Vintage Novelty lights, page 4

Cast iron decorative light fixtures like this example were popular in the 1920s. This particular wreath was advertised as a hearth light, and was actually sold in pairs for that purpose, although some catalogs also listed them separately. the unit has an eight foot cloth covered power cord, and is marked on the base "Made in USA". The actual manufacturer of the fixture is unknown.
This circa 1925 chiming tree topper from Propp is intended to plug into a string of lights by removing one lamp and screwing in the brass and wooden connector. The top portion of the unit then rotates, causing little hammers to strike each of the tree differently tuned bells in sequence. The sound produced is most charming. This is the earliest version of the topper, as later models had larger electromagnetic coils to improve the motor's performance.
This cast iron Tri-Light tree stand is from the early 1920s, and was made to resemble typical ceiling fixtures of the day. The stand originally came with three "standing Santa" lamps, imported from Japan. The stand is a product of the North Brothers Manufacturing Company.
Made of cast iron and extremely heavy, this is one of NOMA's first tree stands, and is circa 1927. The center of each poinsettia has a socket for a miniature base C-6 lamp, and the flange of the base incorporates a handy electrical outlet to connect the tree lights. Later offerings of this stand featured parallel wired candelabra based sockets for C-7 type lamps.
This is the Belmont Treelighter Stand, and was first sold in 1926. It is a big stand, which includes four light sockets with aluminum reflectors for standard base light bulbs as well as two plugs for tree lights.
Chris Cuff shares this tree stand with us from his collection. The stand is made of painted steel and incorporates a string of nine miniature base C-6 lamps. The date of the stand is unknown, but the presence of cloth covered wiring suggests a pre-1945 production. Later versions of the stand use only eight lamps, have green vinyl coated wires and removable legs for easy storage. This style of stand is a difficult one for the collector to find today.
This early 1930s cast iron tree stand is by North Brothers. Although the company was not connected with NOMA in any way, this stand was sold with a NOMA 110 loop-style string of eight lights installed in the base during manufacture. The unit can be found in several factory applied colors, including red, green and cream.
First patented in 1933, this stand from Bryman is of typical cast iron construction and has three standard size light sockets for lamps. This is only one of many styles offered by this company.
This stand is also from the collection of Chris Cuff. A NOMA product first offered in their 1935 catalog and described as "No. 176- A new era in tree bases", the stand came packaged with several sheets of decals so the owner could customize his or her own unit. Along with the traditional poinsettia shown here, various images of Santa with reindeer, snow scenes and popular licensed cartoon and Disney characters were included. The stand has eight series wired miniature base C-6 lamps around its perimeter and a plug to facilitate the connection of tree lights. NOMA sold this stand, virtually unchanged, through their 1962 selling season- a total of 27 years!
Here is a charming lighted tree stand from the collection of Frank Wysong. Offered by NOMA starting in 1941, the stand has an unusual rotating top and handle combination that allows it to be twisted tightly around the trunk of the tree, gripping it firmly. The stand also disassembles for easy storage. Along with pictures of the actual stand, I've included a NOMA catalog picture from their 1948 edition. This stand continued to be sold until 1951.
Punched and preformed tin is the material of choice for this stand, which is circa 1946 and lit from within by a single standard-base light bulb. There are light portals in the base that direct light upwards towards the tree, as well as decorative cutouts covered from the back with colored gels that add interest to the base. When lit, the decorative cutouts provide a bit of novelty, while the base performs its duty of lighting the underside of the tree quite nicely. This example has been repainted in silver, while the original color of the stand was dark green.
Here is a marvelous tree stand produced by NOMA for many years. Lighted by eight miniature base lamps (absent from the stand in the picture), the central cone has beautifully colored Christmas scenes and also held 23 pounds of water for ballast and to keep the tree moist. The scenes depicted on the stand varied throughout the production years. Also pictured is the label on the bottom of the unit. NOMA gave this stand model number 175, and first sold it in 1932.


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In 1953, Royal began selling their Royal Candolier Bubble Light Stands, holding nine-series wired miniature base bubble lights. There were four variations offered for sale, three of which are pictured here. The color not shown is the rarest, and is a deep royal blue. These stands are very hard to find today, as they were made for only two years- production ceased in 1955 when the Royal Christmas decoration plant burned. Although often found with mixed colors of bubbling lights, the stands came from the factory with lights of all one color (most commonly clear), with bases matching the candolier as shown in these examples. Genuine, original stands command a high price in today's collector's market, but there are reproductions of these stands available. The original stands will have the Royal company information printed on the cardboard bottom of the stand.