Here are some
pages out of a late 1920s German
"Fancy Lamp" catalog, containing many general purpose and highly
decorative lamps. Also
note the two pictures of suggested uses for these miniature lights- in
scenes
built into a box lid and also in small hanging baskets of lighted
fruit. Most of
the particular lights shown here are quite hard to find today, and are
highly
collectible. They are wonderful examples of the fine German
craftsmanship of the
era. The Jack O' Lantern is particularly rare, as are some of the
standing
figures. All examples are hand painted clear glass. Except for the rose
in the
lower right hand corner of the first picture, the rest of the lamps in
that
group are standard base (regular household) size bulbs. Uses for these
larger
lamps included hallway, front door and wall fixtures.
Also see the next page of this section for another catalog of early figural lamps. |
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THE INTERSTATE ELECTRIC NOVELTY COMPANY imported these lights circa 1915. This company, one of the 15 that later merged to become NOMA, was one of the "biggies" in the early history of electric Christmas lighting. Formed in 1912 by the merger of the Franco-American Electric Company and Alfred Wolfe and Company, they made and distributed many forms of decorative lighting, including regular and figural Christmas lamps. In 1920, the Company changed their name to The Franco Electric Company and sold the Yere-Round line of decorative lights. In 1923 their name was changed to Yale Electric, then in 1925 to Premo Electric. By 1926, the company was a part of NOMA. The lights in this set are carbon filament German outside painted clear glass, with composition fiber insulators. | ||
Outside of box | End label of box | Inside view |
I was recently able to add this wonderful outfit from Peerless to my collection. Circa 1918, the set retains 8 of its original "tin can" type center contact miniature base lamps, which also have ceramic insulators. The filament is horseshoe-shaped carbonized bamboo, and the sockets in the 8 light festoon are green enameled ceramic. The power tap on the silk covered cord is the non-adaptable screw in type. This Peerless Company is not the same outfit that made Christmas lighting products from 1927 until well into the 1960s. The "tin can" type center contact lamps are very early, and of American manufacture. Many of these lamps had oval paper stickers on them, indicating their voltage and light output, measured in candlepower. These lamps are 1 CP, and 14 volts. Although this set has the same name as a major maker of Christmas lights (Peerless), the lights pictured here are not from that company, but of an offshoot of The Diamond Electric Company. |
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Including clear and white
milk
glass which are not shown, pictured below are all of the known
varieties of true colored glass
exhaust tipped carbon filament Christmas lamps known to exist. Shades
may vary
somewhat from sample to sample, but the basic colors remain true. When
unlit,
specimens appear darker, and the true colors will shine when power is
applied.
The red lamps can be extremely dark in some specimens, almost to the
point of
appearing black. The purple, yellow and amber lamps are the rarest of
all of the
colors, and are very hard to find. All of these examples are Japanese
or German,
have fiber insulators in the base, and are circa 1912.
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