Combined
Glossary of Terms
and
Index of Manufacturers

The glossary will define many of the terms used within this website. It also includes many of the manufacturers of Christmas lights over the years. Just click on a letter to go to that section.

A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V W  X  Y  Z

A

     ACLA: An acronym for the American Christmas Lighting Assoc. Formed when the Christmas lighting division of Beacon Electric and what was left of Paramount (formerly the Raylite Trading Company) merged in 1972 or 1973.

     A.C. Mannweiler Company: Operated in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, manufacturing and selling a wide variety of miniature light bulbs, including Christmas lamps. One of the wonderful things about the web is how it facilitates communication between people of common interests. Dick Cook visited this site recently, and wrote to offer the following details about the A.C. Mannweiler Company: "I grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and the A.C. Mannweiler shop was up on the corner from where we lived. Mr. Mannweiler had passed away before I was born, but I knew his only daughter, and everybody called her Mrs. B. She and her husband took over the business after Mr. Mannweiler died. I remember as a child going to their store with my parents where I would get them to purchase some of the Mannweiler miniature based Christmas lamps. I believe Mrs. B and her husband continued to make at least some of the Mannweiler Christmas lamps into 1940 or 1941. As of August, 2001, the building where the company was still stands. After Mrs. B died, her only living relative gave me her personal papers which has some data pertaining to the Mannweiler Company, including advertising pamphlets and a photograph of Mrs. B as a child with her mother and father alongside a Christmas tree festooned with Mannweiler lamps. Among the papers was a patent number for a design patent for a Christmas candle lamp." To the left is a picture of that 1921 patent.

     Alfred Wolfe and Company: A electrical company, selling, among other things, miniature lamps for Christmas lighting use. Merged in 1912 with the Franco-American Electric Company to form the Interstate Electric Novelty Company.

     American Decorative Lighting Company:  The Morris Goldman Company, also known as the M. Goldman Company, used this name on some of their earliest lighting sets. After about 1929, the company sold their lights under the Goodlite or Good-Lite name. Later became the Goodlite Electric Company, which operated in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Morris Goldman also became associated with NOMA, and in the early 1960s, was that company's president.

     American Ever Ready Company: This company, along with General Electric, sold some of the earliest Christmas lighting strings. Later became part of The National Carbon Company, the maker of Eveready batteries to this day. The one word "Eveready" is a trademark of the company. 

     Amical: This was a mid-twentieth century division of NOMA Electric.

     AMICO: A name brand that NOMA used when selling light sets with imported lamps. This brand was managed under the Amical division of NOMA.   

     Anthony Wayne Lamp Company: A division or subsequent business name of the A.C. Mannweiler Company, which offered their own line of decorative light bulbs, including Christmas lamps.  They also sold Christmas decorations and artificial trees. Web site visitor Dick Cook shares with us this image of a brochure from the Anthony Wayne Lamp Company, which operated in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The brochure discusses the company's new candle lamps and artificial feather trees, and lists their various lighting outfit offerings. Note the similarity of the candle lamps pictured in the brochure with the patent picture from A.C. Mannweiler above.

     Aurora: A trade name of the Charles F. Abbott Company, seller of Christmas lights and other decorative products.

B

   Beacon Electric Company: A 1970s-era maker of Christmas lights. The company was located in Boston, Massachusetts, and later merged with the remnants of the Paramount Company and became known as ACLA (The American Christmas Lighting Assoc.).

     Berwick, Bernard: Sold a line of unusual lighted Christmas decorations in the 50s and 60s under the Mirostar name. His family formed the Triangle Electro Trading Company in the early 1900s. The Berwick Company sold a huge line of all types of Christmas decorations.

      BlueBird: A trademarked name used by the United States Electric Manufacturing Company. For a short time, this company merged during the formation of NOMA Electric, but soon became independent once again. Another trademark used by this company was USALITE.

