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| Sweet Clip Art |
Weather - Ember Day - the weather today indicates the weather of March
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Sometime around this date in
1882, probably a few days or even a week previous, Edward H. Johnson of New
York, Vice President of Edison Electric Lamp Company, invited a journalist
friend from the local New York Daily
Tribune to his Manhattan home to view a little something he had rigged
up. That little something was a
Christmas tree hung with colored light bulbs and turning on a little wooden
box.
The journalist, William A.
Croffut (1835 – 1915), knew both Edward Johnson and Thomas Edison well – he had
been reporting on Edison and all his works from 1878 and may have been
responsible for dubbing him “the Wizard of Menlo Park”. This is his account of his visit to Johnson’s home:
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| Johnson's Christmas Tree, 12/25/1882 |
“Last evening I walked over
beyond Fifth Avenue and called at the residence of Edward H. Johnson,
vice-president of Edison’s electric company. There, at the rear of the beautiful parlors, was a large
Christmas tree presenting a most picturesque and uncanny aspect. It was brilliantly lighted with many
colored globes about as large as an English walnut and was turning some six
times a minute on a little pine box.
There were eighty lights in all encased in these dainty glass eggs, and
about equally divided between white, red, and blue. As the tree turned, the colors alternated, all the lamps
going out and being relit at every revolution. The result was a continuous twinkling of dancing colors,
red, white, blue, white, red, blue – all evening.”
“I need not tell you that
the scintillating evergreen was a pretty sight – one can hardly imagine
anything prettier. The ceiling was
crossed obliquely with two wires on which were hung 28 more of the tiny lights;
and all the lights and the fantastic tree itself with its starry fruit were
kept going by the slight electric current brought from the main office on a
filmy wire. The tree was kept
revolving by a little hidden crank below the floor which was turned by
electricity. It was a superb
exhibition.”
The Detroit Post and Tribune, a weekly illustrated paper which
published on Fridays, ran this story in their December 22, 1882 edition. Croffut, while working for the New York Daily Tribune, kept up a
correspondence with newspapers in about fifteen different states, and the
Detroit newspaper may have been one of them [note: the phrase “our foreign
correspondent” or “our correspondent in New York” did not mean that the
journalist in question was employed solely by that particular newspaper.] Of course, the Post and Tribune might also have used the not-altogether-unknown
method of cribbing stories from other newspapers.
In any case, because it
seems to be the only remaining published account of the first Christmas tree
lights, every article written on the subject repeats that “Croffut” was a
reporter from Detroit, sometimes embellishing the story that he was visiting
family in New York, that he was a young reporter [Croffut was 47], and that he
alone responded to Mr. Johnson’s general invitation, while the local papers unaccountably
ignored it. Well, like incorrect
family trees which everyone copies without checking to see if the information
is correct, this little myth will remain part of Christmas-tree-light history,
to be repeated over and over again.
For more information on the
history of Christmas lights (and loads of pictures) check out Old Christmas Tree Lights, a delightful website dedicated to the twinkling, glowing lighted decor of Christmas Trees.
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In honor of Johnson’s
invention, make these Cute Sugar Cookie Lights from busylittleelf. The instructions sound very easy, and
if you have several Cook’s Helpers underfoot, they can separate the candies
into piles of different colors. (Impress upon the Cook’s Helpers that they
are not to dispose of any candies until after the cookies are made]
Remember, the 12 Days of
Christmas are coming up, when you will have the pledges of your affection home
from school looking for things to do.
Baking Christmas cookies is a good group project.
