Victorian Christmas Ornaments: Dresden, Kugels, Scrap and Glass

Victorian Christmas ornaments fall into a handful of types: silvered blown glass from Lauscha in Germany, embossed Dresden cardboard figures, glossy die-cut paper scraps, spun cotton figures and paper cornucopias. Many pieces sold today are reproductions. Choose by material, and on anything sold as antique, check the cap and finish. Hang glass and candy-like pieces above a small child’s reach.

Victorian ornament types at a glance

Victorian ornament types differ most in material, and the material decides where each one hangs. For how a whole period tree was dressed, see the Victorian Christmas tree guide.

Dresden cardboard ornaments explained

Dresden ornaments are small figures pressed from thin embossed cardboard, mostly finished in gold or silver, with some painted. Collectors Weekly says they were made in Dresden from about 1870 to 1910, mostly for export to America, and PBS Antiques Roadshow dates German production from about 1880 until the start of World War II. The Winterthur Museum holds a painted cardboard example from Dresden dated 1880 to 1910.

Animals and vehicles were common subjects, and Collectors Weekly adds birds detailed enough to tell the species. Originals are fragile and collectible, so most shoppers decorate with Dresden-style reproductions and keep any old piece on a high, sheltered branch. A silver Dresden-style star or crescent reads clearly on a black tree, where the embossed edges catch the light.

Lauscha glass and kugel ornaments

Lauscha glass ornaments come from a small glassmaking town in Thuringia, Germany. The German Historical Museum says glass tree ornaments were made there from about 1850 and silvered on the inside. Glassblowers there used molds to blow fruit and nut shapes, and by the 1870s Lauscha was exporting ornaments to Britain, according to Homes and Antiques.

Kugel ornaments are the early glass balls that came before the modern bauble. Kugel is German for sphere. Kugels first hung from rafters and in windows before smaller glass ornaments moved onto trees. A single large kugel-style ball in deep red or green gives a Victorian tree a focal point without crowding it.

Silvered glass reflects whatever light is near it, so a few pieces placed close to warm white lights do more than a crowd of them deep in the tree.

Paper scrap and spun cotton ornaments

Paper scrap ornaments are glossy embossed pictures, cut out by die. The Victoria and Albert Museum calls scraps very popular in Victorian England, and Golden Glow of Christmas Past says those printed on heavier paper were often turned into tree ornaments.

Spun cotton ornaments are soft figures, often fruit or animals, and collectors still look for old ones. Pale cotton figures stand out well on a dark tree, and they weigh almost nothing, so they suit thin outer branches.

Paper cornucopias complete the set. The Office of Historic Alexandria describes cone-shaped ornaments filled with nuts, candies, dried flowers or small gifts, and Parks Canada describes rolling one from paper as a popular Victorian tree craft.

Telling a reproduction from an antique

Reproduction Victorian ornaments are common and often well made, so the cap and the finish matter. Some excellent reproductions are given an artificially aged patina, Homes and Antiques warns. Caps on new pieces differ from old ones, but some sellers switch caps, so a cap alone does not prove age.

Reproductions are a good choice for a tree you plan to use every year. Old World Christmas, for example, says its ornaments are still mouth-blown into carved molds and painted by hand, a method that dates to the 1800s. If a listing calls a piece antique, look for a clear photo of the cap and a stated age.

Building a tree of Victorian ornaments

A tree of Victorian ornaments looks best when one material leads and the others fill in. Put glass at the branch tips and Dresden-style pieces where the light hits. Paper and cotton pieces fill the gaps. The goth tree decorating guide covers that layer order step by step.

To darken the scheme, mix in pieces from the black Christmas ornaments guide. Glass witches and crescent moons from witch Christmas ornaments also sit well beside silvered Victorian shapes. The goth Christmas decor hub links every guide on the site.