     Bradford Novelty Company: Sold a line of lighted plastic Christmas decorations and novelties, including the Bradford Celestial Tree Topper, a 1970s lighted disco-ball centered tree top star. It is quite collectable today. In 2002, K-Mart stores began selling a reproduction of the popular topper.

     Buffalo Lamps: Lights with this name embossed into the brass collars were sold by the Messervey company in Canada and in the United States, circa 1920-1931. Buffalo is one of their trademarked names. 

C

   C-6 (also C-7 and C-9): Terms describing the common sizes of Christmas lights. This is a confusing area, mainly because of the "mixed" terminology used when describing them. Nowadays, we refer to the lights by their glass envelope size only, and call them (quite incorrectly, I might add) merely C-6, C-7 and C-9 lights. The "C" designation technically refers only to the glass envelope size of the lamp, measured in eighths of an inch at the widest point, and is not an indication of the base size. Theoretically, any base size can have any glass envelope size attached to it. Lamps are properly described by both their glass and base sizes, for example "C-6 miniature base". American lamps are described by the glass envelope type and size, with C being "conical", G being "globe or globular" and T being "tubular". Base sizes are miniature, candelabra, intermediate, and standard, with standard referring to the household size base we are used to today. Here is a chart of the common types of Christmas lights:

Most common bubble lights are series wired miniature base, while some are the candelabra multiple wired type. The Lighted Ice type lamps can be either base size, as can the tubular candle shaped lamps. The miniature base Christmas lamps are no longer manufactured, but you'll find the candelabra and intermediate base lamps are still available, although in slightly different shapes than their older cousins. 

   C.D. Wood Electric Company, Incorporated: An electrical supply company, an employee of whom invented the Tatchon connector, which changed the Christmas lighting industry forever. See Lester Haft and His 1924 Patent for more information. For a short time, they sold Christmas lights under the Woodwin name. Sold their first set of Christmas lights in 1917.

     Cable Electric Products: A 1950s company selling Christmas lights under the Snap-It name.

     Carbon filament: The earliest type of light-producing filaments used in light bulbs, including Christmas lights. these filaments are black, usually horseshoe shaped in Christmas lights, and burn with a charming orange glow. They use heavy amounts of current, are not of even brightness from specimen to specimen, and get exceedingly hot when lit. By 1920, carbon filaments were no longer used, being replaced by tungsten.

      Celluloid: A compound made from nitrocellulose and camphor, generally considered one of the first plastics. The word "Celluloid" was actually a trademark of the Celluloid Manufacturing Company, and was registered in 1870. In the very early 1900s, small German or Japanese toys and Putz animals were also made into figural Christmas lights. Most of these were intended to be operated from battery power, but a few sets made to be added on to a standard set of 8 series wired lights are known as well. Celluloid burns very easily and often suffered from spontaneous decomposition (often accompanied by a strong smell of vinegar), and as a result the vast majority of these lights have been lost to the ages. One of the few remaining products made today from celluloid are ping pong balls.

   Charles F. Abbot Company: A company selling, among other things, Christmas lights under the trade name Aurora.

     Charm: A trademarked name registered by the Peerless Company. They used this brand name when selling Christmas light sets that included Japanese lamps.

     Cheer-I-Lights: Trademark of the Monowatt Company, who sold Christmas lighting outfits under this name until that division merged with several other companies to form NOMA Electric. Sets sold with the Cheer-I-Light name often included imported fancy shaped lamps.

     Clemco: A prolific seller of Christmas lights under the Clemco name in the 1930s and early 40s. Founded by Elliott Clemence, who also held several patents for improvements to Christmas lighting strings and sockets.

     Composition: An almost clay-like substance used in, among other things, the manufacture of Christmas lighting string sockets. Almost always in green, and rarely, red when used in Christmas lights, this composition is the forerunner of Bakelite. It is usually heat resistant, quite heavy, and is sometimes confused with both wood (lighter) or ceramic/porcelain (shinier) by novice collectors.

