This archive of Bill Nelson's 2001 web site was provided by Fred Fox and is sponsored by:
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TABLE OF CONTENTS HISTORY THE TIMELINE MANUFACTURER'S HISTORIES THE PATENT PAGES THE PRE-ELECTRIC ERA VINTAGE ADVERTISING THE LIGHT SET GALLERIES RELATED LINKS |
VINTAGE NOVELTY LIGHTED FIGURES In response to the many requests I've received since this site first went live, I've decided to begin work on this new section, devoted to the myriad of novelty lighted figures, tabletop trees, lighted tree stands and electric wall plaques that were available during the time period that this site covers. Most of the figures presented here will be from the 1930-1950 time period. Enjoy your visit, and, as always, please feel free to E-MAIL ME with your questions, comments or suggestions! |
Circa 1950, this figure of Santa on a reindeer came in several variations, two of which are shown here. All of the variations were lighted, and Santa was available riding either a white, tan or brown reindeer. It was called "Hi Ho Santa" by the manufacturer. |
Called "King Santa" by its manufacturer, Miller Electric, this 1949 lighted figure also doubled as a coin bank. The interior light was mounted above the coin slot, so that falling change would not strike the bulb and break it. Miller offered a full line of King Santa figures through the 1960s. |
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Here is a classic example of how manufacturers made different figures from the same mold. With a simple change in the paint scheme, the addition of a small pipe and the substitution of a top hat for Santa's crown, King Santa has now become a "lighted Snowman", who originally held a yellow plastic broom in the hole in his left hand. These figures can also be found holding a plastic shovel. | ||
A jolly Snowman from Paramount, circa 1950. he is one of a series of "working" Snowmen, which also included figures with a shovel, rake and a hayfork. |
NOMA first offered this hard plastic lighted angel with a wand in the early 1940s. It can be used both as a tree topper and a stand alone light. Variations of this unit sometimes included molded plastic hair instead of the individual strands of doll hair as featured on this example. |
This variation of the NOMA treetop angel eliminates the halo around the figure's head, but has a starburst mounted to the back instead, which glows with a warm amber color when lighted. This example is circa 1948, and was called the Glow Lite Treetop Angel by NOMA. Note: According to Dan Holz, of Kaleva, MI, this figure was originally developed and sold under the GLOLIGHT name (GLOLIGHT Corporation of Chicago). GLOLIGHT was incorporated into NOMA at a later date. |
Many companies offered Standing Santa figures like this one, lighted from within by a single C-7 lamp through a hole in the back. This example is from Miller, and is circa 1948. These plastic figures are often misidentified as being made of Celluloid, but they were actually typical late 40s era hard plastic that has yellowed over the years, giving the material the off-white appearance and brittleness often attributed to celluloid. |
Colorful free standing or wall hangable hard plastic lighted figures with flat backs like this were a common NOMA offering during the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s and 60s. This is one of several subjects, others of which included elves, candy canes, holly arrangements, candle groupings, bells and snowmen. The particular example pictured here is circa 1950. |
TABLE OF CONTENTS HISTORY THE TIMELINE MANUFACTURER'S HISTORIES THE PATENT PAGES THE PRE-ELECTRIC ERA VINTAGE ADVERTISING THE LIGHT SET GALLERIES RELATED LINKS |
Note: This is an archive of the late Bill Nelson's "Antique Christmas Light" web site as it existed in 2001. Except for contact information, link updates, and some information that has been lost, we have attempted to keep the text and illustrations as Bill presented them. However, the original pages included much outdated HTML code and graphic conventions, so we have done a lot of work "behind the scenes" to bring you this archive. Consequently:
OldChristmasTreeLights? and FamilyChristmasOnline? are trademarks of Breakthrough Communications? (www.btcomm.com).
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