Christmas tree stand
A Christmas tree stand (also: Christmas tree stand or tree stand for short ) is an object for stabilizing a Christmas tree during its use as a self- standing decorative tree .
history
Christmas trees have been mentioned since around the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the modern era and have been popular since the 18th century, although they became more widespread in middle-class circles in the middle of the 19th century. Only from this point in time can Christmas tree stands be found as common objects of use.
Executions
The oldest way of setting up a smaller Christmas tree in the living area was by drilling a hole in a wooden board or block or by placing the tree in a container (e.g. filling it with sand). Alternatively, a wooden board or cross bar can be nailed or screwed into the trunk of the Christmas tree from below. In the Lower Austrian Waldviertel, there should still be hooks on the ceiling in the rooms and living rooms of older buildings to attach the Christmas tree (not a self-standing decorative tree). Until the end of the 19th century, it is said to have been common in some regions to hang the Christmas tree on the ceiling, sometimes upside down.
From the 19th century, in addition to simple bar crosses made of wood, iron and cast iron, there was also an increasing number of decorated Christmas tree stands. B. with paradise gardens around the tree and musical works ( music box ) were added. Other materials for Christmas tree stands are z. B. Stand made of sheet iron , wrought iron , stainless steel , ceramic or plastic .
Well-known cast iron works in Germany had also made Christmas tree stands from the second half of the 19th century. So z. B. in the iron works L. Meyer in Harzgerode , Carlshütte in Rendsburg (abbreviation C x H), Alexanderwerk in Remscheid , iron foundry Rödinghausen in Menden / Ruhr or the Lüderswerke in Wernigerode .
From the beginning of the 20th century, Christmas tree stands with water tanks are also known, in which the natural Christmas tree stands with the interface in the water during the standing time (period of use). This should keep the tree fresh longer and lose fewer needles. In the Bavarian and Alemannic regions, attention is also paid to the correct time of felling (moon position), which means that the tree should also stay fresh longer.
A sophisticated version of the Christmas tree stand is the musical Christmas tree stand. These are integrated music boxes and these were already available from the beginning of the 20th century. B. connected to a rotating mechanism for the Christmas tree. Such Christmas tree stands, expensive for the time, were z. B. manufactured from 1873 by the J. C. Eckhardt company in Stuttgart.
Fastening techniques
In addition to the classic fastening techniques for Christmas trees on cross bars, wooden boards or z. As in sand-filled vessels, now dominate the all-round one-cable technology , the Fixierschraubentechnik that Fußhebeltechnik or steel spring technology to market. Depending on the size of the tree, the respective technology has more or less advantages in terms of price / performance. For small trees z. B. only the fixing screw technique is suitable (one or more fixing screws lock the Christmas tree in the Christmas tree stand).
The diameter of the Christmas tree stand is also important for stability (about 30 cm in diameter and larger, safety ropes may also be required in public areas).
Collector
Christmas tree stands are now the subject of collections and sometimes have considerable value. The most expensive example in the collection of Heidi Schwarz (* 1941) (see: Christmas tree stand museum ) is equipped with a music box and was purchased from her on the Internet for 4,000 euros. A market for this has also emerged in the USA.
Most of the items that are valuable to collectors today were produced in the four decades between the Franco-German War (1870/71) and the First World War (1914–1918).
literature
- Magdalene Hanke-Basfeld: Christmas tree stand - small cultural history , Frankfurt am Main 1988, Fricke, ISBN 3-88184-089-3 .
- Karl Baeumerth, Gerhard Seib, Peter Janisch: Formed and cast, designed cast iron and iron art casting , catalog for the permanent exhibition "Designed cast iron and iron art casting in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Hessenpark Open Air Museum, Neu-Anspach 1996, ISBN 3-930095-17- 3 .
- Hendrik H. Strengers: Johannes Carl Eckardt, Stuttgart, and the Christmas tree stand in Mechanical Musical Instrument , 13 (1989), issue 48, pp. 12-27; 16 (1993), No. 57, pp. 27-44.
- Werner Berlinghof: The shoe of the Christmas tree over 4 centuries: from logs to wooden crosses to iron and cast and musical works , Garching 2011, Stadtspiegel-Verlag, ISBN 978-3-9803689-2-6 .
Web links
- Museum flyer of the Christmas tree stand museum in Mühlacker
- Bates, Rick. " Caring for your cut Christmas tree, " Pennsylvania State University , Department of Entomology, accessed December 21, 2008.
- Mahany, Barbara. " What to know before buying (another?) Tree stand ", Chicago Tribune via Newsday , November 30, 2008, accessed December 21, 2008.
Individual evidence
- ↑ See e.g. B. US Patent 183,100 by Hermann Albrecht of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1876.
- ↑ a b c d Günter Bächle: Christmas: Now in Lienzingen not only at Christmas time , website: guenter-baechle.de, 23 November 2019, last accessed on 25 December 2019.
- ↑ Hanging Christmas trees. In: historisches-franken.de. Archived from the original on August 7, 2011 ; accessed on August 21, 2019 .
- ↑ See e.g. B. Patent No. 168860 of March 4, 1905 (Imperial Patent Office 1905), Württemberg. Shown in the Zeitschrift für Instrumentenbau, 26 (1906), No. 24, p. 759.
- ↑ Christmas tree stand: For sparkling children's eyes. In: BR.de . December 14, 2011, accessed December 23, 2016 .
- ↑ Christmas tree stand museum opened , City of Mühlacker, November 22, 2019.
- ^ Museum for Christmas tree stands in Mühlacker , Abendblatt.de (Hamburger Abendblatt) from December 17, 2019.
- ↑ Christmas tree stand: A German tradition , Luxemburger Wort from December 24, 2019.
- ↑ Christmas Tree Stand: What Is It? What is it worth? ", Q&A-Antiques Appraisal, Country Living , accessed December 21, 2008.