Cutting-down, bringing-in and decorating an indoor Christmas tree began in Germany in the 16th Century. For two or three centuries, these trees were decorated with candles, fruit and nuts. German immigrants to America brought the tradition with them in the 1830's. In the Mid-Nineteenth Century, in the German town of Lauscha, glass artists began blowing glass ornaments to hang on their Christmas trees. These mouth-blown balls—called "kugels" in Germany—could be colored or hand-decorated and, in time, they were made to emulate the shapes of the fruits and nuts which had commonly been used as decorations.
German-born Prince Albert, consort and husband of Britain's Queen Victoria, helped popularize the fashion of Christmas trees in England. They were married in 1840, giving a boost to the fledgling glass Christmas ornament business back in Germany. As Christmas trees became more popular in England, America and in Europe, Germany enjoyed a boom in the exportation of colorfully-decorated ornaments to these countries.
World War II, however, soon put an end to the importation of all things German in the late 1930's. American entrepreneurs (sometimes of German heritage) picked-up the slack by manufacturing glass ornaments stateside. Their "Made in the USA" pedigrees were clearly touted on their partitioned boxes. One such company was Shiny Brite, who made the box of colorful glass ornaments shown above. Click on the photo above to learn more about these jolly, vintage ornaments.
Though our Greenwich Village store is now permanently closed, LEO Design is still alive and well! Please visit our on-line store where we continue to sell Handsome Gifts (www.LEOdesignNYC.com).
To arrange a visit our Pittsburgh showroom (by private appointment only), please call 917-446-4248.