW
CHRISTMAS TREE LAMPS"
"The
electrically lighted tree is now a feature of the holidays in many
homes. This year, some new kinds of miniature incandescent lamps are
available which should make the electrically lighted Christmas tree
more artistic and beautiful than ever. The bulbs of the new lamps,
instead of being mere "pocket editions" of the ordinary incandescent
bulb, are shaped and colored to resemble fruit, flowers, birds and
animals. Commercially, they are classified under five heads as
follows:"
1.
Small fruit: including apple, blackberry, gooseberry, lemon,
mulberry, orange, pear, peach and strawberry.
2.
Large fruit: including apple. orange, peach and pear.
3.
Nuts: including acorn, pine cone and walnut.
4.
Flowers: including lily, rose and thistle.
5.
Animals: including canary, clown, dog, owl, snow man, and Santa
Claus.
"It is doubtless somewhat embarrassing to Santa Claus to be
classified as an 'animal', but there seems to be no alternative. The
bulbs are colored by hand with waterproof paints by professional toy
makers. The realistic effect is considerably heightened when the
lamps are lighted. As far as the base and filaments are concerned,
the miniature incandescents are just like the conventional
decorative lamps used in the past (and still available) for
Christmas tree illumination. They have 3/8 inch miniature screw
bases, and are designed to be burned eight in series on circuits of
from 100 to 120 volts. By using a bell ringing transformer they may
be burned in multiple, but while the arrangement has the advantage
that the burnout of a single lamps does not extinguish others, the
cost of equipment is considerably greater than with the series
system. The bulbs contain one candlepower filaments, but the
coloring material absorbs a large percentage of the light and
softens the remainder by diffusion. Whether festooned on the
Christmas tree or used to decorate the room or table, these
fascinating little lamps add a touch of light and color that
harmonizes with the yuletide spirit."
|
A- Songbird- The exhaust tip for this lamp is
the beak.
B- Large pear- The flaking
paint on this example is typical of the problems with these early lamps.
C- Clown- The exhaust tip on
this example is the tip of the clown's hat.
D- Large mulberry with a very
prominent exhaust tip.
E- A beautifully painted angel.
In this example, the exhaust tip
is hidden in the base of the lamp.
F- Lily, also with the exhaust
tip hidden in the base of the unit.
G- A very realistic acorn. Notice the prominent seam marks from the mold,
not usually seen in these early lamps.
H- Father Christmas. The top of
the figure's hat is the exhaust tip.
I- A very brightly painted parrot. A high quality lamp, the exhaust tip is
hidden in the base. Made by the WATT Company
J- An early snowman, much thinner than ones depicted today. Again, the top
of the hat is the exhaust tip
All of these carbon filament figural lamps lamps date to before 1910, and
all appear to be of German origin.
A- Catalog of American Ever
Ready Works Decorative Lamps, July 1, 1919. The catalog is of series-type
Christmas and all-occasion lamps, for use on circuits of 100-120 volts.
All lamps are miniature base models. It is unclear at this point if the
American Ever Ready Works actually manufactured or imported the
lamps, but they appear identical to styles imported from Germany by other
companies. Research is ongoing as to the true origin of lamps like these.
B- Close up of the catalog
cover
C- Assortment 0794- Birds
D- Assortments 0793-Lilies and
0797-Animals
E- Assortments 0800-Small Fruit
and 0801-Large Fruit
F- Assortments 0795-Assorted
Figures and 0796-Assorted Figures, including Halloween
G- Assortments-0791-Large Roses
and 0792-Small Roses
| ca 1908: An unusual outfit
produced by The Electric Porcelain Manufacturing Company. While most
other Christmas lighting companies operated out of New York City,
this company was located in Baltimore, Maryland. The box is a bit
larger than are most from this time period, and the labels on both
ends of the box have a small, over pasted number "16" to indicate
the contents of the box. Since there is a large gap between the
words "One" and "Light," it is safe to assume that different numbers
were pasted in the space as the number of lights in the outfit
changed. Popular light counts of the time were 8, 16, 24 and 32
(rare). The lamp compartment in the box seems able to accommodate a
maximum of 30 lamps, which would indicate a festoon size of 24
allowing for spares. Another unusual feature of this set is the fact
that the instruction sheet, pasted on the inside of the sliding lid,
is identical in every way to General Electric's instructions on
their 1905 outfit. This time, there is not mention of a company name
on the sheet. The photograph of the man decorating a large tree
which is featured on both the box labels and instructions is the
same one used in many advertisements of the day. It seems that
graphics were frequently reused as various companies placed orders
for printing jobs. This "graphics sharing" practice is evident on
many Christmas lighting outfits produced well into the 1950s.
|
 |
 |
| ca 1910:
A very early outfit from The Electro Importing
Company, this set is the earliest this collector has found in a
lightweight cardboard box. Most sets from this time period were sold
in either wood or very heavy cardboard containers. While the box
does not specify the fact, this collector strongly believes that the
outfit was made by General Electric, the American Eveready Company,
or one of the Jaeger brother's factories, as the Electro Importing
Company was not a manufacturer but a reseller. Lending credence to
this opinion is the fact that the box states the goods were "Made in
the U.S.A." The outfit contains an eight light festoon with green,
pinched-bottom glazed ceramic sockets, and eight American made
carbon filament lamps. Judging from the size of the box, it appears
that the company could have added another layer of lamps and an
additional festoon to offer a sixteen light outfit in this same
style box as well. The label does not specify a lamp count, but
merely identifies the contents as an "Electric Lighting Outfit."
The Electro Trading Company was a major supplier of experimental and
stock radio parts in the early years of the twentieth century. |
 |
 |
HOME
TABLE OF CONTENTS
BACK
NEXT
|
