The Aluminum Christmas tree. Love it or hate it? Now with Color Wheels!!!

Well, Thanksgiving 2009 is over and around the 8FT household we are decking the halls. Actually we don't do anything in the halls but in the other rooms we have Christmas coming out again. Since I started this thread a few years ago there have been a lot of pictures added by the Aluminum tree lovers out there but unfortunately many have now turned into a red x or a mini version of the original shot because they were hosted on shutterfly.com and don't match the TC format. So if that includes your submission from the past, please take a new shot of your tree this season and edit your original post OR resubmit the photo from before in the new format. Now, since it is time to haul out the decorations again, I thought I would grab the camera and shoot a few pics of the Aluminum tree boxes and as a BONUS, the Color Wheels that go with them!

First the trees:

These are from PECO (Production Engineering Co., Austell, GA)
We have 3 different sizes. This year we set up a 6'8"er. Because....I don't have an 8FTer hahaha, I mean Hohohoho.

Next up are the "Evergleams" from Aluminum Specialty of Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Again we have 3 different sizes.

Here are some miscellaneous manufacturers including
Consolidated Novelty Co., Paterson, NJ
R.O. KENT Corp. NY,NY and Federal Insulation Co. of Chicago,IL

Lastly is a permanently assembled tree in a paper mache base.
No manufacturer known. It is just over 3' tall.

We have collected these trees for a LONG time and really haven't been trying to but whenever one appears at the right price we adopt it. I think we have been given 3 of them and the others have ranged in price from 50 cents to $7.

Next up is the Color Wheels. Lets start with the boxes. Not all of our wheels have boxes but here are the ones we do have.

Now some shots of the different styles of color wheels. It is amazing to see the various ways that the wheels were designed. They all use the same four colors; red, green, blue and yellow but I have noticed that they are in different orders as the manufacturer decided. I wish I had taken photos of all the wheels we have seen in antique shops but didn't buy!

First is the PENETRAY Deluxe model. Penetray Corp. Toledo, OH

Next is another PENETRAY model.

Now here is the Spartus model 880.

Here is our favorite and most recent find. I love it because the interior rotates and has 4 colored glass discs instead of the rotating plastic wheel styles. Manufacturer unknown.

Another wheel is from ON-A-LITE Corp. Peoria, IL
It is not pictured because a friend is repairing it for us.
You may notice in the picture that has the color wheel boxes there is also a box containing a Revolving tree holder! That was produced by Handy Things MFG. Co. Ludington, MI
It is in MINT unused condition and is very cool.
Well that's it for now. Please keep adding your photos as you can and have a very Merry Aluminum Christmas!!!

The 8FT Tiki family.

8 FT I am in awe of your color wheel awesomeness!

I came across 2 color wheels and resold both for a tidy profit. I do wish now that I would of kept one.

You are my vintage Christmas rockstar!

I'm beyond jealous! You have far too many for one family. Won't you consider selling just one little silver tree and color wheel to a needy family (meaning ME)? These are way too hard to find now in Southern California ... sigh...

8ft, I think I'm in love.

Will you adopt me too? Just for the Christmas Holidays?

XOXO

TW

8ft. Your collection of trees is incredible, however the color wheel collection brought back some cool yule-tide memories. Mid 1960's Ellsworth A.F.B. South Dakota, junior high rock and roll band "The Roots of Evil" would secretly borrow the revolving color wheel from one of the hip and cool families and use it as our "special effects" for our gigs at the community center or the Teen Club. Great collection !

We had a vintage pom pom tree, but it was pretty scroungy, so we traded for a more contemporary silver tree. A couple years back one of Target's designers was doing a theme of retro 60's ornaments and we cleaned them out. So all is new except for the color wheel(s) I have.