     Crest-O-Light: Outfits with this name were originally sold by the Crestolite Mfg. Co. located in New York City. Later purchased by NOMA, who continued to sell sets with imported lamps under this name for a time.

D

  Deal Electric Company: One of the early major sellers of electric Christmas lights, selling sets under the Dealite name. Also marketed a set of lights with a patented spring-loaded "constant contact" socket.

    Decorative Products Corporation: A division of Haupt, Incorporated, this company sold Christmas lighting outfits from their office and warehouses located at 57 Walker street, New York, New York.

    Diamond: Trade name for The Diamond Electric Specialty Corporation. The company sold Diamond brand lighting sets circa 1919-1925. Prior to this, the company was known as the Import Sales Company.

E

  Electric Candles: An early term used to describe a set of Christmas lights. Several manufacturers called their lights electric candles in the early days, and they were not always referring to a set of lights that truly resembled candles. Many standard lighting outfits, with the ordinary pear shaped bulbs, were called electric candles by their manufacturer.

    Electric Porcelain Manufacturing Company: Located in Baltimore, MD, this company sold Christmas lighting outfits in wooden boxes for a short time.

    Electro Importing Company: Predominantly a radio parts manufacturer and reseller. Their 1914 catalog of "Electric Holiday Suggestions" features two pages of electric Christmas tree outfits. Also, the collection on this site includes one Electro Importing Company branded lighting outfit, which can be seen HERE.

     EverLite: A brand of the Royal Electric Company. Light sets sold under the EverLite name used imported lamps.

     Eveready (also: Ever Ready): Trademarks of the American Ever Ready Company, an early manufacturer of Christmas lighting outfits. CLICK HERE for the history of the company.

     Exhaust tip: A small pointed tip found on the top of the earliest light bulbs. This tip was formed when molten glass was applied to a tiny hole cut in the glass envelope, used to exhaust air from the lamp, to seal it. 

F

   Festoon: An early twentieth century term for a string of electric Christmas lights.

     Five Seas Trading Corporation: An early Christmas lighting company. Originally imported figural Christmas lights, then sold lighting outfits. Founded by Louis Szel, who later became an executive with NOMA Electric. Sometimes erroneously credited with inventing electric Christmas lights. Reference books often quote facts from an interview Mr. Szel (sometimes spelled Szell) did in the late 1930s, but research has shown that not all of his memories were totally accurate.

     Franco: A trademark used by The Interstate Electric Novelty Company,  an importer of figural light bulbs.. This company 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.

G

   Gem Electric Manufacturing Company, Incorporated: A New York State company selling Christmas lights in the 1930s. Lights were sold under the Gem and Gemlites names.

     General Appliance Company (Gacor): This company sold several sets of unusual blinking lights, in both C-9 and C-6 lamps sizes. These outfits used flasher devices contained within metal boxes, and the lighting festoons themselves had metal lamp sockets.

     General Electric: The company that this collector's research indicates actually sold the first sets of Christmas lights. The largest manufacturer of light bulbs in the world for a great many years, General Electric bulb designs and features were top sellers in the industry. See The Mazda Lamp Story for  more information about GE light bulbs.

     Gibraltar: A trademark name of the Raylite trading Company, who sold some lighting outfits under this name.

     Glolite: An early 1930s company that sold miniature table top trees and light sets using their patented light transmitting glass rods. they were first located in Waukegan, Wisconsin and then later in Chicago, Illinois. The company was later purchased by NOMA Electric, who used the name for various lights and lighting outfits that they sold in the 1940s and 50s, and continuing on into the early 1960s.

     Glo-Ray (also GloRay): Names under which Christmas lights were sold. The earliest use of the Glo-Ray name was for German  figural Christmas lights sold by the Lee Import and Export Company in the late teens and early 1920s. The NOMA company later used the name GloRay for a totally different type of light, a G-14 outside painted light set sold shortly after World War II.

