Guide to the Eras of Christmas

There are so many wonderful areas for collecting in Christmas and almost everyone remembers some favorite ornament or some treasured display that their parents or grandparents used.  Some collect by theme.  Santas, snowmen, nativity and angel collectors are prime examples.  Others collect by era.  Let me give you a quick rundown of the eras as they are organized on eBay. 

Vintage Ornaments

This is the era that is most highly prized by collectors and is defined as prior to and including WWII, or pre-1946.  I'll describe this era by decade, starting with the oldest.  

• 1890s & Earlier

Use of live trees became popular in the late 18th century as Prince Albert (from Germany) brought the German custom of a decorated and candle lit tree to his wife (Queen Victoria) and family in England.  The oldest ornaments date from that era.  You will find scrap ornaments, old metal candleholders and glass candleholders that date to the turn of the century.

• 1900s

This era saw the advent of the earliest glass ornaments, called kugels.  These are heavy and topped with a flat metal cap with ring for hanging.  Clip-on candle holders were popular as were the glass holders for live flame candles. Trees were lighted once as the children were ushered in to view the tree.  The candles were extinguished fairly quickly after the decorated tree was admired. 

• 1910s

We saw the advent of scrap ornaments and the use of actual items (toys and dolls) and sweets hung on the tree in paper cornucopias and boxes.

• 1920s
  

The earliest electric lights were introduced in the 20s.  We also saw the beginning of the figural ornament industry, mostly blown into molds or hand blown from Germany.  The earliest celluloid ornaments appeared.

20's Composition Ornaments

• 1930s

More varieties of electric lights were introduced and the introduction of the "ribbon" glass blowing machine made mass production of glass sphere ornaments possible.  These are distinguished by the absence of mold marks or dimples. Japan began mass production of all sorts of ornaments which became very popular.

 

Mazda C6 Lights

• 1940s

These were the years of WWII.  Imports from Japan and Germany abruptly stopped and the war effort led to the conservation of precious metals.  Glass ornaments were no longer lined with silvering and most were marked "Made in USA". 

 

All Cardboard/Spun Glass Treetop

 

Modern Era

This era is defined as the years 1946 through 1990.  These are the years fondly remembered by baby boomers as the wide variety of items available as the post war economy expanded.  These have become hot collectibles as baby boomers seek to replace pieces of their history and as their children or grandchildren nostalgically remember the items used by the boomers.  I continue the decade count-down below.

• 1940s Post War

Post war led to the resumption of imports that were by law marked "Occupied".  One can find ornaments marked "occupied Japan", "West Germany-US Zone", etc. Bubble lights were very popular in this era.

• 1950s

There was a resurgence of ornaments from Japan and lots of hard plastic (unbreakable) items produced.  The "Shiny Brite" brand of glass ornaments put out some of its best decorated glass spheres.  These are being reproduced today.  Also, we saw the movement of the cottage glassblowing industry from Germany to Czechoslovakia and Poland.  Miniature lights were introduced.

 

Shiny Brite Stencil

 

• 1960s

Who can forget the aluminum trees and revolving lights?  And the plastic ornaments and many, many Japanese imports.  The miniature lights just about took over the lighting of trees.

 

           Satin Ornaments (for Aluminum Tree)

• 1970s

A return to nature led to many handmade look ornaments being produced from an amazing variety of types and sources.  Lots of fabric ornaments were produced in this era.  Hallmark began it's Keepsake Ornament line in the second half of the decade.

 

Handmade Dough Ornaments

• 1980s

The theme tree became popular and several companies came out with color coordinated lines of ornaments.  Also, a resurgence of glass ornaments began.  Hallmark produced a larger line each year.  Radko and Old World Christmas searched out old molds and began creating new ones and led to the renewed appreciation of the old style decorations.

Early Hallmark Satin Ornament

Current Era

This era is marked by the dominance of the collectible markets.  Most collectors appear to be focused upon the major collectible markets and thus far seem to eschew the massive quantities of imported copies and mass produced ornaments from the far east. 

1990s & The Modern Era

 We now have Department 56, Midwest Importers, Old World Christmas, Radko, Byers Choice, Boyd's Bears, and on and on.  These producers each give us a collectible line of lovely Christmas items to choose from.

Dept 56 Snow Village                        Radko Boxed Ornaments