Vintage white christmas tree with shinybrite ornaments. No matter what youre looking for or where you are in the world, our global marketplace of sellers can help you. Ive always admired them, but now my curiosity is officially piqued. These ornaments were sold under different two names. Early pre war ornaments often had large sections of opaque silver and metallic color. Ornaments are almost always reused year after year. Checking the spelling of shiny brite, i looked online at the history of the company, and pictures of their different ornaments.
Presciently, they also opened an office in new york city, where max emigrated in the late 20s. Before world war ii, almost all of the glass ornaments on american christmas trees were imported from germany. Finally, shiny brite was purchased by christopher radko in the late 1990s, who began manufacturing ornaments under the shiny brite name in 2001. Shiny brite originated with a german toymaker named max eckardt. The history of the shiny brite christmas ornament did you know. Eckardt had been importing hand blown glass balls from germany since around 1907, but had the foresight to anticipate a disruption in his supply from the upcoming war. Now christopher radko, renowned holiday ornament designer, has revived that shiny brite name, and created a retro line of ornaments that even include the famous box. S folksy, homemade decorations like textile and wooden. There are some in the shiny brite box that actually say shiny brite on the ornament. After wwii was declared, decorative silver nitrate became a nonessential use of metal, so many of the ornaments were stripped of any silvering, and were. Initially shiny brite ornaments were lacquered by machine on. The history behind those vintage shiny brite christmas. Shiny brite ornaments from the sears 1948 christmas catalog. Christopher radko shiny brite nostalgic holiday 9 count 2.
It was a german immigrant, max eckardt, who in 1937 realized that the war could interrupt his christmasornament impoort business. Shiny brite vintage celebration christopher radko ornaments. The mixture of shimmering silvered glass and glowing translucent glass in vintage celebration recreates the classic shiny brite designs from the 40s. Eckardt was born in 1890 in oberlind, which was 20 miles away from the glass ornament. After world war i, the manufacture and purchase of. With shiny brite ornaments, you can mix and match vibrant colors and sparkly patterns to achieve a playful vintage feel in your home. When americans stopped importing handblown christmas ornaments from germany during world war ii, an enterprising importer of german goods named max eckardt convinced the corning glass company to mass produce machineblown bulbs. By 1940 corning was making about 300,000 ornaments a day, compared with the perhaps 600 for a skilled german glassblower, and sending them to other companies for decoration.
Some folks especially those selling on online like to call an ornament a shiny brite, just because it came with that cap, or it has that a scene or stencil on it. Shiny brite christmas tree ornaments box, 19441946 the. The shiny brite ornament collection by christopher radko is a line of vintage glass christmas decor that hearkens back to the nostalgia of 1940s and 1950s america. New york each year, as part of christmas, we pull out a box of shiny brite glass ornaments. Eckhardt had been importing handblown glass balls from germany since around 1907, but had the foresight to. The history of shiny brite ornaments in brief, by cassandra. The shinybrite company produced the most popular christmas tree ornaments in the united states throughout the 1940s and 50s. Vintage shiny brite round glass christmas ornament bulbs. Some were in boxes that said shiny brite, others were unboxed. These are not to be confused with the vintage glass ornaments in antiques shops and on ebay, at garage sales and estate sales. If for some strange reason you cant find shiny brite ornaments at your local thrift stores, you can find lots of them, many still in their original box, on etsy. This year when it came time to decorate the tree in my dining room, i went with a preppy theme a white christmas tree decorated with vintage pinkandgreen shinybrite ornaments. History of shiny brite christmas ornaments youtube. Shiny brite ornaments were created by american businessman max eckardt in 1937.
The manufacture of shiny brite ornaments can be linked to the history of the lauscha ornament industry through shiny brites entrepreneur max eckhart. In 1926, eckhart and his brother opened a toy and ornament factory in their birthplace of oberlind, just twenty miles from lauscha. Shiny brites were proudly made in the usa a selling point during wwii as previous to this many glass ornaments were imported from germany. In 1937, max eckardt established shiny brite ornaments, working with the corning glass company to massproduce glass christmas ornaments. It was the invention of the blowpipe by some unknown artisan that brought about the craft of glass blowing, eventually evolving into the fine art of christmas glass ornaments we know today. We have lovingly recreated them in all their fantastic colors, creative designs, and. But we keep the box, as it reminds us of another era, when americans actually made things. Shop our selection of shiny brite christmas ornaments where you will find vintage inspired reflector, round, and figural christmas ornaments. Glass ball ornaments that dont date back nearly as far as kugels will be the least expensive, as well as the easiest to find. Shiny christmas ornaments, vintage shiny brite christmas. Woolworth had begun importing these german glass and metal treasures to his five and dime stores all across the country, sparking a christmas ornament craze in the u. When i was a kid, my parents always had a hodge podge of different antique decorations for the holidays. For all of these reasons, i would not use the cap as an identifier for a shiny brite.
