The wonder of Woolies still shines bright at Christmas in the antiques world, even though the popular British high street store vanished 12 years ago.
Woolworths fell into administration in 2008 and all 800 of the retailer’s stores closed in January the following year. But its impact lives on. Every Christmas without fail, vintage festive wares sold by Woolies are rediscovered.
They turn up in homes and garages, squirrelled away in cupboards, tucked away in boxes where they were left ready for the next Christmas extravaganza. If there’s one thing people rarely throw away its festive decorations. We tend to add to them as each year rolls by. Each new item enhances the festive display when we decorate our homes.
Nevertheless, I was still surprised to uncover a collection of 1930s-50s festive decorations from Woolworths in a Derbyshire home just a few weeks ago. A colourful array of glass Christmas tree ornaments and Mazda Mickey Mouse lights turned up – still in their original boxes.
There was also a box of Benevolence Decoration Lamps. The festive-red box was adorned with a picture of Santa holding a string of lights. And inside the box was an original spare bulb in a brown paper bag.
I was touched. I really was. That’s because every object holds a memory. When I picked up those baubles and lights, I had a sudden glimpse of one family’s Christmas decades ago. And I knew those decorations had been treasured – you only had to see the condition of the boxes to grasp that. These items would have been carefully packed away year after year. People had less back then. They took care of things.
The decorations were discovered in what I can only describe as a house trapped in time. Nothing had been thrown away for decades. Many of us a have a tendency to hoard and hold on to things, me included, and we can be criticised for it. But when I see items like this, I’m glad some people find it hard to throw things away. As well as unleashing nostalgia they often leave their family with a welcome windfall. Though valuations are still under way, the Mickey Mouse lights alone could sell for around £130 at auction. Collectors adore the nostalgia of Christmas.
We notice this time and again, especially when it comes to another vintage Woolworths star – the 1920s/30s Christmas tree. Woolworths opened its first UK branch in Liverpool in 1909 and by the 1930s was selling the UK’s first mass-produced Christmas trees.
These modest affairs are 69cm (27 inches) high and have a few sparse branches, berries, candle holders and a wooden base. In 1930, the British-based Addis Housewares Company created the first artificial Christmas tree made from brush bristles. The company used machinery utilised to manufacture toilet brushes. The very first artificial Christmas trees were developed in Germany during the 19th century and were made using goose feathers dyed green.
Hansons has sold three Woolworths Christmas trees, circa 1930s, in recent years – one to the American Christmas Tree Association for £420. Not bad considering these festive offerings cost the equivalent of 6p at Woolworths back in 1937.
They go to auction with a guide price of around £100-£150 but, as we have seen, can make more. As far as the American Christmas Tree Association was concerned, the tree was worthy of purchase for its historical value and context within festive celebrations.
Its humbleness always strikes a chord. Today fancy trees of every shape, style and size are available and we can swap and change our festive décor on a whim. When we look at that small, basic Woolies tree, it brings home to us the excesses of the festive season today.
Finds like this flip us back to wartime Britain in the 1940s when money was scarce, rationing was in force and people generally lived within their means. And don’t forget that rationing continued until 1954 – nine years after the Second World War ended.
One Woolies’ tree we uncovered had been used every Christmas for nearly 60 years. It was purchased at Woolworths in Dundee, Scotland, in 1937, to celebrate the arrival of James Smith, who was born that same year.
According to the family it was at the centre of celebrations, the star festive adornment for 58 years in his mother’s home. She decorated it every Christmas until she died in 1995 at the age of 89. The tree went up in the middle of December and sparked great excitement.
We’ve all heard the stories about waking up on Christmas day in days gone by with little more than an orange in your festive stocking. Finds like these help us remember to be grateful for all that we have. They remind us that you don’t need to spend a fortune to enjoy a happy Christmas.
The waste-not, want-not generations of old are still teaching us an important lesson about valuing the simple things. After the last couple of years, I know most of us will simply be grateful to be with our families in December 25. Happy Christmas.
Hansons Auctioneers invites entries for all forthcoming auctions. To arrange a free valuation, email [email protected].
