Patents

THE PATENT REFERENCE PAGES

Have you ever wondered just what all of those patents listed on your Christmas light boxes and decorative items were for? Here and on the pages that follow, you'll find many of these patents listed, described, and presented in numerical order. If a picture of the patent is shown, just click the thumbnail to see it full size.

Although the rest of the patents in this section are presented in numerical order, the importance of Edison's patent for the incandescent electric lamp dictates that it be presented separately and leads off this section:

This is a reproduction of Edison's first practical lamp, made about a year after his successful tests. The original lamp was destroyed shortly after testing.

Patent

# 223,898

was issued on January 27, 1880 and was titled simply: Electric-Lamp

Although Edison held several patents for various configurations of electric light emitting devices, this patent is for the world's first practical electric light.

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THIS PAGE: PATENT NUMBERS 72,506 THROUGH 1,350,710 (NOTE: The designation "D" before a patent number indicates that it is a design patent rather that a patent for a particular device or operation.)
PATENT NUMBER	DATE FILED/ISSUED	TO WHOM ISSUED	TITLE OF PATENT	BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF PATENT	CLICK TO ENLARGE PICTURE
72,506	Date filed not available I- 12/24/1867	Charles Kirchhof	Candle-Holder	This is the patent for what is known as a counterbalanced candle holder, a device that keeps small candles upright on a Christmas tree.
D72,938	F- 03/12/1927 I-06/28/1927	Henry M. Rosenthal Dam	Christmas Decorative Lighting Fixture	This design patent, later purchased by NOMA, is for a wooden base with electric candles, with a decorative Christmas figure or tree in the center. NOMA made many variations of this product.
89,270	Date filed not available. I-04/27/1869	Gustav Anton	Candle Holder	A unique and early candle holder for Christmas trees, this device had a pin on the bottom of the candle-cup to attach the device to the tree branch. The four flag holders were both decorative and functional, as the flags helped to balance the candle.
D94,889	F-01/21/1935 I-03/19/1935	Elmer J. Graf	Light Emitting Decorative Device	This design patent is for the Kristal Stars-decorative, glitter covered lighted metal stars with glass or plastic tips. These stars were sold by Reliance and other companies, and were manufactured in Japan
D94,890	F-01/21/1935 I-03/19/1935	Elmer J. Graf	Decorative Holder for Light Emitting Members	This design patent is for what would become the Kristal Star Tree Topper.
D148,950	F- 12/07/1946 I-03/08/1948	John Petry	Illuminable Bubbling Device or the Like	Here is the design patent for the famous and highly collectible Paramount Bubbling Lights, or Animated Candles. It is interesting to note that the design filing date closely coincides with the NOMA company's issuance of the first bubbling light sets sold in the United States.
224,624	Date Filed Not Available I-02/17/1880	Herman Albrecht	Christmas Tree Holder	A unique tree holder, that when screwed tightly around the tree trunk, held it firmly in place.
255,902	Date Filed Not Available I-04/04/1882	August Wengenroth	Imitation Christmas Tree	This patent is for an interesting variation of the traditional feather tree. The tree has removable branches, and they are covered with green chenille rather than goose feathers.
362,017	Date Filed Not Available I-04/26/1887	George W. Landenberger	Christmas Tree Ornament	An unusual Christmas tree ornament utilizing chenille and spun glass.
373,958	Date Filed Not Available I-11/29/1887	J. H. Barth	Lamp for Decorating and Illuminating Purposes	This miniature oil lamp was later adapted to Christmas tree use.
539,199	Date Filed Not Available I-05/14/1895	Theodore J. and Oreon Q. Stille	Candlestick	An unusual device to hold candles to the Christmas tree, this item eventually evolved into a spring-type electric lighting clip used by many of the early lighting companies.
549,729	Date Filed Not Available I-11/12/1895	O. Kuch	Christmas Tree candle Holder	A small metal candleholder designed to stick into the Christmas tree branches.
562,155	Date Filed Not Available I-06/16/1896	Christopher Reinhardt	Candle Holder for Christmas Trees	Another patent for a counterweighted Christmas tree candleholder.
568,314	Date Filed Not Available I-09/22/1896	Louis G. Kregel	Candle Holder	A patent for an unusual and somewhat complicated Christmas tree candleholder. Apparently, this item was never manufactured.
994,248	F-02/13/1911 I-06/06/1911	Mary C. Crook	Artificial Christmas Tree	This invention, covered in green chenille, was made to show off treasured family ornaments to best advantage.
1,091,000	F-02/10/1913 I-03/24/1914	Benjamin K Lyman	Christmas Tree Support	A device made to hold the larger trees that were just becoming popular in the mid 1910s.
1,159,353	F-03/13/1913 I-11/09/1915	Edward A. Bergwall	Tree Holder	One of the earliest cone type tree holders, this unit had no provision for a water reservoir.
1,225,241	F-02/24/1915 I-05/08/1917	Grover R. Grupe	Illuminating Burner for Christmas Trees	An ambitious invention presenting a method of illuminating a Christmas tree with multiple natural gas burners.
1,248,222	F-11/29/1916 I-11/27/1917	William Weckesser	Insulated reflector	One of the earliest patents for Christmas light reflectors, it was obtained from Monowatt by NOMA who manufactured them under several names, including Rainbow Reflectors.
1,350,710	F-04/23/1920 I-08/24/1920	Carl H. Dietze, JR.	Candle Holder	A very late patent for a Christmas tree candle holder. By the time this patent was filed and approved, electric lights were well on their way to becoming the predominate lighting method in America.
The Patent Pages continue... NEXT CLICK HERE FOR THE TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE AND LINKS TO ALL PAGES ON THIS SITE TABLE OF CONTENTS HISTORY THE TIMELINE MANUFACTURER'S HISTORIES THE PATENT PAGES THE PRE-ELECTRIC ERA VINTAGE ADVERTISING THE LIGHT SET GALLERIES RELATED LINKS FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS