8 Pink and Yellow Stripes Unsilvered Glass WWII Christmas War Ornaments Eight American made glass Christmas ornaments produced during World War II, when shortages and rationing forced American ornament manufacturers to use transparent colors and painted designs instead of silvering their ornaments.

The four striped magenta pink ornaments are just over 2" diameter and have Shiny Brite metal caps but I don't know if they're original - many war ornaments were made with paper caps. Three have the same colored stripe configuration, wide yellow over white and blue. One has a narrow center blue stripe surrounded by two wide white bands. These are in very good condition with bright colors and little wear.

The other four ornaments are a little smaller, about 1-3/4" or so diameter. Two are bright magenta pink, one with painted green leaves or flower petals below the cap. One is bright opaque yellow with lavender stripes, the other is clear with white stripes and a piece of wired silver and red cellophane tinsel. These two have some wear to the yellow paint and the white stripes as shown, the small magenta ornaments have bold color with virtually no wear.

Circa: 1942 - 1945
Country of Origin: US
Manufacturer: Shiny Brite and Others  

4 Shiny Brite Unsilvered Patriotic Mica Top or Lantern Glass War Ornaments Whether you call them tops, lanterns, UFOs, or something else, these classic Shiny Brite Christmas ornament shapes are instantly recognizable. They're about 3" high with transparent colored and white mica glitter horizontal stripes on the staggered rings. These ornaments are from the 1940s World War II years, unsilvered. The colors are appropriately patriotic in red, white and blue over clear glass.

The four ornaments are from my personal collection and are in superb condition. The white mica coating is still thick and full, with minor mica loss around the upper edge of just one ornament. There are no breaks or chips and the ornaments are exceptionally clean - the mica is white, not yellowed or discolored. All have their metal Shiny Brite caps.

Circa: 1941 - 1945
Country of Origin: US
Manufacturer: Shiny Brite  

Dozen WWII Unsilvered Glass Christmas War Ornaments These 12 unsilvered American glass Christmas ornaments were made in the World War II years, 1942 to 1945. The ornament manufacturers had to use transparent sprayed, flashed, and painted-on colors during that time due to military rationing and shortages of silver nitrate.

The ornaments vary in size between 2-1/4" and 3" diameter. Most have metal caps, many of which are no doubt replacements for the original paper or cardboard caps. One still has its original string-and-stick hanger which looks homemade but was actually produced that way at the factory. They have background colors of blue, red, pink, and clear, with painted stripes or mica glitter decoration. One ornament is bell shaped with a sprig of wired tinsel inside. Some have typical color wear or paint loss as shown but all are perfectly displayable on your vintage Christmas tree.

Circa: 1942 - 1945
Country of Origin: US
Manufacturer: American War Era Production  

Shiny Brite Unsilvered Mica Yellow Pink WWII Glass War Christmas Ornaments These unsilvered striped glass Christmas ornaments were made by Shiny Brite in the World War II years, 1942 to 1945. The ornament manufacturers had to use transparent sprayed, flashed, and painted-on colors during that time due to military rationing and shortages of silver nitrate.

All have transparent painted purple or magenta rings or stripes with yellow and white mica bands. The round ornament is 2-1/4" high by 2" diameter, the two bell ornaments are about 2-1/8" high to the tops of the metal Shiny Brite caps. There is some wear to the mica glitter as shown, particularly on the bells, otherwise good vintage condition.

Circa: 1942 - 1945
Country of Origin: US
Manufacturer: Shiny Brite  

4 Unsilvered WWII Mica Snow Capped Dark Pink Glass Christmas War Ornaments A set of four transparent, unsilvered American made glass Christmas ornaments, made during the World War II years of the 1940s when manufacturers did not have access to silvering agents. They are larger in size than most war ornaments, nearly 3" high to the tops of the metal caps. The color is flashed dark pink, almost magenta, with snow capped decoration extending from the tops of glittery white mica. The ornaments are a little dusty and the mica has yellowed some with age, but the color is still good and there are no chips or breaks.

