ELECTRIC CHRISTMAS LIGHTS
1930-1940
The Depression Years
page 4

A very unusual 1937 lighting experiment from General Electric:

A Disposable Lighting Outfit

Set Unlit	Set Lit	Lamp Close Up	Lamp Lit at Low Voltage	Bakelite Junction Box	Close Up of Junction Box and Plug	Close Up of Connector

This collector was recently contacted by a gentleman researching Christmas lights for a forthcoming Smithsonian exhibit. He provided the information that these lights are a 1937 attempt by General Electric to produce a "disposable" light string! Since the lamps are permanently wired together in each series festoon, when one fails, the entire festoon is then useless. It was intended to simply be tossed away, and a new string plugged into the junction box in its place. The junction box itself appears quite similar to one used in the 1936 model Desoto automobiles. It is apparent that General Electric never produced this experimental set in any great number, as so far, only three of these sets are known to exist. The lamps have tungsten filaments, and are a bit smaller than a standard C-6 Christmas bulb. The connectors are rubber covered, and are stamped in white print with the General Electric "meatball" style logo and the words: "Mazda Lamp". The set has an American plug, and runs at proper brightness on 120 volts. It is also interesting to note that the blue light bulbs in the festoons exhibit the same paint peeling problem that GE's C-6 miniature base lamps of this era had.

Date	Manufacturer	Notes	Outside of Box	Inside of Box
ca 1937	Timco	A typical example of how boxes got less colorful as the Depression wore on.
ca 1937	APEX/Paramount	A tiny Depression-era outfit, in a very thin cardboard box. In fact, the cardboard is so thin that it is a wonder this little outfit survived. Packed in a box about one-half the size of typical boxes of this era, the outfit  originally contained inexpensive Japanese lamps and sold for just 29¢. This set was manufactured under the APEX name by Paramount.
ca 1937	Paramount	A set of Paramount Candle Lights using the new GE candle shaped lamps.
ca 1937	Royal	Royal's set of candle lights is a hard set to find today. Apparently, not many were sold.
ca 1937	NOMA	NOMA's version of the candle lights included their patented Berry Beads to help hold the lamps upright. These light were sold in an attractive book-style box.
ca 1937	Reliance	These ornament lights were imported from Japan. Due to the silvering on the inside of the glass, the lights had a short life as a result of the increased heat trapped in the bulb. This set is almost impossible to find today.
ca 1937	Clemco	ClemCo's candle lights used the T-4 light bulbs instead of the larger candle lamps. This set was not made for very long.
ca 1938	Glo Lite	This Glo Lite Candle was sold individually from stand-up counter cards as well as in sets of eight complete with the lighting string. When the NOMA company bought the company, the plastic bases of these lights were used in their earliest, experimental bubbling lights.
ca 1938	Real-Lite	In an unusually "non-Christmassy" box, this set from Real-Lite was apparently a good seller. The Real-Lite company was purchased by NOMA, who continued to use the Real-Lite name for some of their lighting outfits.
ca 1938	ClemCo	In the late 1930s, ClemCo revised their box style, making it more colorful in an effort to increase sales. Both C-6 miniature base and C-7 intermediate base strings were marketed in this new box.
ca 1938	Paramount	Paramount marketed these lights under their Sterling brand name. The set included imported lamps.
ca 1938	Pass and Seymour	The P&S company is an electrical device manufacturer, still in business at their original address to this day. They manufactured Christmas lighting outfits for a short time.
ca 1938	Reliance	This lantern set by Reliance did not mention Christmas use, although the set was marketed at Christmas time as well as during the rest of the year.
ca 1939	Paramount	This set of bell lights included uncommon flashlight-type lamps in the set instead of the usual C-6 miniature base lamps.
ca 1939	Paramount	This set included imported lamps, and was marketed under the Paramount name. Other lighting companies also sold the same lights under their own names. It is unusual for a major lighting company to sell Japanese lamps under their major brand name, as most used "generic" names for sets that included imported lamps.
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