Hi,

Good post....thanks for sharing.. very useful for me i will bookmark this for my future needed. thanks for a great source.

ahhhhh. from my youth. my dad put up a 7 footer every year for about 10 years. he decorated it with red, blue and gold ornamates of the same round shape and diameter. i loved the symmetery of it. he also had 2 color wheels, 1 on each side. i used to love watching that thing under the influence of certain substances. thumbs up to these.

I LOVE COLOR WHEELS!!

• remember they put white floodlights in them and they got really hot - but they were purdy!

Here's a few snaps of the color wheel I grew up with. It was my mom's when she grew up too:

[ Edited by: seafoamer 2009-12-19 18:27 ]

Here's mine:

Hey 8FT! How bout some pics of those trees set up?

I went to a Big Lots near me and they have brought out some Christmas decorations already and they have 4 ft. aluminum trees for $20.

Now that Halloween is over, lets talk about Christmas.

Big Lots: 4 ft pink tinsel tree

Target now sells aluminum Xmas trees...

Target: 36 inch tinsel tree

And if Target sell them, they are now considered mainstream.

Coco Loco and I just picked up one of those colored trees from Big Lots, earlier today. For the 4 foot ones, they have several colors to choose from, including blue, white, purple, and pink. No silver, though, which is what we wanted. The purple one was really cool, but we decided to go with pink, because we think it's color is light enough for a color wheel to work on. The trees are on sale, too, for $15 bucks! And they're pre-lit! We just finished setting it up, and it looks great! I'll have to post pics later.

So, anyone know where to purchase a color wheel, preferably a new one? I'd rather have a new one, that's quiet, than an old one, plus I'm broke and can't afford an expensive vintage one anyways. It appears that the color wheels are no longer available on the Harriet Carter catalog. A search of their website turns up no color wheels, and the link that Laney posted from 2005 yields the following information:

"The product you entered can not be displayed. Either the item is currently not available or it was entered incorrectly. Please try again. You may also enjoy learning about the featured products below.

I have 4 vintage color wheels all in boxes that look like they have never even been opened. They came from 4 different estate sales and seemed like good purchases at the time

This thread always reminds me i need to get a tree or two so I can finally use the wheels. I dont think 2 per tree is overkill...hmmmm...

*On 2010-11-21 22:15, Mai Tai wrote:*So, anyone know where to purchase a color wheel, preferably a new one? I'd rather have a new one, that's quiet, than an old one, plus I'm broke and can't afford an expensive vintage one anyways. It appears that the color wheels are no longer available on the Harriet Carter catalog. A search of their website turns up no color wheels, and the link that Laney posted from 2005 yields the following information:

Linen N Things carries one:
http://www.lnt.com/show_product/690637-9853/?utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=datafeed&utm_term=690637-9853

Amazon carries them. http://www.amazon.com/Color-Wheel-Artificial-Christmas-Trees/dp/B000Y8EKLI

color wheel for sure, and some other lighting too maybe.
and some tinsel trees, and more.
a coupla shots from last year:

I made my tree using an outdoor bare tree and adding tinsel. It's 5 feet tall and has been holding up well (so far). Here's picture from 2 years ago.

I need a color wheel, darn it!

[Oh, and the photo in the back is an original Ruth Harriet Louise MGM promo shot of Estelle Clark.]

On 2009-11-27 12:06, 8FT Tiki wrote:
Here are some miscellaneous manufacturers including
Consolidated Novelty Co., Paterson, NJ
R.O. KENT Corp. NY,NY and Federal Insulation Co. of Chicago,IL

I've got a bit of a Christmas Tree quandary:
When I was recently moving my grandmother out of her old house, I found a small Consolidated Novelty Co Xmas Tree in it's original box. The box is dated 6/24/65. It is not an aluminum tree, but it is the most atomic/space age looking tree I've ever seen. It's got some white flocking on the branches and on the attached stand. During and after moving my grandmother out, I've researched asbestos a bunch. Come to find out that much of old christmas tree flocking was very much an asbestos product. Worse of all is that it's a loose, or friable kind of asbestos which can easily get into ones lungs, where you really don't want it.
I have the tree still in it's box down my basement, but I've been quite reluctant to even open up the box, as the flocking (at least the flocking on the stand) easily starts to fly around when it moves.
As awesome as a tree it is, a lot of me just want to throw it out and not take any chances. I've thought about seeing if I could get it tested for asbestos, but a preliminary internet search has just come up with asbestos testing firms that seem do do major work for huge builders, school, malls etc.
I was wondering if any one here has advice or thoughts on what to do?

