The Antique Christmas Lights Site

Between 1999 and 2008, Bill and George Nelson recorded and illustrated the history of Christmas tree lamps and the businesses behind them through the "Old Christmas Lights" and "Antique Christmas Lights Museum" web sites. The 2008 version, which was largely George Nelson's work has been painstakingly reconstructed in the OldChristmasTreeLights.com site.

But some folks like Bill's earlier versions better. In 2011 we were glad to be able to host an archive of Bill's 2003 site, painfully reconstructed by fan Tom Elmore. In 2012, we are glad to be able to host this archive of Bill's 2001 site, probably one of the earliest versions. This version was unearthed by Fred Fox. It has a simpler structure, which means that it's faster to navigate. If you find some topic you'd like to know more about, be sure to check out the later versions.

Initially you might think that posting multiple versions of the site would be redundant. But the brothers had different approaches to the content, different organizational and writing styles, and even different content. Plus, the brothers were constantly updating the sites and moving things around, so some links were bound to be broken at any given time. If you find a "missing link" in one version, you may very well find the information you're looking for in another. So we believe it is for everyone's benefit to present each version.

The rest of these pages are in Bill's own words, not ours, That said, if you have any comments, corrections, concerns, or questions about these pages, please contact us through our Contact page.

Please note that the site authors Bill and George Nelson collected and catalogued the lights and related products shown on these pages - they did not sell them, and we don't either.

As Bill often said, "Thanks for stopping by."

We now return you to Bill's own introduction to this unique resource.

Hello, and welcome to my website, devoted to providing information about the development of electric Christmas lighting in America. Here you'll learn all about early-to-mid twentieth century electric holiday lighting in the United States, and see how it has changed over the years. Did you know that in the earliest days, Christmas lights were so expensive that they were commonly rented for the season? You can read about it on the "Brief History" page. We've come a long way since 1900...

I've tried to break down the information presented here into logical sections. The first category offers a brief history of electric Christmas lighting, followed by a reference timeline. There are sections covering early patents for Christmas lighting items, as well as a section devoted to the manufacturer's histories.

"The Light Sets" section presents lighting outfits from specific time periods. There are also two special sections, one covering the interesting early days of NOMA Bubble Lites, and another devoted entirely to some of the early patents for electrical Christmas items. The best way to see a listing of everything available here is to use the Table of Contents page, where you'll also find a handy search engine to help you find specific information available on this site.

The information presented here is not complete by any means, as I am a collector and not a certified expert, and my collection is mostly limited to pre-1950s lighting sets. It is my wish to give some hopefully interesting details about and a brief overview of the early days of electric Christmas lighting. The examples pictured on this site are from my personal collection of lighting outfits and devices unless otherwise identified. If you have questions, there are links to e-mail me on every page-don't hesitate to contact me with your questions and comments. I love to "Talk Lights"!

ALMOST ALL OF THE PICTURES ON THIS SITE ARE CLICKABLE TO ENLARGE.

I'll be glad to help you identify or give you information about any lighting sets you've got questions about. If I do not know the answer to a question or have the information you're seeking, I should at least be able to point you in the right direction. At present, I am a collector only and do not offer any sets for sale.

Be sure to check back often, for as my collection grows and my research continues, the site is updated at least weekly. Thanks for stopping by, and it is my sincere hope that you enjoy browsing through a bit of America's early electric Christmas heritage!

-Bill Nelson

Knoxville, Tennessee

SITE UPDATES

With the kind help of Rick Delair, there has been a new section added to the site. Dating Hints and Helps gives some interesting information of the evolution of the General Electric C-6 cone style Christmas lamps-you'll find the information useful to help date many of the lamps in your collection. In addition to the information kindly provided by Rick, there is also help with plugs, connectors, cords and box construction, all designed to help you put an approximate date of manufacture to your vintage lighting outfits.

Christopher Cuff has just started a new e-mail discussion group at Yahoo, devoted to old Christmas lights. CLICK HERE to join the group. Hopefully by getting together a group of collectors willing to share their knowledge and expertise, we can all learn more about our wonderful hobby.

ALL NEW NOVELTY LIGHTED FIGURINES SECTION!

CLICK HERE to see another new section of the site, devoted to those fabulous lighted novelty figures, wreaths, lighted tree stands and decorations from the 1930s, 40s and 50s.

Since March 3, 2001, you are visitor

My first wife, who taught me both the real meaning of Christmas and how to truly appreciate it, wrote this little saying in every Christmas card she sent during our wonderful twenty years of marriage.

Thanks for stopping by!

The contents and pictures on this website are ?1999-2001 by and are the property of the author, William G. Nelson. All rights reserved. Please ask for permission before borrowing images or quoting large sections of this site. Thank you.

This website was last updated on November 2, 2001

TABLE OF CONTENTS HISTORY THE TIMELINE MANUFACTURER'S HISTORIES

THE PATENT PAGES THE PRE-ELECTRIC ERA VINTAGE ADVERTISING THE LIGHT SET GALLERIES