Vintage Christmas Ornaments: The Value of Vertical, Part 2

 

Written by: Kevin Milaeger

November 20th, 2024

 

Some of you who’ve been reading this blog for a while may remember my blog on vertical ornaments from several years ago. For anyone interested, here is a link. Of course, that’s an older blog, so all the ornaments pictured there have found their way to some collector’s tree. In that blog, I talked about how many traditional ornaments have a more or less rounded shape, and some are perfectly round. As we view a fully decorated Christmas tree, our eye appreciates variety. In this case, it appreciates vertical ornaments as a visual break after seeing so many that are roundish. This is why “icicle” ornaments have been popular for so long. We’re fortunate to have acquired quite a few, in many styles. You can always use more icicles—they are usually thin, so they can be worked in easily, even on a tree that is seemingly chock-full with decor.

 

 

Russian ornaments are uncommon but we are fortunate to have acquired a big group of them. These are easy to identify. They often have a cap that is ill-fitting. Ornaments from other countries, including America, have caps that fit snugly. Many Russian ornaments have a sloppy fit. The wire loop that comes out of the cap is also different. Russian ornaments have an oval loop, whereas other countries produced wire loops that are a nearly perfect semi-circle. One feature that was quite popular with Russian manufacturers is leaving about half of the ornament clear (transparent), and the other half painted or silvered. This creates an interesting effect—not necessarily better or worse, just different. This is hard to capture in a photograph. You’ll have to check it out in person. I’ve never seen this technique on any ornament other than those from Russia.

 

 

For smaller and table-top trees there are many styles of miniature icicles. Many folks have small trees in addition to their main trees, and the small icicles work nicely in that situation. The larger icicles look a bit ungainly on small trees.

 

 

American manufacturers came up with a decorative technique that I’ve never seen on European ornaments. Some folks call it “frost” or “Jack Frost” ornaments. It looks like the wonderfully decorative frost we see on our windows in winter. These are fairly large icicles, and would add an interesting texture to your tree.

 

 

The larger icicles are especially nice for larger trees and displays. They add much appreciated drama. At my house, I have my largest icicles hanging under a cabinet. The cabinet has a bank of lights that shows the icicles off nicely, and behind the icicles is a panel of mirrors, for even more glitz. You don’t have to limit your ornament display to trees alone.

 

 

The word “icicle” conjures up many images. I can remember on my grandma’s tree the very long, clear, glass icicles that looked like those that hang from your gutter. They seemed huge. They must have been at least 12” long. I’ve never seen them in all my years of searching for old ornaments. Most of what we have to offer now are blown glass ornaments. I like the blown ornaments because there are so many styles and colors available. We never know what we’ll find next. But that’s the fun of it all!

 

 

Please email me if you have any questions or comments. If you are interested in purchasing ornaments pictured in this blog, please contact Nick at 262.693.2040 x101 or info@milaegers.com.

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Archives

2024

Nov 20, 2024 - Vintage Christmas Ornaments: The Value of Vertical, Part 2

Nov 14, 2024 - Nature-Themed Vintage Glass Ornaments

Nov 5, 2024 - Fun Vintage Ornaments—Birds, Animals, and People

Oct 23, 2024 - A Broad Selection of American Vintage Ornaments

2023

Dec 13, 2023 - More Great Vintage Ornaments - Just in Time for Christmas

Nov 21, 2023 - An Extraordinary Collection of Vintage Ornaments

Nov 17, 2023 - All-American Vintage Ornaments

Nov 1, 2023 - Lots of Wonderful Vintage Ornaments

Oct 25, 2023 - Vintage Indent Ornaments from the USA and Europe, and an Outlier from Columbia!

2022

Dec. 13, 2022 - Figurals

Dec. 13, 2022 - Indent (Reflector) Ornaments from Europe

Dec. 5, 2022 - Naturalistic Ornaments, Icicles and Houses

Nov. 16, 2022 - European Figural Ornaments

Nov. 8, 2022 - Mostly American Ornaments

2021

Dec. 20, 2021 - Special Vintage Ornaments - Just in Time!

Dec. 2, 2021 - St. Nicholas Eve and WWII Era Vintage Ornaments

Nov. 23, 2021 - Vintage Glass Nipple Ornaments and Teapots

Nov. 10, 2021 - European Indents and Other Treasures!

Oct. 26, 2021 - Vintage Christmas Ornaments — No, its not too early!

2020

Dec. 4, 2020 - Ornaments with History

Nov. 19, 2020 - Sugared Ornaments and Other Delights

Nov. 12, 2020 - Various Indent Ornaments and Some Kitsch

Nov. 6 2020 - American Made Stencil Ornaments

2019

Dec. 19, 2019 - A Little of This, a Little of That---this season's last Blog

Dec. 5, 2019 - German and Polish Glass Ornaments---Teapots, Teardrops, and such

Nov. 26, 2019 - Fanciful Bird Ornaments

Nov. 19, 2019 - Glass Ornaments---"Nipples" and an Assortment of Fanciful Types

Nov. 12, 2019 - American Ornaments---Shiny Brite, Stencil, and Unsilvered

Nov. 4, 2019 - Indented Christmas Ornaments, mostly from Europe

2018

Dec. 20, 2018 - Pine Cones from Christmas Past

Dec. 4, 2018 - The Magic of St. Nicholas Eve

Nov. 29, 2018 - Very Delicate Christmas Ornaments

Nov. 21, 2018 - Something New (but old)! And More Nipple Ornaments

Nov. 9, 2018 - Indented Glass Ornaments-a favorite of mine

2017

Dec 14, 2017 - JUMBO Christmas Ornaments

Dec. 7, 2017 - Granny-esque Ornaments

Nov. 22, 2017 - Glass Bird Ornaments---always a favorite!

Nov. 16, 2017 - The Charm of Beaded Glass Ornaments from Czechoslovakia

2016

Dec. 9, 2016 - All-American Christmas Ornaments

Dec. 5, 2016 - St. Nicholas Eve and All is Well

Nov. 21, 2016 - 1950's Christmas Ornaments

2015

Dec. 18, 2015 - Christmas Ornaments - tea pots, pine cones and music

Dec. 9, 2015 - Architectural Christmas Ornaments

Dec. 2, 2015 - Reflecting on Christmas Ornaments

2014

Dec. 9, 2014 - Fine Old European Ornaments

Nov. 26, 2014 - Christmas Ornaments, all Shiny and Brite

Nov. 18, 2014 - Pine Cone Ornaments - A Symbol of Life

Nov. 11, 2014 - Got Icicles? Winter chill is here

Oct. 23, 2014 - Stripes are In This Year

2013

Dec. 17, 2013 - Clip On Ornaments and the Tree at My House

Dec. 5, 2013 - Musical Ornaments and War Ornaments

Nov. 26, 2013 - Fanciful "Indent" Ornaments from Germany and Poland

Nov. 21, 2013 - Icicles Add Much to the Christmas Tree

Nov. 7, 2013 - Vintage Ornament Miscellany

Oct. 23, 2013 - Year 'Round Christmas Ornaments

2012

Dec. 11, 2012 - The Value of Vertical

Dec. 5, 2012 - Squinting at the Christmas Tree

Nov. 24, 2012 - Affordable Vintage Christmas Ornaments

Nov. 20, 2012 - Marvelous Bibelots

Nov. 14, 2012 - What's New in Old Christmas

Nov. 7, 2012 - Allure of Christmas Past