     Glory: A brand name of Christmas lights manufactured by the Zell Electric Manufacturing Company.

     Goodlite (also Good-Lite): The Goodlite Electric Company, located in Bridgeport, Connecticut, sold lighting outfits under both of these names in the 1930s, 40s and 50s.

H

  Haft, Lester: An employee of the C.D. Wood Electric Company, whose invention of the Tatchon connector changed American Christmas lighting forever. See Lester Haft and His 1924 Patent for more information.

    Happi Time: A trademarked name of Sears, Roebuck and Co. for their line of Christmas lights. The majority of these lighting sets were made for Sears by NOMA.

    Henry W. McCandless Company: This early electric accessory and light bulb manufacturer also sold Christmas lighting outfits in the early 1900s.  The H.W. McCandless Company also manufactured the very first radio tube for Lee Deforest, who is considered to be the father of  modern radio. Deforest invented the three element tube, called a triode, in 1907. This tube manufactured by McCandless had a candelabra size base and wires coming out of the top for extra electrode connections. It was a glass globe the same size as the round Glolite and Lighted Ice lamps General Electric manufactured in later years. Became part of Westinghouse in the early 20th century.

    Holly: Christmas lighting outfits with this name were sold by the Hy-G Products Company of Los Angeles, California.

    Hy-G (also Hy Glo): A late 1950s and early 60s Christmas lighting company, selling products under the Holly, Hy-Glo, Hy-G and St. Nick  brand names.

I

  Import Sales Company: Forerunner of the Diamond Electric Specialty Corporation. Before 1919, used the trade name Diamond- Quality, Service, Price. After becoming Diamond Electric, the trademark was shortened to simply Diamond.

   International Trading Products (also International Trading Company): Sold Christmas lighting outfits under the Real Lite brand name. Eventually became part of NOMA Electric, who kept the Real Lite name for outfits sold using imported lamps.

   Interstate Electric Novelty Company: An importer of figural light bulbs.. This company 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. Was one of the companies that merged to form NOMA Electric.

    ISCO Products: Sold inexpensive lighting outfits, featuring mainly imported lamps. Operated in New York, New York and Chicago, Illinois.

J

   Jaeger Miniature Lamp Manufacturing Company: A company that sold some of the earliest lighting outfits manufactured in the United States. Among their brand names were Santa Claus Electric Candles and Touch The Button. Originally, there were two Jaeger brothers involved in Christmas lighting manufacturing, in the earliest years working together and then splitting into two companies. This collector has been able to discover little else about these companies.

     Joy (also Joy Lites): Trademarked names for lights sold by the Majestic Electric Company.

    Junction Box: A device, usually made of porcelain but occasionally of composition, found on early lighting outfits. These boxes facilitated the addition of one or more festoons, allowing a light set to be expanded as needed.

K

     Keydel Company: Sold an unusual metal rotating tree top they called Electric Angel Chimes. This product was later improved and electrically redesigned and sold by the M. Propp Company, who also called them Electric Angel Chimes.

     Kremenezky Company: An Austrian Company, one of the first producers of figural lights. Beautifully painted, lamps from this company are some of the finest ever produced.

L

    LECO Electric Manufacturing Company: The LECO Company was started in 1946, in The Bronx, New York by two partners named Neustadt and Cohen. The company did well from the beginning, and in 1950, at the suggestion of their wire supplier (Chester Wire & Cable of Chester, NY) the two men looked to expand to Orange County, NY. They set up shop in the tiny village of Florida and opened up in the lower floor of a vacant storefront. They soon outgrew the space. In 1951, the partners opened a new factory on Roosevelt Ave in downtown Florida. Soon, LECO was operating on a 24 hour a day schedule, with SIX automatic bakelite injection machines pumping out sockets and plugs. 

Mr. Neustadt told me in a phone interview that a lot of their success was due to the fact that his company would only build the highest quality sets, and made sure every single connection was soldered by hand. The early Ringalite sets proudly included Westinghouse light bulbs.

