Item # |
Description |
Price |
Click for more detail...
4349
|
Cat With Mandolin Figural Milk Glass Christmas Light Bulb Works
I believe this old figural milk glass Christmas tree light bulb depicts a cat playing a mandolin, or a banjo. I've seen it called a lion or a dog, but some of his painted whiskers remain on his face. The 3" tall bulb is marked 15 volt Japan and lights up brightly. There is some paint wear, mainly to the front of the cat's coat and his whiskers.
Circa: 1930s - 1940s
Country of Origin: JP
Manufacturer: Japan Import
|
|
 |
Click for more detail...
4412
|
Alpine Man With Pipe Figural Milk Glass Christmas Light Bulb, Working
I've seen this vintage figural Christmas tree light bulb described as Pinocchio, but I don't recall Pinocchio ever smoking a pipe. The hand painted figure is a man dressed in Alpine or Germanic style with short pants, suspenders, tie and cap, and he does hold a pipe in his hand. The bulb is marked 16 V Japan and is 3-1/2 inches high. The paint is in good condition for a milk glass bulb of this age, with some wear to the shoes and the bowl of the pipe. It lights up just fine.
Circa: 1930s - 1940s
Country of Origin: JP
Manufacturer: Japan Import
|
|
|
Click for more detail...
4731
|
Working Figural Milk Glass Cat with Mandolin Christmas Light Bulb
This is a C-6 120 volt figural Japan milk glass Christmas light bulb, with the larger threads that fit the more commonly found light strings. It's a 3" tall cat playing the mandolin (some say it's a lion). The bulb lights up fine as you can see and the paint is still in pretty good shape.
Circa: 1950
Country of Origin: JP
Manufacturer: Post War Japan Import
|
|
|
Click for more detail...
3924
|
3 Old Glass Figural Christmas Light Bulbs, Rosebud and Lanterns
Three old figural Christmas tree light bulbs:
The first one is a scarce American-made large Mazda clear glass bulb from the 1920s in the shape of a Gifu lantern. Similar bulbs were imported from Japan but this one has a higher glass neck and more squared base and shoulder. It is marked 14V and is about 3-3/8" long. Less paint wear than normal for a bulb of its age. Book value on this bulb alone is $60 to $75.
The other lantern is a large milk glass cylinder or Odawara lantern, 3-3/4" long and marked Japan on the neck. I can't read the voltage but it's probably 15 volt. Most of the paint wear is limited to the black upper and lower bands. These were made from the later 1920s until around 1950.
The last bulb is a 1920s Japan clear glass rosebud, 2" long. The pink and purple paint is quite worn. 14 or 15 volt, unreadable markings on the neck. The bulbs no longer light but make excellent antique Christmas tree ornaments when cord or wire is wrapped around the threaded necks. All three bulbs one price.
Circa: 1920s
Country of Origin: US
Manufacturer: Mazda and Japan Import
|
|
|
Click for more detail...
4346
|
Early Japanese Lantern Figural Clear Glass Christmas Light Bulb Working
This cylinder or Odawara style lantern light bulb was made in the early 1920s - Japan only made clear glass figural bulbs for a short time before switching to milk glass in a futile effort to control the flaking paint (the paint flaked just as much with milk glass but it was thought to look better). The bulb is 3-3/8" long, painted in pretty pink, mauves, and greens with a bit of black. The paint isn't too bad on this one, there's some missing at the lower back and on the top and bottom. The markings on the neck are hard to read, I think they say 15V (15 volt) and Japan. The bulb lights up fine.
Circa: 1920s
Country of Origin: JP
Manufacturer: Pre-War Japan Import
|
|
|
Click for more detail...
3181
|
Circa 1920 Clear Glass Fruit Figural Christmas Tree Light Bulbs Peach and Strawberry
A pair of fruit shape figural Christmas tree light bulbs, about 85 years old. The earliest of the Japan-made figural Christmas light bulbs were made of clear glass, produced right after World War I (America had been importing figural bulbs from Germany until the war). The Japanese bulb manufacturers soon switched to using milk glass in an effort to control the problems with peeling paint (the paint peeled just as badly on milk glass bulbs but it was thought that milk glass looked better).
