The vintage aluminum Christmas trees sought by collectors today were introduced in 1959 by Christmas tree manufacturers, Aluminum Specialty Company. Soon after their debut, aluminum Christmas trees were rapidly introduced by a variety of other firms and they became one of the staples of the modern American home during Yuletide throughout the 1960s and well into the Seventies.

Aluminum Christmas trees have been characterized as having a design, look and feel of sophistication. In fact, when the trees were launched, many observers and the manufacturer itself called them the ‘Space Age Christmas trees’. The silvery color and the unique structure and appearance made the aluminum trees different and more appealing to many people.

The vintage aluminum Christmas trees sought by collectors today were introduced in 1959 by Christmas tree manufacturers, Aluminum Specialty Company. Soon after their debut, aluminum Christmas trees were rapidly introduced by a variety of other firms and they became one of the staples of the modern American home during Yuletide throughout the 1960s and well into the Seventies.

Aluminum Christmas trees have been characterized as having a design, look and feel of sophistication. In fact, when the trees were launched, many observers and the manufacturer itself called them the ‘Space Age Christmas trees’. The silvery color and the unique structure and appearance made the aluminum trees different and more appealing to many people.

Vintage aluminum Christmas trees are most commonly found in silver, but other colors are available as well. If you take a look at some auctions, you’ll find that pink aluminum Christmas trees go for the highest prices due to their rarity. In addition to pink and silver, the trees can be found in green, blue (gorgeous!) and red as well.

Caring for Your Aluminum Christmas Tree

If you do decide to get a vintage tree, there are some things to keep in mind to protect both your home and the tree. Just remember that your tree’s branches are likely at least 30 years old or more. You won’t be able to place heavy ornaments on them without tearing the tinsel. Also, they were never designed to be strung with lights and doing so now could prove hazardous.

When you buy your tree, you should try and get a rotating color wheel to go with it. The color wheel is composed of a spotlight that has three to four different colored lenses, and as the lights are reflected onto the aluminum branches, your tree will appear to change colors as the light rotates. Don’t worry though if you can’t find a color wheel at a price you are willing to pay. Any halogen spotlight aimed at the tree will have a nice sparkly effect. You can pick up a spotlight at your hardware store and get a few bulbs in different colors for variety.

If you are just shopping for an aluminum Christmas tree at an online auction, a couple of things you want to make sure of is that all of the branches are intact. While the “branches” are usually made of steel rods and therefore sturdy for a lifetime, the aluminum foil strips that make up the tree’s “needles” are no thicker than paper so they are quite fragile. You’ll want to make sure auctions have good photos showing off the tree after assembly. Also, ideally, the tree you purchase should have the paper wrappers that protect each branch when the tree is dissembled.

Once your tree is delivered, carefully remove the branches from their wrappers and inspect for damage and breakage, then put the wrappers somewhere safe so you can re-sheath your branches when Christmas is over. Take your time putting the tree together and be careful not to force branches into the slots of the tree trunk. Many of them are made of wood and if you dig into it, you may end up with a hole that is too loose to hold the branch. So push gently. If the branch won’t fit, try it in a different hole.

If you decide to decorate your tree with ornaments, use single lightweight ornaments with wires rather than strung garlands, which can damage the tinsel. And be sure to keep your tree indoors. It won’t survive a visit to your front lawn. It probably also won’t survive a tree-climbing cat either so if you have cats who love to climb, I’d wait until they grow out of it before putting your precious aluminum Christmas tree anywhere they can reach it.

Once the holidays are over, carefully remove an ornaments you’ve added to the tree and then remove each branch and return it to its paper wrapper. Store the box somewhere safe and make sure nothing else gets placed on top of it. If you take care of it, there’s no reason your vintage aluminum Christmas tree shouldn’t last another 30 years.

Photo Credit: Doug Miller

Make sure your antique teddy bear is authentic. Don’t be confused by artist bears, which can often be heavily aged, but don’t claim to be old. Be sure to pay close attention to the teddy bear’s look and construction.

• Teddy bear’s label: The label won’t lie. Even if most of the label on a teddy bear has worn away, you can compare what remains to pictures in books in order to identify your bear.

• Teddy bear’s hump: Unlike most modern teddy bears, early teddy bears were designed to look like real bears, with a muscled hump between the shoulders. A bigger hump could indicate an older bear.

• Teddy bear’s limbs: Early teddy bears can be distinguished by their long, thin curved arms. The legs usually have narrow ankles ending in big feet, and the hips are wide.

• Teddy bear’s nose: A long nose indicates an earlier bear. The long nose was meant to mimic the look of a real bear.

• Teddy bear’s eyes and footpads: A teddy bear with plastic eyes and synthetic footpads generally dates from the 1950s and 1960s. Early makers of bears used boot buttons or glass for eyes, and velvet or felt for the footpads.

• Teddy bear’s joints: Most teddy bears made from about 1905 on have wooden disc joints that allow their limbs to move. The limbs of earlier teddy bears may be connected to the body with metal rods, but usually, those rods are only seen in low-quality teddy bears. An upper-end bear will have two arm joints, two leg joints, and a head joint, while other teddy bears often skip the head joint.

• Hand-sewn seam: Traditionally, the body was the last part of a teddy bear to be stuffed, and it was usually sewn up by hand. Most often, the hand-sewn seam runs down the back of the bear, but Steiff, Bing and Farnell bears all have seams in the front. To identify hand sewing, look at the quality of the stitching. Puckers may also indicate that the seam was finished by hand.

