• Home
  • Meet Kelly
  • My House
  • Contact

Kelly Elko

Love where you live - inspired decorating ideas

  • Eclectic Homes
  • Projects
    • My Projects
    • FREE Printables
    • Garden
    • Recipes
    • Tips & Tricks
    • Organization
  • Decorate
    • My House
    • Decorating
    • Outdoors
    • Christmas
    • Fall
    • Summer
    • Spring
    • Tablescapes
  • Life
    • Travel
    • Musings
  • Shop

Collecting Vintage Milk Glass Figural Light Bulbs

December 4, 2019  Christmas | Cool Collections | Uncategorized

This is probably one of the coolest collections I’ve ever seen. I’m talking about vintage milk glass figural light bulbs. I’m sharing an amazing collection and a little history behind these very unique Christmas collectibles. If you love all things Christmas, I’ll also be sharing some of his creative decorating ideas using vintage finds.

Have you ever heard of figural light bulbs? I hadn’t until I saw James, of The Cavender Diary, huge collection.

Collection of vintage milk glass figural light bulbs #vintage #vintagecollections #vintagechristmas #vintagecollectibles #collections #collectibles #collector #christmaslights #milkglass

James gives us a little history lesson below …

At the turn of the last century glass figural bulbs were first produced in Germany, Austria and Hungary by many of the same artisans that made glass Christmas ornaments, often from the same molds. They were beautifully mouth-blown and hand painted. But the heat of the electric bulb gave these decorations a short life span, and the painted details flaked off pretty quickly.

When World War I interrupted imports from Europe, it was the Japanese that stepped in to meet the demand for figural lights, this time using milk-glass.

Milk glass is thicker and more heat-resistant. Plus, it’s already white. Which meant that decorating them was faster. Like their European counterparts, they were also hand-painted, although slightly cruder and usually by children. A lower price kept Japanese figural lights very popular with American buyers for several decades. Until sadly, tastes shifted and plastic and aluminum decorations dominated the market.

Learn all about vintage figural light bulbs - they look great repurposed as ornaments #vintage #vintagecollections #vintagechristmas #vintagecollectibles #collections #collectibles #collector #christmaslights #milkglass #christmastree #whitetree #feathertree

Many of the earliest figural light bulbs were fruit, flowers and holiday figures. James has stopped collecting Santas and now focuses his hunt on rarer bulbs.

What a fun collection of vintage milk glass figural bulbs #vintage #vintagecollections #vintagechristmas #vintagecollectibles #collections #collectibles #collector #christmaslights #milkglass #snowman #christmaslights

Popular animated and book characters were all the rage too and sold in sets of eight characters. Looks like James is very close to completing the top two sets!

Cool collection of vintage milk glass figural light bulbs #vintage #vintagecollections #vintagechristmas #vintagecollectibles #collections #collectibles #collector #christmaslights #milkglass

I can see why these adorable little Kewpie dolls are some of his favorites.

Cute Kewpie doll vintage figural bulbs #vintage #vintagecollections #vintagechristmas #vintagecollectibles #collections #collectibles #collector #christmaslights #milkglass #kewpiedoll

If one bulb went out, non of the lights on the strand would work so the lights were often thrown away making them hard to come by today.

James says about a quarter of his lights still work but they need C-6 bulbs which are no longer produced.

Vintage figural light bulbs #vintage #vintagecollections #vintagechristmas #vintagecollectibles #collections #collectibles #collector #christmaslights #milkglass #santa

He display bowls of them around the house during the Christmas season.

Fun collection of vintage figural bulbs for Christmas #vintage #vintagecollections #vintagechristmas #vintagecollectibles #collections #collectibles #collector #christmaslights #milkglass #christmasdisplay

He also hangs them on a tree like Christmas ornaments.

Vintage figural light bulbs on a Christmas tree #vintage #vintagecollections #vintagechristmas #vintagecollectibles #collections #collectibles #collector #christmaslights #milkglass #christmastree

As you can see, James loves a vintage Christmas. From the candle blow molds at the front door …

Beautiful porch with garland and vintage candle blow molds #vintage #vintagecollections #vintagechristmas #vintagecollectibles #collections #collectibles #collector #christmaslights #blowmolds

to the little Santas on the mantel …

Love this Christmas mantel with Santa blow molds and star marquee light #mantel #christmasmantel #christmasdecor #vintagechristmas #blowmolds #christmasblowmolds #santa

to a countless number of vintage Shiny Brites.

