Shiny Brites, vintage ornaments

All About Antiques

Jalinda Falen | falen@windstream.net

 

A few weeks ago we had an estate sale in Ft. Valley and

found several boxes of vintage ornament and a tree topper in the attic of the

home. Still in the original boxes, these vintage ornaments were the first

things to sell. I thought it might be interesting to look a little further into

the history of these sparkly tree baubles.

Shiny Brite is the actual name of the company that produced

the ornaments although people often refer to the all vintage shiny glass

ornaments as Shiny Brites which is not correct.  

In the late 1930s, American businessman Max Eckhardt began

importing German Christmas tree ornaments which is where the majority of blown

glass ornaments came from. His company however specialized in ornaments that

resembled the hand-blown ornaments of Poland. With the rumblings prior to World

War II, Eckhardt decided that it would be a good idea to produce the ornaments

in the U.S. since the odds were increasing that he would not longer be able to

import from Germany and that was a wise decision!

I hate to say it but Shiny Brites are now being reproduced

by Christopher Radko and can be found at J.C. Penney and other stores. I

usually don’t like reproductions but at least the new ones may be made sturdier

than the originals especially in the area of paint.

How do you identify a real Shiny Brite? If they were made

before WWII they are usually striped in pastel shades and clear inside. Ornaments

made during the war often had cardboard caps and strip instead of metal caps

for metal hooks. Silver nitrate and metals were needed for the war efforts and

not frivolous items such as Christmas ornaments!

After WWII, the prosperous ’50s and jet age was reflected in

Shiny Brite paint schemes. This is the era when the aluminum Christmas trees

became popular. They looked especially wonderful in neon metallic paint colors

and had mica sparkles and fake snow. Typically the caps were lined and

scalloped metal imprinted with the words Shiny Brite, made in U.S.A. Different

shapes besides spheres were used, especially those with concave sunbursts and

tear drop shapes. Very modernistic for the mid-century modern age!

A word of caution to Shiny Brite collectors, don’t clean

these ornaments with anything but a soft brush! The paints are water-soluble

and any moisture will take the paint right off. These ornaments do not do well

in hot attics either. Be sure to carefully store your Shiny Brites in acid free

tissue in a climate-controlled space.

Happy collecting!

Jillinda

Falen has been buying and selling antiques for 26 years. She is an estate

liquidation specialist and licensed REALTOR. You can contact her through the

Houston Home Journal or via email at falen@windstream.net

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