The Evolution of Santa Claus
The Evolution of Santa Claus By Melicent D’Amore Introduction Throughout my 30 years of collecting figural glass Santa Christmas ornaments I’ve observed design differences reflecting regional interpretations of Santa Claus that have influenced diversity in the styles of Santa ornaments created. This…
Restoring Vintage Christmas Items for Future Collectors to Enjoy
Restoring Vintage Christmas Items… for Future Collectors to Enjoy by Mark Podmore I’ve been collecting vintage Christmas items for many years and am always coming across items in dire need of a restoration. Shabby, dirty and broken; most of these items require…
Western Union Santa Grams
Western Union Santa Grams by John Kardos The New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company, now Western Union, began in 1851. The firm expanded by buying out a number of competitive companies. In 1856, the company changed its name to Western Union…
Collecting Glass Figural Christmas Ornaments
Collecting Glass Figural Christmas Ornaments by Tony Johnson Once a person discovers the passion of collecting antique German glass figural ornaments, they usually set their sights on finding as many different examples as they can. While this is a wonderful idea, there…
NILCO Christmas Lights
NILCO Christmas Lights by Gene Teslovic Photos by John Hanssen While General Electric remained the largest producer of incandescent light bulbs, they considered the production of novelty bulbs as a passing innovation and the production of novelty bulbs was left to the…
The History of the Putz Village
The History of the Putz Village and Cardboard Christmas Houses By Pete Oehman Most of us get a warm, fuzzy feeling when we think of Christmas and automatically reflect upon our childhood memories. Christmas trees bedazzled with lights and ornaments, wreaths, stockings…