Comments on: Christmas Glass Baubles

By: David Hall

David Hall — Fri, 31 Dec 2021 11:16:16 +0000

Lovely! Almost all my Christmas decorations once belonged to my mother or to my Grandparents and I recognise some of the baubles in your piece . I just packed them away this morning as I do every New Years Eve. You have some real treasures though ….the red devil ,clock etc …..thanks as always.

By: Pence

Pence — Wed, 29 Dec 2021 19:35:02 +0000

Yes. Clip on birds. Me childhood tree had them – very old, I suspect from a grandparents tree which would be early 1900s. All lost in a move alas. A few years back I bought some modern reproductions, the tails are stiff plastic not nearly as graceful as the old ones.

By: Cherub

Cherub — Wed, 29 Dec 2021 13:30:48 +0000

These are gorgeous, I remember my parents having glass baubles many moons ago and an artificial tree with a holly berry at the end of each branch. There was also a little white church that lit up to show coloured windows. Sadly, I lost all of the Christmas things that had come into my possession 20 years ago when my house was flooded.

I’m now amassing a new collection of Christmas baubles from my adopted home in Switzerland, there is a shop here that sells lovely hand made and hand blown things. The owner of the shop has the honour every year of decorating the huge tree in the medieval cathedral square and it is always beautiful.

By: Sue

Sue — Tue, 28 Dec 2021 23:09:25 +0000

Wonderful selection of memories. Does anyone remember clip on glass birds with glass fibre tails? I know my mother kept the old baubles for many years after I left home but I don’t know what became of them as they had gone by the time she moved near us in the Eighties.

By: CJY

CJY — Tue, 28 Dec 2021 16:47:40 +0000

Ah – this piece makes me sigh. I don’t excel at organization which is one way to keep these types of treasures intact, but you’ve inspired me to try harder and to collect a few vintage (or inspired) glass baubles each year and get rid of some of the horrors we’ve accidentally accumulated over the last two decades. I rediscover some hulking plastic Dalmations wearing Santa hats on fire hydrants every year, and every year I want to hurl them into the dark. I don’t think my husband will even notice. They were gifted to him by his family when he first became a Firefighter. It’s time for them to go.

By: Ann V

Ann V — Tue, 28 Dec 2021 15:55:04 +0000

Dear GA thank you for your beautifully nostalgic blog. I have two precious bells, well over 60 years old, that go on our Christmas tree every year. They remind me of a time when the world was a different place. Reading your blog today has motivated me to look for old glass baubles for our tree next year.

By: Janice George- Allen.

Janice George- Allen. — Tue, 28 Dec 2021 15:41:12 +0000

Such a beautiful selection, of these Baubles, they have a special light to them it is wonderful
that their condition is so good,also maybe the adorned Christmas tree will not require further artificial lighting.

By: Saba

Saba — Tue, 28 Dec 2021 14:29:59 +0000

GA, I enjoyed reading today’s post and exclaimed when I came to the section on the Greiner family. I live near Newburgh in the Hudson Valley, New York State, where a business interest from New York City possibly opened a glass manufacturing plant in the early nineteenth century, although whether this is fact or local lore has never been proven. The New York businessmen sent a contract proposal to a member of the Greiner family, possibly while visiting London or, more likely Amsterdam, asking him to become plant manager. A copy, or possibly the original, of the proposed contract can be found in the New York Historical Society’s archive. While the contract is not signed by Mr. Greiner so no one can be assured of its acceptance, it describes in great detail the working conditions of a glass blower. Life was really tough but you got a plot of land and a cow!

By: Lynne Perrella

Lynne Perrella — Tue, 28 Dec 2021 13:58:36 +0000

What a wonderful way to extend the holiday spirit! I love this post, with the almost-tactile photos. Your array of delicate ornaments remind me of ones we had when I was a kiddo —
I think many of them had been handed down to my mother from her folks, who came from Bohemia. And, of course, at that time one could find lovely treasures in the dime store.
All breakable……making them even more treasured. Each year, the sweep of the family dog’s tail would cause some inevitable breakage and regret. But a surprising number of those special decorations survived. They’ve become part of our (ahem) eclectic array. When we travel, we always bring something home “for the tree”. And we hang photos of departed friends and family on the tree also. And, over the years, endless artists have contributed handmade ornaments, etc, etc. So — all in all — it has become a Memory Tree. Which is exactly how we like it.
Thank you so much for sharing these special artifacts with us. Wonderful.

By: Georgia Burg

Georgia Burg — Tue, 28 Dec 2021 12:23:48 +0000

I love seeing your collection. I suspect they would love to see your bike at The Repair Shop show.