Here's my posting from last year. I'm actually in the middle of setting up our tree, but this year we did a regular fake tree and making it all hawaiian-like.

On 2010-01-21 14:07, Jetson wrote:
Ok, so for christmas this year, we didn't go all out but it was still really cool. We put up the silver tree this year, and bought a vintage tree turner and a color wheel. We just decorated it simply with vintage ornaments.

Why go Green for Christmas this year, when you can go Mid-Century-Modern with a great Aluminum Christmas Christmas Tree!



Ok, so I go a bid overboard
But
I Love It!

[ Edited by: atomicboomerang 2011-11-08 17:50 ]

AWESOME!!! I am jealous and in awe!

On 2011-11-08 17:26, atomicboomerang wrote:

Um,....
what's with the mannequin?
:o

Jeff(btd)

Here is mine from last year. I think I'll do a real tree this year, if I can find an affordable Silver tip.

Darilyn

Over Thanksgiving weekend I stopped at an antique store in Cashmere WA and one of the spaces was full of vintage Christmas ornaments including a vintage color wheel still in the original box. Asking price was $100. Very cool, but I passed.

I inherited my aluminum tree when my husband's grandmother passed away in 2009. I got the ornaments up on it yesterday but I took a video of it in the dark with the color wheel running the other night:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/catmomma/6422243425/in/photostream

it is all still in it's original boxes with the original paper sleeves each branch goes into. grandma always took care of her stuff.

Catmomma, have you considered pulling the light further away from the tree to get a more complete spectrum of light on the tree?

I’ve had a very crudely made resin grape lamps gathering dust tucked away for years and this year decided to dust off the individual grapes for ornaments and voila, instant Christmas with 20 pounds of weight add to the tree.

Here is our tree this year. Found a nice color wheel, the mid-century modern looking one. I will try and post a picture of it later.

[ Edited by: Cool Manchu 2012-12-01 10:39 ]

It's that time of year again! Let's see your trees in all their faux aluminum beauty!

8 Bucks!

Target: 2' Unlit Tinsel Tree - Fuchsia

Our current shop window display.

[ Edited by: White Devil 2012-12-07 14:49 ]

I thought I had posted a photo of this tree I picked up a few years ago at a yard sale during the summer months, but since I don't see it here, I'm putting it up. :)

Wishing everyone here another Very Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays everyone.

Very nice!

Thank you MaukaHale.

David, here is the box it came in that you wanted to see. This side is the only side that has any info on it, the rest of the box is torn and stained.

Mahalo Hilda. I like the the graphics/fonts used back then.

Will there be any new submissions from the aluminum tree fans for 2016 ???

I think most here would love them.
We love em.

Just did not put them up this year, don't know if I have any old pics of ours.

I've looked through antique stores. I've perused EBay.

If anyone is contemplating selling their aluminum Christmas tree, please contact me.

I would be able to pick up in the SoCal area.

Nancy

Here's the one I put up at work this year above my desk:

Let the holiday season for 2018 begin so lets bring out the aluminum tree.

Past and Present Retroda in Long Beach, CA has one in it's front window along with a variety of other colors.

https://www.retroda.com/

Monsanto's House of the Future at Disneyland back in the 1960's decorated for Christmas.
Is that an aluminum tree?

Yesterland: Monsanto House of the Future

Sorry, Navy Grog is in the way...

Great pic Mike.
Merry Christmas