Pink Rose Figural Milk Glass Christmas Light Bulb An unusual and very attractive figural milk glass Christmas light bulb in the form of a bright pink rose blossom with three leaves at the top. It's 2-1/2" diameter, marked at the neck 16 V Made In Japan. The paint is in very good condition with almost no wear. The bulb does not light and has been converted to a tree ornament with a thread hanger tied to the top.

Circa: 1930s - 1950s
Country of Origin: JP
Manufacturer: Japan Import  

C9 Working Vintage Candle Figural Christmas Light Bulb This unusual vintage Christmas figural glass light bulb isn't shown in any of my books. It's clear glass painted red, orange, and yellow, in the form of a torch-like candle with large flame and drips of wax molded into the glass. It has a large C-9 type base and will work in outdoor Christmas light strings. It's marked 115 V Japan. The paint is in very good condition for this type of bulb with very little wear and it lights up brightly.

Circa: 1930s - 1950s
Country of Origin: JP
Manufacturer: Japan Import  

Double Sided Santa Claus Figural Christmas Milk Glass Light Bulb This 3 inch Japan 15 Volt figural milk glass Christmas light bulb depicts a Father Christmas style Santa Claus carrying a staff or walking stick with a toy sack slung over one shoulder. It's double sided, the same image in reverse on the opposite side. There is some typical paint loss as shown, not too bad. The bulb no longer lights but of course will make an excellent tree ornament by wrapping a wire hanger around the threaded neck or attaching a clip to the base.

Circa: 1930s - 1950s
Country of Origin: JP
Manufacturer: Pre or Post War Japan Import  

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  

Baby in Stocking Milk Glass Figural Christmas Light Bulb This old figural Japan milk glass Christmas tree light bulb depicts a baby peeking out from a red sock or stocking. It's 15 volts, about 3-3/8" long. Overall very good condition with some paint wear to the stocking. The bulb does not light up but of course most of these old figural bulbs are hung from the tree as ornaments, using wire or string attached to the threaded socket neck.

Circa: 1930s - 1950s
Country of Origin: JP
Manufacturer: Japan Import  

Lantern and Snowman Figural Milk Glass Christmas Light Bulbs A pair of vintage Japan figural milk glass Christmas light bulbs. The 2-1/2" snow-covered lantern lights up brightly and has only minor wear to the green paint on the glass panes. The 2-3/4" snowman carrying a closed umbrella or stick bulb didn't light when tested with a 9-volt battery but works fine as a Christmas ornament when a string or wire is tied to the socket threads. Both bulbs are marked 15 Volt Japan.

Circa: 1950s
Country of Origin: JP
Manufacturer: Mid Century Japan Import  

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  

2 Smiling Faces Figural Milk Glass Christmas Light Bulbs An unusual pair of rose colored figural milk glass light bulbs with painted smiling faces on both sides. They're round, about 2-3/4" high by over 2" diameter, marked at the necks 16 V Made In Japan with an H in diamond logo. The condition of the paint is very good with only slight wear as shown (pictures show both sides of bulbs). They don't light up and have been converted to tree ornaments with string cord hangers tied to the socket threads. Price is for the pair.

Circa: 1930s - 1950s
Country of Origin: JP
Manufacturer: Japan Import  

Lion With Mandolin Figural Milk Glass Christmas Light Bulb This 3" tall vintage 15 volt Japan Christmas tree figural light bulb is a lion playing the mandolin, painted in pink and green with yellow instrument. Some people call this a cat, but to me he looks more lionish. It does not light but can easily be converted to a Christmas tree ornament by means of thread or wire attached to the threads. The paint is in good condition with mild wear at the back.

Circa: 1930s - 1950s
Country of Origin: JP
Manufacturer: Japan Import  

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  

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  

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  

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