The pink and white strawberry bulb is 2" long by 1-5/8" diameter, the peach is a bit bigger. The paint on the strawberry is in excellent condition with little wear. The peach has a little more wear to the paint, but still has much more paint intact than is usually found on such old light bulbs. They're marked 14V Japan on the necks.
They don't light but these old figural bulbs make fabulous antique Christmas tree ornaments when hung with string or wire tied to the threaded socket neck. If you're interested in learning how to re-lamp figural bulbs, email me and I'll send you a link to a website that tells you how to make burned out bulbs work again. One price for both.
Circa: 1920
Country of Origin: JP
Manufacturer: Pre-War Japan
|
|
|
Click for more detail...
2628
|
Bird and Grape Cluster Figural Milk Glass Christmas Tree Light Bulbs
Two vintage figural Christmas tree light bulbs made in Japan - a cluster of grapes and a bird. The grapes are 2-5/8" long overall and painted in shades of green rather than the more common purple. The red painted bird is 3-1/4" long. Minor paint wear typical of cold painted milk glass. The bulbs do not light but make excellent tree ornaments when hung from wires or strings tied to the threads. Both bulbs for one price.
Circa: 1940s - 1950s
Country of Origin: JP
Manufacturer: Japan Import
|
|
|
Click for more detail...
4277
|
Vintage Figural Christmas Light Bulbs - Silvered Indent Ornament and Fat Santa Claus
Two vintage 15 volt Japan figural Christmas tree light bulbs: a full figured, fat Santa Claus and an unusual silvered glass bulb. The ornament light is about 2-3/4" long, in the shape of a teardrop indent or reflector ornament. It's silvered from the inside, just like a mercury silvered Christmas ornament. There's some wear to the pink paint at the top, bottom, and center indent but the silvering is in pretty good shape. I've seen this type of bulb in my antique Christmas lighting books but have never come across one in person before.
The Santa bulb is 2-1/2" long. He has some typical paint wear as shown, but not bad. Neither of the lights work, but they make great ornaments when you attach wire or cord hangers to the threaded socket necks. Price is for both lights.
Circa: 1947
Country of Origin: JP
Manufacturer: Japan Import
|
|
|
Click for more detail...
4380
|
4 Large Clear Glass Japanese Lantern Figural Christmas Light Bulbs, Working
These four pretty figural glass Christmas or party light bulbs are hand painted on clear glass, dating them to just after World War I to the very early 1920s. Japan didn't make these bulbs in clear glass for very long - they soon switched to using milk glass thinking it would hold the paint better.
The Gifu lanterns are 3-1/2" long, not including the fancy red silk tassels at the bottoms. Three have purple irises painted around the centers with dark pink and green bands at the tops and bottoms. The fourth has branches of red flowers.
The bulbs are marked 14 V Japan at the necks. When tested with a 9-volt battery, they all lit up, but the glow is dim. I can't guarantee how much longer they'll light. The paint is in superb condition for figural bulbs of this age, with little wear. The tassels are all intact and undamaged. Price is for the set of four.
Circa: 1920
Country of Origin: JP
Manufacturer: Pre-War Japan Import
|
|
|
Click for more detail...
4413
|
Red and Yellow Songbird Figural Milk Glass Christmas Light Bulb, Working
A cardinal or songbird 16 volt figural milk glass Christmas tree bulb made in Japan. It's 3-3/4" long and lights up brightly, though there is some paint typical paint wear as shown.
Circa: 1930 - 1950
Country of Origin: JP
Manufacturer: Japan Import
|
|
|
Click for more detail...
3932
|
Pear Fruit Figural Milk Glass Christmas Light Bulb, Working
This little figural Japan milk glass Christmas tree light bulb is in the shape of a pear and is painted red and yellow. It's 2" high and is a 15 volt bulb. The paint has some wear as shown but the bulb works fine and lights up brightly.
Circa: 1930s
Country of Origin: JP
Manufacturer: Japan Import
|
|
