Vintage glass ornaments, circa 1890 through the 1960s, are easy to find and collect. Decorating trees used to mean hanging candles and edibles on branches—nothing that lasted from year to year. In 1840 in Germany, glassmakers blew their first ornaments, and by 1890, the United States was importing them. In the 1950s, some U.S. companies were making as many as a thousand glass ornaments per minute in all shapes, figures, and sizes.

Want more? Check out the Golden Glow of Christmas Past for ornament collecting information. Additionally, we recommend George Johnson’s Pictorial Guide to Christmas Ornaments and Collectibles.