1930-1940

LIGHTING OUTFITS: 1930-1940

By the time this decade began, Americans were beginning to feel the full effects of the stock market crash of 1929. The majority of the population had little or no money for unnecessary luxuries such as Christmas lights, so they either went without or made their older outfits last a few years longer. Many of the light sets pictured in the previous category were also sold during the early 30's, and because of this it can be difficult for the collector to accurately date some outfits. At the bottom of this page you'll find a few clues and hints to make it easier to date your collection.

One of the more interesting developments in Christmas lighting came from this decade. Matchless Stars, beautiful, solid glass ornaments surrounding a brighter than normal lamp, were introduced to the market in about 1932 by the Matchless Electric Company. The Stars were made in seven sizes, ranging from 1-15/16" to 3-1/8". Sold in sets of eight or ten or singly from countertop boxes like the example below, the lamps were made for either series or parallel wired outfits. The lamps shown are single-row Stars, but double row varieties were also offered. There was even a Star with a standard size light bulb base available, for use in wall lamps and other light fixtures. The glass points and center crystal of the units were imported from Czechoslovakia, and the Star was assembled in the United States. These lights are highly collectible today, and somewhat hard to find. Due to their high selling price and the economic conditions of the 30s, they were only moderate sellers. After World War II, Czechoslovakian glass was no longer practical for use in the manufacture of the Stars, due to the Communist occupation of that country. Lucite stars were then produced, and were sold until all production of Matchless Stars ceased in the mid-1950s. It is interesting to note that these Stars were also used in pinball games in the 30s, as decorative bumper lights. To the right and left is pictured a wonderful 32 Star table top tree owned by fellow collector and friend Jim Sloss. Notice the many double Stars displayed on it. The mid 30s patent drawing for these lights is shown on the Patent Reference pages of this site. CLICK HERE to learn more about the history of the Stars.

In 1932, the Reliance Company came out with their own star tree lights known as Kristal Stars. Imported from Japan, the stars were made of painted and glitter covered tin, with colored glass star points. A clear miniature base lamp was located within the tin body, and when power was applied the tips lit up with a nice effect. The company also sold a larger version of the lights for use as a tree topper. The products were discontinued 1939, just before the War.
A typical box of Kristal Stars, circa 1933. This is a complete outfit, which includes the electrical cord.
An inside view of the above set, showing the stars.
Here is a box of 10 stars that were sold both individually and as as a box. 1932.
Outside view of the box for a Kristal Star tree topper.
The tree topper itself. Several colors were available, all with replaceable lamps.

First offered by Paramount in 1936, these Rosette lamps were not actually their own product, but a Japanese import that was also sold to other companies. Made of glass with a metal "snowflake" backing, the lamps were a far less expensive offering to compete with the Matchless Stars. These Rosettes are pretty when lit, but do not even come close to the beauty of a genuine Matchless product.
Here is the Reliance company's set of the Rosette lamps. As explained above, the lamps are a "generic" imported product, not actually manufactured by Reliance. The metal backing of these Rosettes is often found discolored from rust and/or flaking paint. the lamps are easily replaceable, and spare bulbs were sold separately by both Reliance and Paramount. One Rosette is turned sideways to show the metal backing of these lights.

Pictured above is a Detector light set, another interesting development of the 30s. In an effort to make it easier to find a burned out bulb that was causing the entire string to go dark, NOMA offered this outfit with novel lamps that were filled with neon gas. When the regular filament in one of these lamps burnt out, the light string would still go dark but the failed lamp would glow bright orange, conveniently advertising its location. This is why the bulbs are painted only about three quarters of the way down from the top, leaving the base clear for the glowing gas to be seen. Note the prominent NRA symbol inside the box to the left, indicating that these lights were made sometime between 1932 and 1934. The disadvantage with this outfit was the cost, as the set sold for $2.60. Compare that to a regular outfit like the Pennant set pictured below which sold for only 39 cents during the same time.


Outside and inside views of a Pennant light set. Note the thin cardboard box with the permanently attached lid, a sure sign of 1930s manufacture.

Below is another set of lights offering the Detector lamps. the set is unbranded, but I strongly suspect that it is a Reliance offering. The set dates to the late 1930s. Also shown below is an interesting variation of this set that, while sold in an identical box, was not actually a Detector outfit. The set included was actually a parallel wired seven light string. This variation was sold in 1941, when production supplies were running short due to the War. The mismatched set has an over pasted label that attempts to make the box contents match the box description.


Inside and outside views of a late 1930s Detectolite set.		The interesting box variation described above.


A Countertop Box of Single Stars	Close-up view	Inside of Box	An Extremely Rare Frosted Double Star from the Chris Kocsis Collection	Scarce Opalescent Center Star from the Chris Kocsis Collection	Beautiful Double Star from the Chris Kocsis Collection


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