In October of 1953, a devastating fire tore through the factory, right at the height of the busiest season. Millions of lamps were inside, and people can remember to this day seeing the sea of lamps flowing out of the windows of the factory, floating on all of the water the fire company was pumping into the building. . This was not the end, however- the partners rebuilt, and the factory still stands  today, although it is now vacant. Continuing their success despite the fire, in 1955 a second manufacturing facility in Dallas, Texas was started, all the while keeping the Florida, NY operation going. The Florida factory closed around 1966 or so, while the Dallas operation remains in business to this day.

     Lee Import and Export Company: A early seller of imported figural lamps. Most of these were sold under the Glo-Ray name, and some were sold under the name of Leeco.

     Leo Pollock Corporation:  A prolific seller of Christmas lighting outfits and novelty lights in the 1930s, 40s and early 50s. Most were sold under the Polly brand name.  

     Liberty Outfit Manufacturing Company: Operated in New York City, and sold inexpensive lighting outfits with mainly imported lamps.

M

     M. Propp Company: Once one of the largest Christmas lighting manufacturers in the world. See The Morris Propp Story for more information.  

     Majestic Electric Company: Sold lighting outfits under the names of Majestic and Joy Lites.

     Matchless (also Matchless Electric): Manufacturer of all types of high quality miniature electric light bulbs and Matchless Stars. See the Matchless Wonder Stars section of this site for more information.

   Mazda: A trademark of the General Electric Company. See The Mazda Lamp Story for more information.

     McCandless Company (also the Henry W. McCandless Company and the H.W. McCandless Company): This early electric accessory and light bulb manufacturer also sold Christmas lighting outfits in the early 1900s.  The H.W. McCandless Company also manufactured the very first radio tube for Lee Deforest, who is considered to be the father of  modern radio. Deforest invented the three element tube, called a triode, in 1907. This tube manufactured by McCandless had a candelabra size base and wires coming out of the top for extra electrode connections. It was a glass globe the same size as the round Glolite and Lighted Ice lamps General Electric manufactured in later years. 

     Messervey (also Messervey Industries): An early seller of Christmas lamps and outfits, in both Buffalo, New York and Ontario, Canada. See The Burt Messervey Story for more information about this company.

     Miller Electric Company: Seller of Christmas lights and lighted novelty items in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Purchased some of the Christmas stock of Royal Electric when that company went out of the Christmas lighting and novelty business.

     Mirostar Corporation: Producer of a line of electric Christmas decorations and novelties in the late 1950s. See also: Berwick, Bernard

     Monowatt (also Monowatt Electric Import Company): A company selling lighting sets in the 1920s. Monowatt was one brand of lights this company sold- Solite and Cheer-I-Lite were others. The Christmas lighting division of this company later merged with several other small companies to form NOMA Electric.,

     Muter Lights (also Muter Electric): A seller of Christmas lights in the late 1930s and early 40s.

N

     New York Merchandising Company: A prolific importer and seller in Christmas lights in the 1930s, 40s and 50s. Sold their sets under the Reliance and Renown brand names.  

     NILCO: An acronym for the Novelty Incandescent Lighting Company, a maker of all sizes of decorative lamps as well as a seller of Christmas lights in the 1920s. Both their lamps and lighting sets were sold under the NILCO name. NILCO

     NOMA (also N.O.M.A. and NOMA Electric, NOMA Lites, Inc and NOMA World Wide after about 1968.): An acronym for the National Outfit Manufacturers Association, this company was by far the largest Christmas lighting company in the world during its time of operation. Originally formed when 11-15 companies, all licensed to use the Tatchon Connectors, formed a trade association in 1925. By 1926, the individual companies merged to form NOMA Electric. See The NOMA Story and Lester Haft and His 1924 Patent for more information.

     Novelty Incandescent Lighting Company: A maker of all sizes of decorative lamps as well as a seller of Christmas lights in the 1920s.

