NOMA was the largest marketer of Christmas lights in each year from 1927 to 1965. The first year for bubble lights was 1946. Bubble lights are really neat to look at and give your tree a real post war era feel.
The light set that is up for auction is in good working order. Of course, they are not pre 1945. They are not from 1946 because that are not in the famous "Book Style" container. The lights do look like vintage NOMA based on the style of the biscuit just below the glass tube. I'm not the expert, but I know who is.
To learn more about NOMA or NOMA Bubble Lights visit the Antique Christmas Lights Museum website. You can even compare the auction lights to the examples on the bubble light identification page to see if you agree with me that these are 1949-1962 NOMA biscuits. This is probably my favorite website of all time, and I will be bringing you an amazing collector story from this site in December.
Here is a link to the current auction. Current Bid: $31, $41
UPDATE! Wow, there is actually a real 1946 set up for bid also! Here's the link and you can see the original "Book Style" box. The seller does not know it's the first year. Let's see if the buyers are out there, darn I wish I could afford this one! Current Bid: $17.50, $20,
My Dad's parents had a set of these bubble lights, and some of those spinner ornaemnts that go for $25.00 a piece on ebay now. I got 6 of them from my grandparents. The lites got thrown away long ago because the cord was unsafe. Thanks for sharing.
Dave
Posted by: Dave | 30 November 2007 at 10:18 PM