Did A Charlie Brown Christmas creator Charles Schulz single-handedly eliminate the aluminum Christmas tree of the 1950s and 1960s?
A new temporary exhibit at the International Museum of Toys and Miniatures features those very trees that we were warned about under the banner of “commercialism” in Schulz’s annual Christmas classic, probably the most popular and well-received tie-in to comics ever made (Lucy suggested for the nativity play a “big, shiny aluminum tree…maybe painted pink”). The Mid-Century Modern art movement is one of our favorite subjects here at borg, discussed in the context of Disneyana here, futurism here, advertising here, Hollywood props and costumes here, and the furniture and set pieces used in Star Trek here. From the striking use of color to the new shapes and imagery, post-World War U.S.A. represented its new technologies, materials, and conveniences, and its excitement for space exploration in everyday objects, art, and advertising. And for two decades that included aluminum Christmas trees that were as convenient to buy as your closest Sears & Roebuck catalog or Walgreens store.
Now rare collectables, those vintage aluminum Christmas trees teach us about an interesting time in history. Who would think today that Americans in the 1950s didn’t want a red Christmas tree? Why? It was the Atomic Age, and fear of Communism can be seen in the fact that the rarest of those vintage trees from the era were red. But that didn’t keep families from buying spectacular star-shaped ornaments called Sputniks for their decorating, seen above in red and green.
Take a look at some of the trees from the exhibit below, as well as images from some toys from the era that accompany them–exactly what kids of the time were hoping to wake up to on Christmas morning.
Barbie, G.I. Joe, Tonka trucks–all of these could be found wrapped for kids under trees like these for Christmas celebrations 60 years ago. The Space Age could be seen in toys like the Operation X-500 playset sold by Deluxe Reading Company, shown above with photos of kids playing with the toy.
You can approach the Christmas trees in the exhibit–made from 1959 to 1965–by color, style, materials, or manufacturer. Guests at the museum first encounter a 2-foot blue and silver Fairyland brand tree from 1966, along with a 4-foot version Lucy would have loved–in rare pink–both produced in Canada. Note the unique blue straight needles and falling silver design.
More than half of all aluminum trees hailed from Wisconsin’s Aluminum Specialty Company. Their Evergleam brand tree featured a trunk covered in foil. The 4-foot green example above on display is from 1960. Next to it is a 6-foot green and red Carey-McFall Pompom Taper Tree you could have bought from Sears in 1964.
Probably no tree on display is more striking than the 1966 Revlis Starlite Rainbow in gold, green, and silver, a 7-foot tree. A few trees are displayed with vintage skirts.
Many of the trees are revolving in the exhibit as they could have in your home, with an available add-on rotating apparatus from brands like Spincraft and Holly Time.
This above display of another Evergleam incorporates a Stetson color wheel (since electric lights weren’t used on these for safety concerns), Shiny Brite brand ornaments, a space rocket sled, a Bradford Snow Maker showering the tree with a Styrofoam blizzard, and George Nelson’s 1955 “Coconut” chairs.
The exhibit also reminds guests of the Peanuts special, playing in the background on a console television with vintage hassocks and a 1965 Wall Tree from Metal Trees Corporation. Look close at the Black Diamond Starlite to the right and you’ll see it’s actually dark green.
Although turquoise was a key color of the era, it’s rare in the aluminum Christmas trees available, but a 2-foot version is on display. Branches from the above 1964 7-foot green tree at right are actually made of steel. To its left is a 6-foot blue and silver tree, from the U.S. Silver Corporation.
Several toys from the era complete the display.
Gold, green, and blue trees of different color combinations and material construction–eighteen trees in all–line the gallery. Learn more about the aluminum Christmas tree exhibit, Mid-Century Magic: A Tale of Toys and Aluminum Christmas Trees, displayed through January 29, 2024, at the International Museum of Toys and Miniatures in Kansas City, here at the museum’s website.
Merry Christmas from the staff at borg!
C.J. Bunce / Editor / borg