     Novolite (also Novo-Lite, Novo-Lite Corporation of New York): A seller of Christmas lights in the 1930s, 40s and 50s.

O

     Onyx Electric Company, Incorporated (also Onyxlites): A seller of electrical devices and Christmas lights in the 1920s. Christmas lights were sold under the Onyxlites brand name. 

     Outfit: An early term referring to a Christmas Lighting set. The word was incorporated into the largest Christmas lighting manufacturer's name, NOMA, which is an acronym for the National Outfit Manufacturers Association.

P

   Parallel Wiring: A method of wiring Christmas lights so that the failure of one or more lamps will not affect the operation of the others in the string. See diagram below:

     Paramount: The Raylite Trading Company sold their lighting outfits and Christmas novelty items under this name in the 1930-1965 time period. This company was one of the "biggies" in the Christmas lighting industry, and NOMA's largest competitor.    

     Park Electric Company (also Park): A small manufacturer of Christmas lights, they sold the majority of their lighting outfits under the Park name.

     Peerless: An early Christmas lighting company, selling lighting sets with porcelain sockets in the early 1900s. Not related to the Peerless Tree Lite Company.

     Peerless Tree Lite Company: This company sold inexpensive Christmas tree outfits in the 1950s. Not related to the Peerless company listed above.  This company was located in New York.

     Pennant: The Raylite Trading Company sold lighting sets in Canada under this name.

     Polly: A brand name of the Leo Pollock Corporation, a prolific seller of Christmas lights in the 1930s, 40s and early 50s.

     Premo Electric Company (also Premo):  Operated 1925 to 1927, when they merged with other companies to form NOMA Electric. A later incarnation of the Interstate Electric Novelty Company.

     Propp: A trademarked name of the M. Propp Company, selling their Christmas lighting sets under this name. See The Morris Propp Story and The NOMA Story for more information.

     Putz or Putz Scene: A miniature village or Cr?che layout, set up under the Christmas tree (or sometimes on a mantle or side table). Some of these can be extremely elaborate, incorporating electric lighting and sometimes even miniature railroad systems. Such scenes were extremely popular at the turn of the 19th century, and remained so through the 1930s. Many families still set up a Putz scene to this day.

Q

R

     Rainbow Electrical Manufacturing Company: An early-to-mid 1920s company who manufactured lighting sets for a short time under the name of Rainbowlites. The company operated at 79 Grand Street in New York City.

     Raylite Trading Company:  The Raylite Trading Company sold their lighting outfits and Christmas novelty items under the Paramount, Sterling, Wink-A-Lite and Gibraltar names in the 1930-1965 time period. This company was one of the "biggies" in the Christmas lighting industry, and NOMA's largest competitor. Also sold lighting sets in Canada under the Pennant name.  

     Real-Lite (also Realite): Originally a trademark of the International Trading Company, who sold their light sets under this name. The name was later owned and used by NOMA Electric when they bought the International Trading Company in the early 1930s.

     Renown: A trademark of the New York Merchandising Company, a prolific importer and seller in Christmas lights in the 1930s, 40s and 50s.    

     Reliance: A trademark of the New York Merchandising Company, a prolific importer and seller in Christmas lights in the 1930s, 40s and 50s. 

     Ringalite: Trademarked name that the LECO Company used for many of their lighting outfits.  

