Have a Shiny, Tinsel Christmas

The first aluminum tree was marketed in 1959 by a Manitoc, Wisconsin, company. The story goes that an executive, Tom Gannon, of the Aluminum Specialty Company (ASC) was visiting Chicago when he saw a metal tree created by another company for a display.He was so enamored of the tree that he asked if he could take it home. It was very heavy, but he asked an engineer at ASC if he could create a better, lighter version, which he promptly did. The company's first aluminum tree hit the stores.

The first trees were silver, and because there was a risk of shock involved, were not lighted. Still, people wanted color on their trees. In 1960, a small lamp with rotating colored glass was added to shine colors on the branches. In 1962, colored aluminum trees joined the growing forest of options.

Sales of the original aluminum trees peaked in 1964-65 and most were replaced by more realistic-looking artificial trees. Until very recently, if you desired one of these gems you could pick one up for a song on ebay or at a garage sale. While, that may still be an option, the trees are becoming highly collectible.

For more on aluminum trees, check out Season's Gleamings: The Art of the Aluminum Christmas Tree by John Shimon and Julie Lindemann. The authors are photographers who wanted to capture the beauty and luster of these fun Boomer-era trees.

Another resource is the website Aluminum Christmas Trees.Net, a resource with trees to purchase and information on the trees' history and decorating tips. They've even added a copy of the original promotional booklet included with the trees.

Here's wishing you a gleaming holiday season!

—Betty

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