See more ideas about shiny brite ornaments, shiny brite, ornaments. Tiny plastic choir boys, a somewhat weary looking elf, a flapper styled angel. More expensive vintage shiny brite ornaments are highly soughtafter, and you can easily find different production years of shiny brite ornaments on ebay. Christoph muller and hans greiner set up germanys first glassworks in 1597 in lauscha which. The shiny brite story begins after world war i with max eckardt, a german born in 1890. Whats the history behind these adorable little ornaments. Only the most fabulous of all vintage christmas ornaments. The shiny brite story of max eckardt and sons is chronicled along with rival. Starting in the early 1900s all the way up to the late 1970s.
Christmas ornaments, baubles, christmas bulbs or christmas bubbles or christmas ball balls are decorations usually made of blown glass, metal, wood, blown plastics, expanded polystyrene or ceramics that are used to festoon a christmas tree. Shiny christmas ornaments, shiny brite christmas ornaments, vintage shiny brite christmas ornaments are designed for high demand commercial decorating applications. Eckardts company decorated and sold many of these bulbs under the name shiny brite a brand that would remain one of americans favorites into the 1950s. The boxed sets of rounds and shapes, finials, garland, icicles, and more will bring your childhood tree to your home today. Interestingly, the history of the shiny brite ornament was directly impacted by wartime america. Most of my vintage ornaments are the shiny brite brand and they and their boxes are very valuable now.
See more ideas about vintage christmas ornaments, vintage. Early pre war ornaments often had large sections of opaque silver and metallic colour. The christopher radko shiny brite collection contains the same sparkling ornaments you remember from your childhood. Eckardt was a german immigrant who decided to make his own ornaments, and sold them under the shiny brite name. Collecting shiny brite ornaments the cavender diary. If you ever want to know if an ornament is actually a shiny brite. Vintage celebration set of 6 round ornaments decorated with figures. Though i am a craaaaaaaazy history buff its not the history that gets me its that craaaaaaaazy shine. Balls are about one and one half inches in diameter. A guide to christmas antiques and vintage christmas.
The story behind vintage shiny brite christmas ornaments. Though eckardt was from oberlind, germanyjust 20 miles away from lauscha, a hub for glass ornament makershe first trained in the toy industry. Eckardt was born in 1890 in oberlind, which was 20 miles away from the glass ornament hub of lauscha. They came packed by the dozen, in stylized boxes with the name shiny brite emblazoned on the lid.
Ornaments take many different forms, from a simple round ball to highly artistic designs. What began with a purchase of 5 adorable shiny brite bell ornaments in 2009 has. Shop for shiny brite glass ornaments online at target. There are many more ornaments than i could ever photograph and show you. The origin of americanmade christmas ornaments and shiny brite. Vintage shiny brite round glass christmas ornament bulbs one dozen in box. Its safe to say that maxs plan proved to be worth it since adolf hitler and the british blockade would ultimately stop the import of european ornaments to the u. These ornaments are very intricately painted and have very specific designs where you can tell its a shiny brite. German craftsmen began producing images of fruits, hearts, stars, and angels in glass in the mid1800s, and their popularity soared. The largest customer was max eckhardt who by now had established an allamerican company known as shiny brite. It was a german immigrant, max eckardt, who realized that the war could interrupt his christmas ornament import business. The history of shiny brite christmas ornaments 107. I know that perhaps over the years these ornaments have been mixed up by their previous. A man named max eckardt had been importing glass balls from germany.
Collecting vintage christmas ornaments always a collector. Inexpensive colorful glass christmas ornaments have been an important part of american christmas tree decorating since the 1880s, when retailer frank w. In 1937 max eckhardt established shinybrite ornaments, working with the corning glass company to mass produce glass christmas ornaments. After the berlin wall came down in the late 20th century, german companies in the former east germany reopened and began producing glass ornaments using the old methods. Then, in the late 90s, designer christopher radko obtained the shiny brite name and began making and selling replicas. That clearly means terribly knowledgeable in my book. Shiny brite also produced numerous plastic christmas items. I heart shiny brite vintage ornaments home facebook. Id love to hear how you display your shiny brite collection. Interestingly, the history of the shiny brite ornament was directly. But keep an eye out for boxes of the original shiny brite ornaments if you spot one, youll get to hang a little vintage luxe in your tree. I bought one of my favorites for my girls santa with a sleigh and reindeer. After wwii was declared, decorative silver nitrate became a nonessential use of metal, so many of the ornaments were stripped of any silvering, and were mainly transparent with only hand painted colour on the outside of the bulb. Get ready to deck the halls with our colorful bubble lights, retro ceramics and classic fabrics and complete your vintage holiday dream.
I can not find any info on clear ones and i dont know if someone has maybe taken the paint off of them or not. In 1926, he opened his first ornament company in oberlind with his brother, ernst. Etsy is the home to thousands of handmade, vintage, and oneofakind products and gifts related to your search. The history behind those vintage shiny brite christmas ornaments. By 1940, corning was producing 300,000 ornaments per. The shiny brite company produced the most popular christmas tree ornaments in the united states throughout the 1940s and 1950s. Im thrilled to be sharing it as part of the home for christmas tour, sponsored by and.
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