{"product_id":"estatefreshaustincom-800","title":"c1880's 7\" Antique Kugel Christmas ornament Mercury glass ball","description":"c1880's 7\" Antique Kugel Christmas ornament Mercury glass ball. Very thick  antique glass guaranteed authentic. Good condition with no chips, cracks, or\ndings, slight loss to 140 or so year old mirroring.\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHoliday trees in 1840 were adorned with apples, gilded and natural fruits and\nnuts, cookies, popcorn and cranberries, as well as homemade paper items,\ncandles, cornucopias, and presents. It was during this decade that the first\ncommercially produced Christmas decorations appeared. In 1848, the first glass\nornament, a kugel, appeared in Germany. The kugel was a large hollow ball\nranging in size from 1 inch to 18 inches. Smaller ones were used for tree\ndecorations. The blown, molded, figural glass ornaments that we are familiar\nwith today evolved from the tradition of blowing kugels. These ornaments were\nnot sold in America until 1880.\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eKugel is a German word that means \"ball\" and can be used to describe any type of\nball-like object. Collectors used this term to describe any early thick glass\nornament with a decorative cap. Early Kugels were too heavy to hang on tree\nbranches; instead they were suspended from the ceiling. Soon after their\ninvention, the Germans decided small Kugels should adorn tree boughs in shapes\nsuch as grapes, berry clusters, apples and pears. F. W. Woolworth is given\ncredit for bringing Kugels to America in the 1880s. His initial investment of\n$25 turned into sales of at least $25 million worth of Kugels over the next\nseveral years.\ntw198","brand":"sale - www.estatefreshaustin.com Estate Fresh Austin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46672126116056,"sku":"9442552200_FD57","price":655.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0677\/6284\/7960\/files\/c1880s-7-antique-kugel-christmas-ornament-mercury-glass-ballestate-fresh-austin-286737.png?v=1757923815","url":"https:\/\/estatefreshaustin.com\/it\/products\/estatefreshaustincom-800","provider":"Estate Fresh Austin","version":"1.0","type":"link"}