     Royal Electric: The Royal Company is still in business today, although they are not making Christmas lighting or decorations anymore. Once NOMA's largest competitor in the bubble light market, the NOMA Electric Company actually ended up purchasing Royal's old stock when they went out of the Christmas lighting business. A devastating fire broke out in 1955, which totally wiped out the Royal factories that manufactured their Christmas products. Residents of Pawtucket, Rhode Island where the factory was located, reported that for months afterward pieces and parts of Christmas lighting products washed up on the shore of the Blackstone River. Not all of Royal's factories were destroyed in the huge blaze-just the Christmas products buildings. Royal decided not to rebuild the factory, and sold all of their remaining stock and manufacturing molds first to NOMA and then to Miller Electric. The well known Royal Santa and Snowman were sold by NOMA well into the 1960s, indistinguishable from their earlier Royal incarnation. Soon after NOMA's acquisition of the Royal merchandise, NOMA sold the items under the Royal for a time. These NOMA/Royal items are easily identified by the address on the package-Saint Joseph, Missouri, the location of the NOMA production facilities at the time. The stock lasted through the mid 1960s for both Miller and NOMA. Miller boxes of this era show pictures of Royal products as well. It can be quite confusing until you realize that most of the stock was originally Royal-produced merchandise, and later made using the old Royal molds. It is also interesting to note that, unlike most of the other major manufacturers, when they were in the Christmas decoration business Royal produced all of their own products and materials, including packaging, purchasing only light bulbs from an outside source (General Electric). Also sold lighting outfits under the Royalites and Standard brand names.

     Royalites: First used in 1947, this was a trademark name of Royal Electric, and used on many of their lighting outfits.

     Rudges: A very small company who sold Christmas lighting outfits for a short time in the 1920s.

S

     Safe-Tree: A trademarked name of the Zell Manufacturing Company. 

     Screw Plug: A device resembling the base of a standard light bulb, which, when screwed into a lighting fixture, provided power to Christmas lights and other early electrical devices. Most lighting outfits prior to 1920 had this type of device on the cord rather than the bladed plugs we are familiar with today.

     Seda Company Incorporated: Maker of the Seda brand of bubble lights. These lights are quite rare today and highly sought after. These lights were also sold under the Polly name of the Leo Pollock Corporation.

   Series Wiring: A inexpensive method of wiring Christmas lights. The failure of a single lamp will cause the string to go dark until the defective lamp is found and replaced. See diagram below:

     Shunt: An electrical device within a light bulb that allows the lamp to still complete an electrical circuit even if the filament is burnt out. All of today's miniature light sets incorporate this device, as did many of the older C-6 miniature base series-type lamps manufactured in the 1930s and early 1940s. These lights were sold under names like "XL" and "Staylite." See "If One Goes Out, They ALL Go Out" on this web site.

     Snap-It: The Cable Electric Products company  based in New York sold Christmas lights under this name for a time in the early 1950s. One of their sets was sold in an unusual box that formed a sleigh that could be used as a table centerpiece.

     Solite: A trademarked name that was rarely used by Monowatt.

     St. Nick: A trademarked name of the Hy-G Products Company, who sold series and parallel wired lighting sets under this name.

     Standard: Royal Electric used this brand name to market lighting outfits using imported lamps.

     Standard Electric Manufacturing Company: An early Christmas lighting manufacturer who sold lighting outfits in 1906-1908.

     Starlite: Originally a trademark of the Tinsel Corporation of America, NOMA Electric obtained the name when the company merged with the N.O.M.A. companies in 1926.

     Sterling: A trademarked name of the Raylite Trading Company.

     Sunshine Christmas Tree Outfit Company: Manufactured lighting outfits for a very short time in the mid-1920s, marketed under the Solite brand name.

     Sylvania: A medium-sized maker of light bulbs, including Christmas lamps. Introduced  fluorescent Christmas lamps in 1945.

     Szel, Louis (also spelled Szell): An early pioneer in the electric Christmas lighting business, sometimes and erroneously credited with inventing electric Christmas lights. See also: The Five Seas Trading Corporation.

T

  Tatchon Connector: Patented in 1924, this connector allowed multiple strings of Christmas lights to be easily interconnected. This invention by Lester Haft changed the Christmas lighting industry forever. See Lester Haft and His 1924 Invention for more information.

    Thomas Imports (also Thomas Company): A New York based importing company, selling lighting outfits with imported lamps under both the Thomas Imports and Timco brand names.

