I picked up this beautiful and (nearly) complete vintage silver christmas tree from a vendor at the Belleville Flea earlier this summer. It seemed silly to pull it out and show it off in the middle of July but tonight looks like our first evening at or below freezing, so now might be a little more appropriate.
When I found the tree in a bag under a vendor's table all I wanted to know was "are all the
branches there?" I counted all the branch holes AND all the branches Twice, just to be
sure...cuz it was early in the morning...and I am not a morning person. Sure, the base was /
is missing but that will easily be remedied, and that just made it that much more of a
bargain. I've looked a little for one at the thrifts but haven't found just the right one yet.
Speaking of all the branches being there, while putting the tree together this morning I fot
all but one hole on the trunk filled and couldn't find that last branch. I was about to get
peaved because I KNEW I had counted those branches twice. But then I spotted that last
little hidden sucker!
As soon as I find a tree stand for this guy I plan on offering it up at The Shag. It's so tough
to find anything mid century AND Christmas-y for my booth. Last year all I had were a
couple of Santa and Frosty blow mold figures and a couple of vintage holiday decor books.
The blow molds went fast but I've still got the books. I should probably be looking a little
harder for vintage tree ornaments at the estate sales but really, I just don't know how to tell
if an ornament is vintage or not!
So I know I've refered to these trees as Aluminum before but I'm pretty sure the metal is
stainless steel. So I'm gonna just try to remember to call these Silver Christmas Trees from
now on! I doubt that the silver shag would last fourty or fifty years if it was made of
aluminum. Like most products of a certain mid century era, these were built to last. That
they have, AND they've stood the test of Time!
Try a magnet on the tree trunk?
ReplyDeleteHi John.
DeleteThe trunk is wood. It definitely ain't gonna stick!
I love an Aluminum Christmas Tree in the "pine" style! I can't wait to put up my 6ft one this year. Now all you need (base aside) is the color wheel! The Vermont country store has new and improved color wheels for about $30.00 (aka wont burn your house down!) Have a gleaming Christmas!
ReplyDeleteHi Mick.
DeleteRight! A color wheel. I forgot all about that. Also, a few years ago there was an ad on a neighboring city's c-list for about a half dozen vintage metal trees. One was green and one I believe was pink. Sadly I did not get them.
ooooo, I have been looking for one of these trees too!! I love it!
ReplyDeleteHi Myssie.
DeleteThese do tend to be high on the vintage modern collectors Christmas wish list!
I have Revere Ware (like the pots & pans) tree that looks just like this one. My cats "floss" with it every Christmas. Revere Ware had a plant in my hometown, so it's extra-special to me. Mine came with a white plastic base that rotates and plays music like a music box.
ReplyDeleteHi Kat.
DeleteI spotted a tree stand like that on C-list, but at $40 it's just a little too much for me.
Aluminum Specialty Co. in Manitowoc, WI was the biggest manufacturer. Apparently there is such a thing as a stainless steel tree, but it's more difficult to roll into thin foil. If the center pole isn't painted wood, steel is tougher than aluminum for that.
ReplyDeleteThe pole is wood and I guess the "needles" could be aluminum...just seems like aluminum is such a soft metal to last in such a delicate form for so long.
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