I never realized old Christmas ornaments were so drab. ( )

This edition of Christmas Past: A Collector's Guide to its History and Decorations by Robert Brenner was published in 1985. That (and the referrals to East and West Germany) immediately dates the price guide at the end of the book, but that was of little interest to me anyway.

The 216-page book has 14 chapters, well-illustrated with black-and-white and full-color photographs of ornaments and other decorations, as well as black-and-white period photographs. Most of the latter appear in the first two chapters, on the evolution of Christmas celebrations and "The Christmas Tree and What Lies Under It," and are quite interesting in and of themselves. These two chapters also benefit from numerous quotations (most footnoted) of personal Christmas memories from various places and times.

The next eight chapters cover various categories of tree decorations (Christbaumschmuk in German), ranging from "miscellaneous" (why this is covered first is not clear) to three chapters on glass ornaments alone, divided into time eras. Then there are a chapter each on "early" tree lighting (i.e. candle holders and counterweights) and electric lighting. The latter chapter gets a bit technical, but it's fascinating to see the different kinds of decorative bulbs (such as bubble lights) manufactured over the years.

The 13th chapter, on "Ornaments - Stories Behind Them and How to Disply Them," is quite interesting. This is followed by a chapter on dating and repair of ornaments, the footnotes (16, although the numbering in the text skips from 15 to 17), short bibliography, and two-page index.

Overall there are a few proofreading errors in this book and the font again is very small. I would have liked to see a short glossary (with illustrations for examples) defining terms such as "Mazda" lights, Dresdens, kugels, chromos, and "Venetian Dew" (tiny glass beads applied as a glitter). There are many detailed descriptions of items that are either not illustrated at all, or there are no references to the matching illustrations. ( )