    TIMCO (also Timco): Brand name of the Thomas Imports Company.

  Tin Can Base:
This term actually refers to the small center contact in the base of some early light bulbs. Rather than being a blob of solder, the small center contact is neatly formed, and resembles a tiny tuna fish can. This type of center contact is an indicator of a very early light bulb. The base insulator in these early lamps is usually a tiny ceramic disc, and careful examination of the threads will reveal that they are lathe turned and not stamped as later examples are. These earliest lamps are a wonderful example of fine craftsmanship.



    Tinsel Corporation of America: Manufactured Christmas lighting outfits in the early-to-mid 1920s under the name Santalites and Starlight. They operated at 751 Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn, New York. One of the companies that merged to form NOMA Electric.

    Triangle Electro Trading Company: A 1915 to mid-1920s Christmas light manufacturing company. One of the entities that merged to form NOMA Electric in 1926.

    Tri Plug (Tri-Plug): A type of connector that allows for the connection of more than one strings of Christmas lights together. Used prominently on NOMA light strings. See also Lester Haft and His 1924 Invention.

    Tungsten filament: Replaced carbon filaments in Christmas lights completely by 1920. Tungsten filaments have many advantages over the old carbon type, among them a brighter light output, more efficient energy use, even brightness from lamp to lamp and they operate at a much lower temperature. Common household light bulbs today still use tungsten for their filaments.

U

   USALITE: A trademark of the United States Electric Manufacturing Company. Another trademarked name this company used was Blue Bird.

   United States Electric Manufacturing Company: A Christmas lighting company who sold their lighting outfits under the USALITE name in the 1920s, 30s, 40s and 50s. A prolific company, they joined the N.O.M.A. companies in the mid 1920s, only to become independent again a few years later.

     Universal Electric Products Company, Limited: The Canadian division of Royal Electric.

V

   Visca: A textured cellophane-like material, used in the 1940s and 50s to make artificial Christmas tree needles and branches. It does not age well, and today is most often found to be shedding and extremely brittle. Many small tabletop and bubbling light trees were made with this material. Sadly, there is no process know to stop the aging/shedding process.

W

   Westinghouse: A major manufacturer of light bulbs, second only to General Electric. Licensed the Mazda name from GE to use on their bulbs.

     Wink-A-Lite: A trademark of the Raylite Trading Company, who sold a few lighting outfits under this name.

     Wireman: An early twentieth century term for what we today call an electrician. While today's electricians are trained, certified and licensed, anyone with a few electrical skills could do work in the early days of the industry.

     World-Wide Enterprises Incorporated: An import company selling Japanese Christmas decorations in the 1960s. Purchased the bankrupt NOMA Company in 1967 to become NOMA-Worldwide.

     Woodwin: A trademarked name of the C.D. Wood Electric Company. They sold lighting outfits under this name for a short time, from 1917-1926.
    

X

     X-L or XL: The New York Manufacturing Company used this trademarked name for their special light bulbs. Made in a dramatic flame shape, these lamps incorporated a special shunt device which allowed a series-wired light string to remain lit should one or more lamps fail. The lamps were also sold to other manufacturers who used them in their lighting sets, and The New York Merchandising Company sold them in both Reliance and Renown branded sets.

      XMAS: Despite the popular belief that this shortened form of Christmas was an attempt to remove the word "Christ," the "X"  actually stand  for the word "Xristos,"  the Greek word for Christ.

Y

   Yere-Round: A trademark of the Franco Electric Company. Sets with this name had Tatchon connectors and were usually series wired outfits.

Z

     Zeigler Light Products Company( also Zeigler): A small company, who sold Christmas lighting outfits in the 1920s under both the company name and the trade name Zeigler  

     Zell Electric Manufacturing Company: Located in New York State, this company sold Christmas lights for a short time under the Glory, Zelco and Safe-Tree brand names.

     Zelco: A trademarked name of the Zell Electric Manufacturing Company.

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