• Fabrics: Soft yet durable, mohair was the fabric of choice for most early bears. Made from goat hair, mohair feels like real hair. Bears made after 1930 may have silk plush fabric, while bears made in the 1950s are often made of synthetics.

• Teddy bear’s stuffing: The earliest bears are stuffed with wood shavings, called wood wool. In the 1920s, other fibers, such as kapok and wool waste, began to be used for the body and limbs, but the heads were still made of wood wool.

• Teddy bear’s pads: Felt pads are associated with high-quality bears. Lower-quality bears had pads made of brushed cotton.

• Stitching: Although most bears featured straight claws, bears from Merrythought and Farnell usually have stitched “webbed” claws on the back of their paws.

Source: Ebay Teddy Bear Buying Guide

Christmas continues to be the most popular holiday of the year. It is a time to get together with family and friends, exchange beautifully wrapped gifts, eat lots of delicious food and drink homemade eggnog. During the Christmas season, people enjoy decorating their homes inside and out and putting up a Christmas tree. It’s the decorations that make the Christmas tree turn into a self-made masterpiece. Don’t be afraid to load your tree with lots of colorful ornaments.

At Christmas many collectors like to deck their tree with classic ornaments. However, collectors realize that antique ornaments from the 19th to the early 20th century are getting harder to find making their price tags quite expensive. Some even sell for as much as $50. Since the price is high and they are becoming rare, many collectors are turning to ornaments made in the 20 years following World War II which would include the ’50s and ’60s. They are especially interested in those made in America.

Where can I find information?

Bookstores have plenty of good books on the subject of collecting. You can also obtain a subscription to different magazines on collecting. Two good books on this subject are Christmas Ornaments, Lights and Decorations, by George Johnson, and Holiday Collectibles by Lissa Bryan Smith and Richard Smith. Also, you can search online for information on Christmas ornaments.

History of early glass ornaments:

The idea of decorating a Christmas tree did not become official until the early 19th century. When people first started putting up a Christmas tree they didn’t trim them with the type of ornaments we use today. For many years they garnished them with different kinds of candies, sugar coated fruits, nuts, homemade cookies, ribbons and small gifts.

In eastern Germany the town of Lauscha is known as the birthplace of the Christmas tree ornament. In 1590, a glassblowing center was established there. German Protestant glassblowers from Swabia started it there when they settled to escape religious persecution. Soon, the glassblowers created a profitable business by making glass toys including dolls eyes and drinking glasses.

By the 18th century, the Lauschan glassblowers started making tubes of connected glass beads, which they sold to merchants all across Europe. Later glassblowers from other countries started making beads and other items. The Germans made silverglass balls called kugels.

In the mid-1870s, merchants in the town of Sonnebery discovered the Lauschan kugels and received the rights to export them. Because of F.W. Woolworth, the Lauschan glass ornaments caught on quick. In 1880 he decided to give kugels a try in his store and bought some from his American importer for his five-and-dime stores. He sold out of the gorgeous ornaments immediately and women asked for more.

American Ornaments:

In the 1920s, the Czechs began making a good quality of ornaments, some were there original designs and some were copies of German molds. They sold the ornaments for less money than the Germans. The Japanese came along and made their decorations even cheaper than the Czechs. Because of the Depression in 1929, people were not able to spend as much money as they would like so the Japanese decorations fit nicely into their budget.

Max Eckardt, a German immigrant decided to produce his own line of ornaments. He opened his company in New York City and sold his ornaments under two different names, Shiny Brite and Max Eckardt & Sons. In 1939 F.W. Woolworth placed a large order and sold them in his stores from two to ten cents each. After World War II, ornaments were being sold in economical boxed sets. Usually a 12-piece set of solid colored ornaments sold for 63 cents or cheaper. A boxed set of 11 balls and one bell shape ornament sold for about 77 cents.

Types of Ornaments and prices:

• Japan’s hand-painted balls from the late ’40s to early ’50s. The tops are marked “Japan,” and they sell for $3-$5 each.
• American, hand-painted ornaments date to the ’50s, and sell for $6-$10 each.
• Shiney Brite indented bumpy ointments. Made from 1948 into the early ’50s sell for $6-$12 each.
• Shiny Brite striped and indent balls and other shapes. 1950s vintage. Indents sell for $6-$12 and stripes for $2-$3.
• Various shapes and indents from Poland. From the 1960s sell for $3 each.
• American design balls including glitter. The painted ornaments were produced from the late 1940s to the early 1950s. The glitter balls produced in 1950s and early’60s sell for $3.50-$6 each.
• Shiny Brite solid color balls and oval shapes. From the ’50s sell for $6-$8 for a 12-piece box.

Where to find them:

They may be found in antique stores or where you least expect to see them in such places as yard sales or thrift stores and flee markets. Special place to find them would include collectible shops specializes in vintage ornaments and is probably the best place to search for them.

Join a Christmas Ornament Club:

You can join a club if you are interested in collecting all types of Christmas ornaments and other items. As long as you are into collecting Christmas items you can join these clubs and even meet other collectors. Annual membership usually runs $20, which almost always includes a bimonthly newsletter. To find these clubs you can search online or in books and magazines.

Source: Essortment.com