• Buy It Now

  Link to My eBay Store for immediate purchase.

Want more vintage Christmas?

Check out my website, www.fromgrandmastree.com

• Buy It Now

  Link to My eBay Store for immediate purchase.

Want more vintage Christmas?

Check out my website, www.fromgrandmastree.com

• Buy It Now

  Link to My eBay Store for immediate purchase.

Want more vintage Christmas?

Check out my website, www.fromgrandmastree.com

• Buy It Now

  Link to My eBay Store for immediate purchase.

Want more ornaments?

Check out my website, www.fromgrandmastree.com

All I Want for Christmas is a Beatle

Shiny Brite Ornaments were lacquered by machine on the outside and then decorated by hand. The ornaments were silvered on the inside so they would remain “shiny bright” for longer periods. Shiny Brite produced ornaments from the 30s thru the 60s. Each one was labeled on the cap “Shiny Brite”, so don’t accept an ornament as Shiny Brite unless it has the label.

Typical 50s styles included stenciled and striped balls and indents.  Double pointed shaped oranaments decorated similarly were also popular in the 1950s.  Plain balls were also sold by the boxful. Many 50s Shiny Brite caps are fluted.

Today, Christopher Radko, the entrepreneur who discovered and recreated many of the historic glass ornament molds from Germany and Czechoslovakia, has purchased the name and recreated much of the 50s era Shiny Brite ornament collection.

Reproduction Bubble Light Set

The most memorable 1950s Christmas lights are bubble lights. Bubble lights were introduced post World War II and were most popular early in the decade. If you can find genuine vintage bubble lights, these will likely be the most ooh’d and ahh’d over. Remember that these lights are very hot and you should place them carefully, even on artificial trees. You might place your precious strings on a plug connected to a light dimmer switch and reduce the amount of power just enough to keep them bubbling, thereby increasing the life of the bulbs and not reducing the brightness of your tree very much. These bulbs are very difficult to pry apart and replace with a modern replacement bulb and working vintage ones are increasing in price as they become scarcer. If you want the look without the wear to your precious vintage lights, invest in some reproduction bubble lights for your tree and save your vintage set for a special place on a wreath or garland and light them less frequently than you do your tree.

C7 Light Set in Original Box

The predominant lighting sets were C9 and C7 sets. A bit harder to find are G7 sets with a globular shaped bulb. The 50s saw the decline of the C6 or Mazda light sets, though they were still manufactured during the 1950s. Specialty figural light bulb sets saw their end in the 1950s. Very few were produced early in the decade. If you use any of these light sets on your tree, you are being authentic.

Two Types of C7 1950's Light Bulbs

C6 Mazda Light Bulbs

Vintage C9 Light Bulbs

In 1958, the very first aluminum trees were produced and with the fire hazard of placing light strings on aluminum branches, the color wheel was born. These rotating flood lights lit up the whole tree in 4 different primary colors.

The Fabulous 50s.

There is nothing like music to create the mood so here is a playlist of Christmas hits from the 1950s

•  Winter Wonderland  – Perry Como
• Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee,1958
• I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus  – Jimmy Boyd, 1952
• The Chipmunk Song – Christmas Don’t Be Late - David Seville and the Chipmunks, 1958.
• Santa Baby – Eartha Kitt, 1953
• (Im Getting’) Nuttin’ for Christmas – Barry Gordon with Art Mooney & his orchestra,1955
• Jingle Bell Rock - Bobby Helms, 1957
• Blue Christmas - Elvis Presley ,1957 & 1964.
• Mary’s Boy Child - Harry Belafonte,1956.
• Little Drummer Boy - Harry Simeone Chorale, 1958.
• Santo Natale – David Whitfield, 1954.
• I Heard The Bells on Christmas Day – Harry Belafonte, 1958.

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Early Brass Onaments

The first brass ornaments that I remember seeing were in the Lillian Vernon Catalog. They were brass filigree with free personalization, a feature that distinguished this company from its competitors. These were not marked with the maker name, but since 75 million were sold between 1970 and 1994, it is likely that any brass ornament with a personalized name is by Lillian Vernon.

Three Dimensional Brass Ornaments

From the early simple brass ornaments, more complex three dimensional ornaments were produced as brass ornaments became more popular.

1990 White House Ornament

From the simple brass ornaments by Lillian Vernon and other manufacturers, evolved the more collectible lines of photochemically etched brass ornaments manufactured by ChemArt. The two most notable lines of collectible brass ornaments are the White House Collection, authorized by the White House Historical Association, and the Baldwin Collection.

Plated brass ornaments are popular fundraising and custom items. ChemArt produces custom designs as does Tom Pollard Designs.

Hallmark Plated Brass Ornament

Hallmark has produced a few brass ornament designs as part of its Keepsake line.

Vintage Brass Tree Topper

It is more rare to find other brass filigree items such as this tree topper that I recently sold.