My grandfather Ruffner worked for the Eastman Kodak Company during its early days, so my father's childhood was as well documented as one's family life might have been decades later. (In fact we have indoor home movies from the 1920s.)
Here's an image of my father and grandmother looking at his first Christmas tree, in 1915. He was almost a year old. The lights are lit candles, and my father — who remembered later trees with candles — said that there was always a bucket of water nearby, and that the lit candle-viewing would last for only about a minute.
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I hope you enjoyed this "Kodak moment!"
A delightful post. What a treasure these photographs are, and how wonderful that you have an ornament from this very tree. A friend of ours also uses candles on his tree, which when lighted are magical. Such beauty is fleeting, though, because as you write one can only light them for a minute of so. But when lit? Heaven! Reggie
ReplyDeleteHi, Reggie - I've never heard of folks still lighting candles on a tree, but I can imagine that it's a beautiful sight. I'm sure most people don't realize that a lit Christmas tree was a momentary display, but how could it be otherwise?
DeleteDear Mark - what a stunning legacy you have from your Ruffner heritage. It is not just the fact that you still have many of the items belonging to the family but also these wonderful images. You are very fortunate.
ReplyDeleteI recall being invited to a German friends home one Christmas evening about 30 years ago. They had a very large tree which was covered in lit candles all evening. It looked spectacular, and encouraged me to find some candles and tree holders for myself. This I did, but I have never had the courage to light them myself.
Dear Rosemary - I'll bet your German friends stayed really close to that tree!! Like you, I have several antique tree candle holders, and put candles in them, but have never thought to light them up.
DeleteDear Mark,
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful post-- you're so lucky to have these family treasures! I loved seeing the picture of your adorable dad and grandmother admiring their tree--so lovely. My mom, as a child in Colombia but with a German dad, fondly remembers the beauty and imminent disaster of a candle-lit Christmas tree. In her family, they would light the candles, sing German Christmas carols, and then the candles would be immediately extinguished. Maybe because the tree was lit for so little time, the memories are more potent for her.
Ruffnerian Christmas in 1915 was so much cozier than the commercial 2012 Christmas.... The gifts for your dad are precious, and I'm sure he enjoyed them for many many years-- especially that beautiful toy box! I know in our family circle we're trying to move towards traditions that are meaningful and, in a way, small and simple, with more emphasis on the handmade. Any movement towards the idyllic Christmas you've shared here must be a move in the right direction-- thank you for the inspiration!
With warmest wishes for a beautiful Christmas to you and your family,
Erika
Dear Erika - I've read your comment over several times, and it makes me realize that one of the reasons so many people cherish Christmas is for the personal traditions that we each form around it. And in turn, these same traditions are almost always a celebration of a process, rather than an end. In a society that promotes instant gratification, I think there's a real yearning to take time and enjoy being in the moment — or in the case of Christmas — moments.
DeleteWishing you and your family a lovely Christmas,
Mark
I suppose for a fresh cut tree, I might trust it a bit (but not leave the room!). After 3 weeks ours is already pretty dry, despite constant watering. I think it would explode into flames.
ReplyDeleteI have some ornaments from my grandparents tree from when my mom was little (late 40s?) and they are SO fragile. I'm pretty careful but over the years I've probably broken 3 of them (I had about 9 originally).
I hope you have the first image of your dad and grandmother framed and displayed each christmas!
Hi, Stefan - My parents were in Germany during the late 40s, so our family has a lot of charming glass ornaments from there (I'm thinking in particular of hand-blown polka dot mushrooms). That was of course a difficult time for Germany, so some of the ornaments from there are simple wood cut-outs (though they're beautifully painted).
DeleteAll the old family photographs are in scrapbooks, and there are a lot of scrapbooks!
Dear Mark, Such a wonderful post! I must give you credit for knowing how important it was to save these priceless images. I love the idea of covering the wooden toy box with wallpaper rather than painting it.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up in Germany we always had candles lighting our tree. Don't remember if electric lights were availble in those days.
I still light our tree with candles (and electric lights). We harvest our tree from a nearby forest and it sits in our pond until it's time to decorate.