Circa: 1942 - 1945
Country of Origin: US
 

3 Unsilvered Shiny Brite Christmas WWII War Ornaments with Mica These unsilvered striped glass Christmas ornaments were made by Shiny Brite in the World War II years, 1942 to 1945. The ornament manufacturers had to use transparent sprayed, flashed, and painted-on colors during that time due to military rationing and shortages of silver nitrate.

There are two 2-1/2" high round ornaments and a scarce 3" unsilvered war era ringed Christmas tree shape. All three have colored stripes and bands of white mica decoration, one with bright yellow mica stripes as well. The round ornaments have remnants of snow flocking and the one with the wide magenta stripe has some scratches to the color, otherwise all three are in very good vintage condition.

Circa: 1942 - 1945
Country of Origin: US
Manufacturer: Shiny Brite  

Box 12 Premier Unsilvered WWII Striped Bells Christmas War Ornaments This set of unsilvered figural glass bell Christmas ornaments by Premier Glass Works is a rare find. They were made in the 1940s during World War II when silver nitrate was only available for military use, so American ornament manufacturers had to use transparent flashed and painted colors.

The twelve bells are 2-1/4" to 2-5/8" high. Five are solid colors with thin painted white and yellow rings at the centers - one red, two green, and two blue. The other seven ornaments have wide transparent colored center bands with opaque painted stripes above and below, mostly red and yellow, a couple in white and blue with red centers. The unsilvered finishes used during this time period are subject to considerable wear but these ornaments are all in terrific condition, only one, the largest bell, has noticeable paint wear to the red bands and green flashed center. The ornaments have no chips or breaks, many still have the cotton string hanging cords attached by the original owner. The Premier Glass Works box bottom is in good condition. There is no box lid.

American war ornaments were only produced for two or three years and are by their very nature scarce and finite in quantity (as soon as the war ended the manufacturers went back to producing silvered ornaments). They are highly collected today and will only increase in value as their numbers dwindle from loss, breakage, and absorption into private collections.

Circa: 1942 - 1945
Country of Origin: US
Manufacturer: Premier Glass Works  

Blue Teardrops Unsilvered Glass WWII Christmas Ornaments, Tinsel and Stripes An attractive lot of six blue teardrop shape transparent glass Christmas ornaments, all from the 1940s World War II years, when silver nitrate was not available for civilian use, forcing the ornament manufacturers to use only sprayed and painted colors.

The three larger ornaments are 3-1/4" long. Two have multi-colored painted stripes, one is solid blue. The solid and one of the striped teardrops have wired tinsel inside. The three smaller teardrops are 2-3/4" long, all decorated the same with yellow and white stripes. These have a slightly different blue tint, with an almost violet or purplish hue. The ornaments have no chips or breaks. The coloring and finish is still very good, with one of the large teardrops having some crazing or crackling to the blue color at the neck and tip, and one of the small ornaments has a noticeable scratch to the white stripe paint.

Circa: 1942 - 1945
Country of Origin: US
Manufacturer: American War Era Production  

3 Unsilvered Teardrop Stripe WWII Glass Christmas War Ornaments Three 1940s American war ornaments in an unusual teardrop shape, one with its original paper cap and string hanger. The ornaments are unsilvered as silver nitrate was available only for military use during World War II, so for the final two or three Christmas seasons of the war, manufacturers had to use painted, flashed, or sprayed on colors. Paper ornament caps were also a result of wartime shortages and rationing. They weren't very sturdy and were considered unattractive, so they were often removed and replaced with metal caps over the years.

The single blue and two magenta or bright pink ornaments are about 2-3/4" long, decorated with painted colored and white stripes. All three are in very good vintage condition with very little finish or color wear.

