Season's Gleamings: The Art of the Aluminum Christmas Tree

by J. Lindemann, J. Shimon

They glitter. They shimmer. They bask in the glow of gently rotating color wheels. They last forever. Aluminum Christmas trees are the most spectacular souvenirs of our most recent Christmas Past-the Christmases of the super-mom 1960s.Season's Gleamings is the first book to celebrate these magnificent trees. More than 45 stunning color photographs reveal the beauty and range of aluminum arbor, from red-foil tabletop models to majestic seven-footers. Photographers J. Shimon & J. Lindemann have trained their camera on their own collection of vintage trees, capturing them complete with hi-fi's and highballs.Aluminum trees were born in 1959 in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, once the "Aluminum Cookware Capitol of the World." Within a couple of years, shiny, foil-branched Christmas trees were being made by dozens of companies and selling in the millions. Elvis adorned Graceland's front yard with a row of lighted aluminum trees. Their most famous appearance was in A Charlie Brown Christmas, when Lucy ordered Charlie Brown to "get the biggest aluminum tree you can find."Today the trade in vintage aluminum trees is fierce, and these crisp, beautiful symbols of modern living are again brightening thousands of American holidays. Season's Gleamings is a reminder of how beautiful an aluminum tree can be and makes a perfect gift for lovers of Christmases both real and artificial.

80 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2004

Reviews

[Wendi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderful photos of a collection of aluminum trees. The disappointment for me is that I wanted more text about the trees and their place in pop culture (there is some, but I would like more), more vintage pictures, and more pics in general. It's small and great for what it is -- I just think it could be more.

[Annburnett · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of the aluminum Christmas tree. It tells where they were manufactured but never really caught on. They were fragile and had to be specially decorated and stored. This shows a place where the trees are displayed for everyone to observe.

[Angie Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gosh, I really want a pom pom tree and a color wheel with a new hi-fi for Christmas this year! I'd love to get a tree and set one up, but vintage trees are way too rich for my blood and I'm not sure I have a place to display it that would really do it justice.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part photography book, part celebration of a relic from the 50's and 60's. We had one when I was young and this made me miss it very much.