I collect Shiny Brites. Shiny Brites are a very breakable blown glass Christmas ornament that was produced in New Jersey from 1937 to the 1950’s. I remember these ornaments on our Christmas Tree when I was a child. I love how the light catches them on a tree..it looks like you have a tree all lit up with lights when it is just the ornaments catching the light.
Some similar ornaments; Indents and different shapes etc..were made in Poland and Germany and imported since 1907 by Max Eckardt the founder of Shiny Brites.…I collect those too! Those ornament are always marked Germany or Poland but you might need a magnifying glass to see the imprint on the top of the metal cap.
First I collected just a few ornaments here and there, then a box here and a box there. Then friends gifted me some…Rae, JoLynn, Susan and her Mother Lillian’s ornaments. Then there is my husband and Chance who scour garage sales all summer for ornaments.
A few weeks ago a neighbor Edie brought me a box of ornaments. She found these in an antique shop and thought of me!
The two ornaments on the right are not marked as Shiny Brites. Someone could have switched the metal caps…it is easy enough to do. When I get out my entire collection I will compare them to known Shiny Brites. The blue stripe ball is not marked Shiny Brite either but it is a classic design they used in the 1950’s.
Edie also gifted me an ornament that belonged to her Grandparents.
It is a ornament made in Germany and is marked as such. Isn’t it beautiful? Edie gifted me another special ornament last year..but it is put away with the Shiny Brites and has a story all it’s own that I will share someday…rest assured I will not forget.
The Shiny Brite tree is not up yet. I still have time. I have been going through boxes and making a huge mess organizing a few things upstairs. Once I get everything in it’s proper place I can bring out the Shiny Brites that are stored in the tree coffin and an old trunk and elsewhere up there. Those ornaments sure do take up lots of space.
It is cold here now, way below zero and the wind chills are horrid. We got about 11 inches of snow from Winter Storm Cleon. It will be too cold to snow for awhile.
I am getting nowhere fast on that list of mine.
Gift count: two bought and two ordered. Gifts wrapped: none. Cookies made: none. Cards written: none. Home made ornaments: Complete! Homemade gifts: in progress. Decorations…none except the snow outside. 19 days and counting.
Oooohhhhh, I love the Shiny Brites, they are so beautiful. So nice your neighbor gifted you with them. I to collect them and have some from my childhood, plus they look great on the tree. Happy Weekend Francine.
ReplyDeleteYour ornaments look just like the ones I grew up with and then inherited from my parents. Can't wait to see your Shiny Brite tree. Very cold and windy here also. Brrrr
ReplyDeleteA good lesson I think about actually "doing something" when we think of others... even if it is not so significant as a box of beautiful ornaments, I remember very well ornaments similar to the ones in your pictures on the Christmas trees at Grandma's house when I was kid in the 1950s (also "bubble ligfhts) Lovely. Your snow storm has made its way down here (unless there was another one also moving through the Midwest. I believe Miss Molly will have a few comments on Chance's post yesterday
ReplyDeleteNow whenever I hear about Shiny Brites, I think of you, Connie. The two of you are intertwined in my idea of pretty Christmas ornaments from yesteryear. And I love that pretty one with a story! :-)
ReplyDeleteThe Shiny Brites are beautiful. What a wonderful gift from a friend!
ReplyDeleteI recall your picture last year of your Shiny Brite tree- it was beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI always look forward to your Shiny Brites tree. How very kind of Edie. I know you are thrilled with your new additions.
ReplyDeleteI think we have a few old ornaments (tree not up here yet either). I'll have to check and see if there any markings on them. Cold here too, for us at least. 21 F (I can hear you laughing) with a wind chill of 5 F. That is unusually cold for us at this time of the year, and we may break some old records.
ReplyDeleteI love your ornaments. As soon as I saw them I knew what they were - from past years :-). I'm glad you are collecting them!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see your tree with the Shiny Brites. I have enjoyed hearing about and seeing the big snow storm you all have had. I doubt we get enough snow here in NC to even cover the leaves!
ReplyDeleteI love looking at your Shiny Brights!!! Reminds me of the Christmas' of my childhood. I can visualize my walking doll with the red dress and blinking eyes!!
ReplyDeleteWe always had those ornaments on our trees when I was little. Love how they're considered antiques now!
ReplyDeleteI have one Shiny Bright ornament from my childhood, and it is exactly like the blue one with the church in your photo. I treasure it and usually display it on a stand by itself.
ReplyDeleteLove seeing your old ornaments. I have a little collection, too. I use to have a bigger collection but a few years ago the cat knocked the whole Christmas tree down and I lost quite a few. I almost never see them at garage sales or charity shops anymore.
ReplyDeleteI have been trying to think back about my mothers tree ornaments. When we cleaned out her house
ReplyDeleteI don't remember seeing them. You bring memory's back to me with your collection.
That is wonderful. We have some of the hubbies grandmothers ornaments and they are pretty special.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful ornaments ~ and you are correct Christmas stuff takes up a lot of space. Hope you are staying warm ~ I was out and about today running errands and doing a grocery run - it was definitely too darn cold I should have worked and gave the list to somebody else! :)
ReplyDeleteSome day, when I have an opportunity to haul out my ornaments, I will check to see if I have some Shiny Brites - I think I do. If so.... maybe you'd like more? I mean, one can not have too many ornaments, right?!!
ReplyDeleteWe didn't have shiny brites, but I remember seeing them when I was a kid and remember how the light would shine off of them like little stars. What I remember as the most fascinating decorations were on a tree of my mother's cousin. They were there candle lights that bubbled up the stem of the candle part. Did you ever see those? Super cool! I love to see your shiny brite tree every year!! What wonderful gifts to receive. :)
ReplyDeleteI saw a wreath on another blog that is inspiring me to at least hang my wreaths. Maybe that will get me going. I like all your new additions. I didn't add anything to may oldie collection this year but I really haven't been anywhere. The one from Germany is really a special one.
ReplyDeleteI still have so much to do I feel overwhelmed! It's cold and nasty here also. I miss the sun...yesterday we had sun --not today.
ReplyDeleteLinda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
¸.•*¨*•♪♫♫♪Merry Christmas ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥
˜”*°•.˜”*°•.˜”*°•.★★.•°*”˜.•°*”˜.•°*”˜”
I do appreciate those old ornaments, thank you for sharing them. They took me down memory lane for a moment. Kinda wish my mom still had some of hers to pass on to me. Now I realize how important it is to save what I have for my kids, rather than to keep switching to whatever is the latest thing.
ReplyDelete