Christmas candle lights, like the ones shown in the above photos, called Victorian Illumination Lamps, were popular during the Victorian era around  the 1880's. They were hung on Christmas trees with wire handles. When the lights were lit with voltive candles, the inverted diamond quilt design reflected the candle light making it look like a fairy with wings (similar to Tinkerbell in Peter Pan). Hence, the name Fairy Light was born. Most of these lights came from England, however, there were some made in America. The lights were also used during the celebration of Queen Victoria's Jubilee and the Coronation of Edward by hooking them onto a wire line creating a string of lights. A popular manufacturer of these lights was Pain & Sons from London, England. Their mark, an anchor with a rope, was usually impressed on the bottom of the light. On either side of the anchor were numbers representing the date and year. Besides clear, the lights came in a variety of rich colors; cobalt blue, dark and light amber, purple, moss green, forest green, red, cranberry, and garnet.

Reproductions were also made. If you are unsure by observing your light from the 'exterior' if it is an original, run your finger along the 'interior' of the light. The diamond quilt design of an original light would be raised and consistent throughout the interior. If the diamond quilt design runs out to smoothness, the light is a reproduction. A good example of a reproduction is in the photo with the two cobalt blue lights; the light on the right is a reproduction. Look carefully at the quilt design on the repro; the releif is shallow, and the pattern does not extend all the way to the base of the light; it runs out to smoothness even on the 'exterior'. Another hint of a repro is the visable seam mark on the exterior with a mismatched quilt design.

Below are some excellent articles on the history, styles, and values of the Victorian Illumination Lamps. Copy and paste the link into your browser. Don't forget to type the prefix - hyper text transfer protocol://worldwideweb - before each url.

1. Rick and Berny Baldwin have written an excellent article on Victorian Illumination Lamps at:

.fohbc.com/PDF Files/RBaldwin VicXmasLights.pdf

2. Jim at The Fairy Lamp Club has an endless source of information including pictures and values at:

.fairylampclub.com

3. A Looker On In London a book about the Victorian social era by Mary H. Krout, 1899, chapture XXIV, The Diamond Jubilee at:

.victorianlondon.org/publications2/lookeron-24.htm

Enjoy!

Susan H.