Dear Gina - The toy box must have survived for quite a while because my dad remembered that wallpaper and its color. I think it's so cool that you harvest your own tree, and I can picture it, sitting in the lake, waiting its turn to shine.
DeleteHello Mark, What a treasure those old family photographs are. One of my potential projects is to scan most of my own family photos so that they can be distributed, and also protected from loss. From your description of your own family archives, that would be quite a job, but perhaps it could be done selectively.
ReplyDeleteWhat's really remarkable and heart-warming is the combination of old photos, family memories, and the occasional survival of heirlooms that apart from their intrinsic quality, serve to symbolize those happy times.
--Road to Parnassus
Hello, Jim,
DeleteMy family is fortunate in that it has two "archivists," my sister-in-law, who is primarily interested in genealogy, and myself. On top of that, while one of my grandfathers worked for Kodak, the other had photography as his main avocation. It would be a truly monumental job to try to scan everything that's in shelves of scrapbooks. Nonetheless, I have spent many hours scanning favorite images and retouching them — to the extent of improving contrast and removing scratches (the two above were as you see them, and you can notice some discoloration at the top of the first image). I'm sure I'll be sharing more of these pictures down the road . . .
Hello Mark,
ReplyDeleteYes, I very much enjoyed this lovely kodac moment, and all your previous posts, as expected. Loved the 1962 ornament you made and I'm always fascinated by portraiture. Wishing you many lovely kodac moments for this holiday season and I'm looking forward to your 2013 posts. Thank you.
Warmly,
Anyes
xx
Dear Anyes - Thank you for your lovely comment — I always saw that egg as an homage to the Baroque.
DeleteI wish all the Busbys a happy holiday and an equally happy 2013! I look forward to reading next year's posts about all the happenings at the Dusty Victorian.
Oh Mark, these pictures show us a rare glimpse into a time with little documentation....certainly not small, intimate home pictures. I love the tree and the presents. You keep surprising me with your collections and memorabilia!
ReplyDeleteDear Theresa - I'm so glad you're enjoying these offerings! I always get a huge charge from your own posts because they invariably reflect my own taste and passions. I'm wishing you happy holidays and a great 2013!
DeleteThanks once again, Mark, for sharing these wonderful family moments. You are so fortunate to have these family treasures - tangible proof of your past. :)
ReplyDeleteI have nothing but a bunch of photographs (and lucky to have those) - my parents were not ones to save much of their own past.
May I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and a big thank you for sharing.
Thanks, Yvette - It makes a difference when there are several generations of collectors, though I did have one grandfather who didn't care much for the past — an interesting contrast to the rest of the family. Merry Christmas to you, and I look forward to much sharing in 2013!
DeleteDear Mark -
ReplyDeleteYou are fortunate to have the old photos and home movies. I particularly love revisiting these treasures during the holidays. Family gatherings, traditions, celebrations....how lovely to have it all documented.
Have a wonderful and merry Christmas, my friend!
Very best,
Loi
Dear Loi -
DeleteYour house, shop and blog are a great inspiration, and I've really appreciated communicating and sharing with you over the past year!
Merry Christmas and wishes for all things good in 2013!
Cheers,
Mark
I absolutely enjoyed the Kodak moment,I would love to see a Christmas tree with lit candles.
ReplyDeleteI was recently reading of another Christmas in 1915, on the Western Front, when a truce was called for the day.
Dear smr - Thank you for enjoying my Kodak moment (I've never seen a lit Christmas tree either).
DeleteI've read about that Christmas truce, and the story calls to mind how senseless that whole war was.
But on a brighter note — I wish you a merry Christmas 2012, and a happy new year!
These photographs are indeed an amazing treasure, and I appreciate seeing them. Thank you too for clearing up the lit candles on a tree question that I always had. I hope you had a most enjoyable Christmas.
ReplyDeleteDear Columnist - I hope you, too, had an enjoyable Christmas. I had dinner with friends of more than 30 years, so it was an evening of reminiscence and good conversation.
Delete