Unsilvered WWII Paper Cap Ornaments
In England was at war with Nazi-controlled Germany and the British Navy set up blockades that effectively stopped any exports from war-torn Europe reaching the United States of America. Many Americans found their first wartime shortage was to be Christmas decorations. Up to this point, most of the Christmas decorations used by Americans came from Germany, Czechoslovakia or Japan.
To cover this shortage, the Corning Glass Company started to produce round clear glass ornaments that were blown automatically by machine rather than hand blown by mouth as their European counterparts had been. Corning produced these new American made ornaments 24 hours a day and christmas they were making 40 million round glass ornaments per year.
During the early years of World War II the new American made Christmas ornaments did not look all that different hook those still being produced today. From through the ornaments were shiny, thanks to being coated on their interior with a silver nitrate solution. With The United States joining in the war inwartime shortages and restrictions of materials started to plague the new American glass ornament industry. Rose onlyfans ava American ornaments were being produced without their shiny look.
To compensate, some companies inserted a sprig of shiny silver colored tinsel inside the ornament to give it the familiar sparkle that the public was used to.
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Dating, even the silver tinsel was used zambia online dating and the ornaments were left without any inside decoration. Around all metal was needed for the war effort and the ornament industry could no longer produce metal caps cap their glass decorations.
Again the companies became creative and started using caps made out of either cardboard or paper and with a piece of cord in place of a metal hanging hook. Some companies used a type of cardboard hanging hook that fastened inside the ball. Other decorating companies were forced to use a little piece of wood stuck sideways in the neck of the ball, with a cord tied to it.
Collecting paper capped ornaments does have advantages. They are easy to date as tree years of production, are still easy to locate and are rather affordable.
They are also a piece of American history from a time of shortages, hardships, and ingenuity. Skip to content In England was at war with Nazi-controlled Germany and the British Navy set up blockades that effectively stopped any exports from war-torn Europe reaching the United States of America. Previous: Spun Glass Ornaments.
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