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decorating the Christmas tree in Victorian England, 1876
Glass baubles ( round ornaments ) were first made in Lauscha, Germany . Lauscha, was long famous for its glass making. As a sideline, many glassblowers made kugels, these were heavy glass balls hung from windows and ceilings as protection from evil spirits . Later, kugels were silvered on the inside to give them a shiny appearance . In the mid 1870s, these kugels came to the attention of traders in nearby Sonneberg, and they started to export them . An American, F.W. Woolworth, made a $25 investment in these shiny decorations in 1880, they sold rapidly and in the following years sold over $25,000,000 worth of ornaments .
A Victorian Christmas card. The first Christmas Card was sold in 1843.
Victorian Christmas cards for sale
some of the heavy glass kugels, (L) about 6' in diameter
Christmas kugels for sale
Video on Christmas ornaments from Thueringen
The state of Thueringen is the cradle of the German Christmas tree decoration industry. The small town of Lauscha is famous for the production of traditional Christmas ornaments for 150 years, drawing people from all over the world to its famous Christmas market.
Video on collection vintage Christmas ornaments
As demand for Greiner's ornaments grew, he began blowing the glass intonew shapes including the sphere which is now the most popular.Soon, the whole of Germany began buying Christmas glassware from Lauscha and after Queen Victoria's Christmas tree was pictured in a London newspaper decorated with glass ornaments and baubles from Prince Albert's native Germany, Lauscha began exporting its products throughout Europe.
A box of Shiny Brite Ornaments
The American company, Corning and Shiny Brite , began to mass produce ornaments in the 1930s.After World War II, the East German government turned most of Lauscha's glassworks into state owned entities, and production of baubles in Lauscha ceased. At this time, Japan and Czechoslovakia also began making ornaments for export to America .After the Berlin Wallcame down, most of the firms were reestablished as private companies.Today there are still about 20 small glass-blowing firms active inLauscha that produce baubles. One of the producers is Krebs Glas Lauscha, part of the Krebs familywhich is now one of the largest producers of glass ornaments worldwide.
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Ornaments