Circa: 1942 - 1945
Country of Origin: US
Manufacturer: American Made War Era  

3 Opaque Stripes Unsilvered War Era Glass Christmas Ornaments These 1940s glass Christmas ornaments were made during World War II. In order to be considered "war ornaments" they must be unsilvered, and most are transparent, but a few, like these, were painted in opaque colors.

The green with pink, yellow, and white stripes is 2-1/4" diameter. The blue with pink, yellow, and white stripes is 2" diameter. Both have Shiny Brite caps but there's no telling if they're original (many war ornaments were made with paper caps that were replaced over the years. The small ornament is off-white with pink and blue stripes, and is about 1-3/4" diameter. The blue ornament doesn't have much wear but the other two have typical scratches and small scuffs to the finish associated with normal age and wear.

Circa: 1942 - 1945
Country of Origin: US
Manufacturer: Shiny Brite  

12 Shiny Brite WWII Unsilvered Mica Stripes Glass Christmas Ornaments A terrific set of one dozen Shiny Brite unsilvered mica striped Christmas war ornaments - made during World War II when the silvering agents used in ornaments was only available for military use.

One ornament is 2 inches diameter, the others are 2-1/4". Five have mica bands in yellow and white with transparent red stripes (including the single smaller ornament). Six others have alternating white mica and transparent colored stripes - two each red, purple, and green. One ornament has a wide transparent magenta or bright pink center stripe bordered by yellow and white mica, the last ornament is the only one without a marked Shiny Brite cap. It's transparent red with thin mica stripes of blue and yellow.

The ornaments are all in excellent condition. A couple have some minor wear to the mica, but not bad at all.

Circa: 1942 - 1945
Country of Origin: US
Manufacturer: Shiny Brite  

Box 12 Unsilvered Glass American War Ornaments Transparent Stripes One dozen American made 1940s glass Christmas ornaments, made during World War II. They're unsilvered, all but one decorated with colorful painted stripes. Three are clear glass with pastel colored stripes and two of these have sprigs of wired tinsel inside. Only one is undecorated, the solid bright red ornament. They range in size from 2-3/8" diameter to just under 2". Several were made by Shiny Brite, at least one is from Premier, and I'm sure other ornament manufacturers are represented as well. Two ornaments have noticeable scratches or wear to the painted stripes, the others are in very good vintage condition. They come with a cardboard box bottom only, no lid.

Circa: 1942 - 1945
Country of Origin: US
Manufacturer: Shiny Brite, Premier, Others  

Red and Blue Tinsel Inside Unsilvered Glass WWII Christmas Ornaments A pair of patriotic transparent red and blue transparent American War Christmas ornaments from the 1940s World War II era when silver nitrate was unavailable to non-military manufacturers. They're 2-5/8" diameter, painted with thin white stripes and each has a piece of wired tinsel inside for sparkle. The blue may be slightly faded but the coloring on both is even with little wear.

Circa: 1942 - 1945
Country of Origin: US
Manufacturer: American Made War Era  

8 Unsilvered WWII Christmas War Ornaments Mica and Colored Stripes Eight Shiny Brite unsilvered mica striped Christmas war ornaments - made during World War II when silver nitrate was designated for war use only. The seven round ornaments are 2" to 2-1/4" diameter. Each has alternating horizontal stripes of bands of bright transparent color and white mica snow glitter. All but one have Shiny Brite metal caps, and that one has a too-large replacement cap and is very likely Shiny Brite as well. The 3-1/4" bell ornament has a Made in U.S. of A. cap and is the only ornament with any serious mica wear. The others all have excellent, thick mica coverage and little to no color wear.

American war ornaments were only produced for two or three years and are by their very nature scarce and finite in quantity (as soon as the war ended the manufacturers went back to producing silvered ornaments). They are highly collected today and will only increase in value as their numbers dwindle from loss, breakage, and absorption into private collections.

Circa: 1942 - 1945
Country of Origin: US
Manufacturer: Shiny Brite