Victorian Christmas Tree Ornaments: Antique Delights
Many people enjoy antiquing – searching out rare treasures often at bargain basement prices. A good antique store will have lots of different items, some probably in better condition than others. In antiquing, the old adage, one man’s junk is another man’s treasure, is definitely true. Christmas tree ornaments are, increasingly, very popular with antiquers these days, especially Victorian Christmas tree ornaments.
Christmas Tree Ornaments from the Victorian Era
The long period (1837-1901) during which Queen Victoria ruled England – known simply as the Victorian era – is normally associated only with England, but the United States was also hugely affected by Victorian tastes and morals. Victoria was famously rigid, yet her era also saw extremely fine decorations, and Victorian Christmas tree ornaments often reflect this.
For much of the Victorian era, electricity didn’t even exist as a household commodity, or it was very scarce. So there weren’t any strings of Christmas lights as we know them – instead, Christmas trees were adorned with actual candles. While very few candles survive from that time, the candles themselves were set in brass candle holders, and those candle holders are now prized as classic Victorian Christmas tree ornaments.
Another example of classic Victorian Christmas tree ornaments are those depicting Father Christmas. While Father Christmas and Santa Claus are both based on the same person (the actual person known as Saint Nicholas), they do not look anything like each other. Instead of the familiar red suit with white trim and a black belt, Victorian era “Father Christmas” ornaments show figures of a man with a long white beard and flowing robes, giving him an appearance that we might associate more with an ancient philosopher or wizard. Many Victorian Christmas tree ornaments based on this image of Father Christmas still survive and can be found if you’re determined to hunt for them.
One type of Victorian Christmas tree ornaments that are rather hard to come by these days are velvet ribbons. Crimson colored velvet ribbons were prized tree ornaments, and were placed decoratively throughout the Christmas tree. Velvet does not keep for a very long time, so if you do find any examples of these antique Christmas tree ornaments, they will probably need to be restored.
Thus, a simpler option is just to get new velvet for your Christmas decorations and ornaments at a local fabric shop. In fact, if you can use a needle and thread (or a sewing machine!), you could just buy a yard or two of velvet at a local shop, cut it up into strips, sew the sides, and make your own velvet ribbons that way. Whichever way you choose to do it, be sure to have fun decorating your Christmas tree! And of course the Internet always has websites with lots of tips and advice for any and all of your holiday decorating ideas.
“The Large Area” by ‘Doulton & Co’ Victorian Loo TC & Co
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