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Hello,
and welcome to my collection of Christmas tree lights from the past.
Along with lights, my collection includes electric window candles
and wreaths, tree tops and stands, as well as a small sampling of basic
early Christmas tree decorations.
Beautiful illuminated stands provided a
glowing start for your tree, and were complimented by a bright topper
crowning the peak. Candles gave way to simple, early lights that
in turn evolved into extraordinarily detailed figural lamps. Some of
these figurals were truly works of art, with meticulous detail and
quality.
In the 1940s, bubble lights arrived, and
various decorative light covers of many types- even including fine
crystal- became popular. Unfortunately over the years, much of
this wide variety and attention to fine detail was lost in the name of
mass production which makes these rare and cherished heirlooms a
brilliant and fleeting part of our history.
I began collecting vintage Christmas
items partly because of the appeal of past traditions, and their
connection to the happy times and memories of the Christmas
holidays. Trees and their lighting hold a special fascination for
me, as the warm and inviting glow of lights was an attractive and
relaxing beacon in the dark, cold night. Indoors, the light carried you
closer to the magic of glowing lamps that always seemed to make
even the most simple, straggly Christmas tree exude the special
splendor of the season.
Even now, I am searching for more of these
wonderful items to share with future generations, and preserve a brief
moment in time that all too quickly disappeared and is destined to
be forgotten. I hope that you will discover an interesting and
enjoyable display of early Christmas as you view these unique vintage
items that are so completely different than the lights and tree
trimmings that are available today.
I sincerely thank fellow collector and
friend Bill Nelson for this special opportunity to share my collection
with you, and hope that you have an enjoyable visit. May you
recall many happy memories of past Christmas seasons or perhaps
find some interesting new ones here.
Please feel free to e-mail me
HERE with any questions or comments you may have.
-Don Lachie
| The original Christmas tree lights, candles
like these were used from the origination of the decorated tree in
Europe until electric lights gradually became more popular in America
in the 1920's. Prior to the use of electric lights, trees were
left up for only a brief period of time. A candlelit tree was a truly
spectacular sight- one that would never grow old. Traditionally,
candlelit trees were lit only twice during the season: Christmas
morning, and again later that evening as the family gathered round the
tree for Christmas meditation and prayers. |
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| Shown here are examples of the candles and
spring type metal clips that were most commonly used on trees to keep
the candles attached to the branches. Some holders had a
nail-like pin that was pushed into the branch rather than a clip.
Before these, the basic candleholder was a pendulum type made with a
stiff wire connecting the candleholder with a lead, clay or painted
metal counterweight. A bend in the wire rested on the branch and
the counterweight would help keep the candle straight as it's weight
pulled downward. |
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| Here is a Noma Christmas Candle Lantern,
circa 1928. This metal lantern held a large glass candleholder that had
one third of each side green, red and clear so the user could choose
the preferred color by simply turning the glass holder. Notice
the Propp Electric "One For All" motto on the lid, indicating that the
unit was manufactured after the 1928 merger with the NOMA
organization. While its intended use is a bit unclear, it is most
likely a parade or caroling lantern. It could also be handy in
the home to help during power outages, which occurred much more
frequently in the early days of electricity. In later years, NOMA made
similar hand held battery powered figural lanterns. Among their
most popular was a glowing Santa. |
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Here is a circa 1910 assortment of early carbon
filament exhaust tip C-6 series Christmas tree lamps. The top
four lamps and the one in the center of the picture are Edison style,
made of both clear and colored glass.( It is interesting to note that
the red color was especially costly to produce, as it was created
by adding real gold to the glass mixture. Unlit, this ruby glass was
almost black in appearance.) The sharp exhaust tip at the top of
the lamps is a result of the air being removed through a clear glass
tube attached to the colored glass envelope and then sealed shut,
forming the exhaust tip or point. In later years a method was
developed to place this tip at the bottom so that it is hidden by the
metal threaded base. The filament was made of carbon and is a
tall "U" shape, often referred to as a "hairpin' type filament, easily
visible in clear lamps These carbon filament lamps burned
extremely hot, and were not of consistent brightness due to variables
of the carbon production process. The early carbon filaments were often
made from bamboo!
The bottom three lamps in the picture are
electrically similar to the Edison carbon lamps. They were produced in
Germany and Austria with very decorative textured clear glass and were
painted with colors that are usually found to be faded or peeling from
the extreme heat produced as the lamps operated. They are often
referred to as "pinecone" lamps and are also found in the much less
common true colored-glass variety. Later examples of pinecone lamps can
be found with tungsten filaments as well.
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| Fancy C-6 series "Milk Glass
Candles". A white milk glass candle was topped by a clear glass
flame that was then painted in various colors. The exhaust tip on
the top makes for a very nice flame effect. Candles like these
are often found with missing paint, and are extremely rare in any
condition. These beauties were only manufactured from about 1910 to
1915. |
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| Lighted Silvered Ornament Lamps like the
ones pictured here were produced around 1938. Only offered in C-6
series size, they were made in both Germany and Japan. These very
rare lights unfortunately are most often found in non-working condition
as the silvered coating of the glass reflected the heat rather than
allowing its escape, which resulted in a much shorter filament life. |
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| Here is a group of assorted figural lamps,
all 14-16 volt for series use. For the most part, the oldest
lights were made of clear glass and have hairpin carbon filaments, and
were produced from 1915 and after. The more recent lamps, made of
white milk glass, are from 1922 and later and employ tungsten
filaments. The older clear glass figurals commonly came from
Germany and Austria, and featured intricate detail and rich, beautiful
colors that are very realistic, almost as a tiny sculpture of the
item. While there are exceptions, most of the milk glass lamps
normally have simpler designs, minimal painting and fewer
colors. |
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