Wow - what a huge collection of vintage Shiny Brite ornaments #ornaments #vintageornaments #shinybrite #vintagechristmas #christmastree #tinseltree

For over 20 years, James has been putting hundreds of vintage ornaments on a huge four foot diameter wreath frame (he attaches them with ornament hooks). He keeps it up until early March and says it’s a Christmas tradition he’ll never stop!

Giant Vintage Ornament Wreath (there’s even a time lapse video of the process)

How to Make a Huge Vintage Ornament Wreath #vintagechristmas #diychristmascrafts #christmascrafts #vintageornaments #shinybrites #wreath #vintagewreath

I hope you enjoyed learning more about these new to me figural light bulbs! Have you heard of them before or do you have your own collection?

Visit The Cavender Diary to see more.

10 Fun Vintage Christmas Decorations to Collect here

10 Fun Vintage Christmas Decorations to Collect kellyelko.com #christmas #vintagechristmas #vintage #collectibles #christmasdecor #santa

Take my Vintage Filled Christmas Home Tour here

Please Come Home for Christmas Home Tour kellyelko.com #christmasdecor #christmasmantel #christmashometour #christmashome #christmastrees #vintagechristmas #vintagedecor #kellyelko

Sign up to get Kelly Elko's latest posts delivered right to your inbox
Your information will never be shared or sold to a 3rd party.

Share this Post!

501 shares
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
« Previous: Please Come Home for Christmas Home Tour
Next: Vintage Christmas Porch Decorating Ideas »

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comments

  1. Alan Meyer

    December 4, 2019 at 9:03 am

    An absolutely terrific post !
    Now I’m more motivated than ever to start decorating.

    Reply
    • Kelly Elko

      December 4, 2019 at 9:56 am

      Start decking those halls Alan!

      Reply
  2. Lisa K .

    December 4, 2019 at 9:17 am

    I’ve never heard of these, but they are amazing! And thank you for sharing the history behind them too. I can’t believe that wreath James has created. Stunning!

    Reply
    • Kelly Elko

      December 4, 2019 at 9:56 am

      His house is a vintage lovers paradise!

      Reply
  3. Jamie

    December 4, 2019 at 9:26 am

    So fun to see and leDn about these vintage Christmas decorations. Thank you &or sharing.

    Reply
    • Kelly Elko

      December 4, 2019 at 9:56 am

      It’s such a unique collection and now I need some of my own!

      Reply
  4. Marlene

    December 4, 2019 at 12:20 pm

    No i have never heard of them but, aren’t they pretty, thanks i love to hear interesting stories like these.

    Reply
    • Kelly Elko

      December 4, 2019 at 4:37 pm

      Just when I think I have enough collections in my life, this happens!

      Reply
  5. Kiara

    March 12, 2021 at 10:24 pm

    Those are adorable, I love them!

    Reply
  6. Tina

    December 18, 2021 at 6:44 pm

    Hi Kelly and thank you so much for this post! Today as I was setting up my Christmas Nativity and began sorting through a smaller box full of all kinds of really old ornaments, I came across six (6) of these bulbs and finally decided to look them up. Again, thank you for this post and for sharing James.I’ll pop over there now and thank him, too! Merry Christmas 2021 and May You and Yours Be Blessed in 2022.

    Reply
    • Kelly Elko

      December 18, 2021 at 8:08 pm

      So glad you found some treasures Tina!

      Reply

KELLY

About / Contact / Press
facebook twitter instagram google pinterest snapchat

Join me as I decorate my 100 year old home, scour thrift stores, create pretty things, putter in my peony and hydrangea filled garden, and mix up a mean cocktail all with a touch of sarcasm and a side of bacon - Cheers!



More About Kelly

Love where you live by mixing high and low, new and old to create a home that shows off your personality. My mantra ... simple projects equals more time for cocktails!
Subscribe for Email Updates:

Get in Touch

facebook twitter instagram google pinterest snapchat

I'd love to hear from you:
[email protected]

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 · KellyElko All rights reserved. Site by WordPress Barista

Copyright © 2023 · KellyElko - 2016 on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Reject
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Sign up to get Kelly Elko's latest posts delivered right to your inbox
Your information will never be shared or sold to a 3rd party.
501 shares