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Fantasia Polish Christmas ornaments

old_house_j_i_m
11 years ago

Its that wonderful time of the year ... when I dig out my collection of old Fantasia brand glass Christmas ornaments and guard the tree from marauding kids and pets ...

I spent the last couple of days fixing the old ornament boxes and wondering just how old these ornaments really are. I had a kind of time line in my head on when certain decorations were used, but last night, while I was repairing one particular box it all went out the window. You see, that box, which has the design I thought was from the 40's, had an old Gee Bee's department store price tag on it. Now, I remember going to the Gee Bees with my mom in the 70's and, well, could these ornaments that I long thought were made int he 40's really be form the 70's ??

Does anyone know anything about Fantasia brand Christmas ornaments to shed a little light on my mystery ??? By the Way Gee Bees had a store in Johnstown PA since 1906 ... most closed in the 1980's.

Comments (11)

  • lazy_gardens
    11 years ago

    I bought some lovely hand-blown Polish glass ornaments in the 1970s.

    But it's also possible, unless you have had that box since its purchase, that someone reused a box.

  • colleenoz
    11 years ago

    It's also possible, that while you recall visiting Gee Bee's department store, someone else visited it far earlier and purchased the ornaments.

  • Fori
    11 years ago

    I think we need pictures.

    I still would not know anything. But I wanna see. :)

  • old_house_j_i_m
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks all. I hope the photo uploads. In most cases the boxes are original to the ornaments. They are coded on the side of the lid and in the case of solid colors they always have the color name on them with the size and shape code. I know of some designs that are certainly form the early 50's since my grandfather bought them and we have record of those (one of his is the pink and gold striped one in the photo). but other designs are confusing. Just looking at the detail on them, and knowing that most companies decrease detail as production goes up and time goes on, I guestimated that certain flowered ornaments were older, but they might not be. see photo for blue floral vs. green and red striped ...

    To be clear, the ornaments I found with the Gee Bees label were solid blue and all original. The company may have made the solids longer than the decorated. but the box designs is what I thought was the oldest design. UGH - I wish I coudl find corporate records form this company.

  • Zippity-do-dah
    11 years ago

    Sweet little treasures! Thanks for posting the photo.

  • Fori
    11 years ago

    Oooooooooooooooooh!

    pretty.

    So it's not likely that those suspect ornaments were purchased earlier than the 70s? Was the price more 70s or 50s (and no, I wouldn't know what ornaments cost today, let alone the 50s or 70s...)

  • jlc102482
    11 years ago

    I have some of the same ones, and they are from the late 60s/early 70s. I just love them!

  • old_house_j_i_m
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks JLC. They are just the prettiest. the price tag said 2 for $1. that's pretty 60's kind of pricing. I have a catalog (digital scan) of some of these ornaments from 1952. SO they must have been made for 2 decades ... That's a long time for something like this.

  • Fori
    11 years ago

    I made the mistake of looking them up on eBay. They aren't fifty cents a box anymore but they're so pretty! Tempting...

  • mama goose_gw zn6OH
    11 years ago

    My parents had the same ornament set, bought in the early 1960s at a local fire department fundraiser. I claimed the pink and gold one, my sister claimed the multi-colored striped one. I think the blue one had flocked/frosted daisies. :)

  • old_house_j_i_m
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    It's so nice to hear so many people reminiscing about their families and earlier lives, just from looking at some old, little, glass baubles. This is the part of the holidays that makes me happiest, and why I collect old things.