Putz Houses: Charming Christmas Communities

At the beginning of November, I held my annual Vintage Christmas Roll-out. This year I had vendors and held it at the American Legion in Jaffrey. I was blown away by the amazing collections of vintage Christmas items that everyone had to sell. I was incredibly drawn to one collection of Putz houses that David Ross from Mood Chartreuse had and realized I needed to write my next article on these wonderful pieces of art and history. My very good friend Paul Kachinsky has taught me so much about collecting vintage Christmas items; without his knowledge I would have never learned so much. Paul has been collecting since he was a young teenager and has been actively involved as a member of the Golden Glow of Christmas Past and the Yuletide Yankees. His personal collection fills a 10-by-30-foot storage unit! That's a lot of vintage Christmas! Paul was gracious enough to pen his personal collecting story of Putz houses for me to share with you all: "My grandfather was one of 13 children, and attended Woodcock School in Winchendon, Mass. Back in the day, he was only able to attend school through the eighth grade, as his abilities were needed back (home) to help run the family farm. I was the first grandchild to come into his life, and he found happiness in living his childhood through me. He had a love of decorating for Christmas, and although the family didn't have much, he managed to accumulate a reasonable number of decorations over the years, for both the inside and outside of their home. I spent the majority of my childhood with my grandparents, as both my folks had to work to make ends meet, and thus a love of Christmas decorating was born within me. As time moved forward, and I became of age to drive, I began going to local flea markets and began a collection that quite frankly stuns me to this day. Back in the 1970s, older Christmas lighting and decorations could be had for practically pennies on the dollar. It didn't take long to amass a rather large collection. Putz houses have been a part of Christmas displays for over 100 years now. Japan began producing them in the 1920s along with Czechoslovakia, Germany and other countries. Putz houses began to make a rather large impact on displays after World War II. Japan, Germany and other countries wanted desperately to recapture revenue from war efforts, and realized the United States was in full celebration mode. They began to manufacture Putz houses, small and large, made of cardboard, wood, paper and papier-mâché. The United States fell in love with them. I can remember walking into F.W. Woolworth's five-and-dime store in Winchendon, Mass. and walking across the wooden floor that creaked and cracked with every step and seeing display bins full of different style Putz houses. Many of them still sport original price tags on the undersides, stamped in that old purple ink from the pricing stamps. They could often be found for less than a dollar each, so accumulating a stunning variety wasn't difficult. Most of them came with a hole in the back so a light could be added. Keep in mind while these houses were coming to market, most lighting was the old, "first style" bulbs (eight lights to a string, wired in series) so if one bulb burned out, the entire string went dark. Personally, I think that added to many folks' frustration, and the newer style lighting began to catch on. These Putz houses came with paper or cellophane windows, which tended to be damaged easily. Little children often wanted to touch them, and their small fingers would easily tear or push the cellophane right out of the windows. Putz village scenes often focused around a nativity, as well as churches, railroads, houses and animals. They even branched out to make fences, mailboxes, wishing wells and just about any other neighborhood feature. Most were frosted with snow, glitter, small trees and shrubs, and some had mercury glass beads for roofs. Today, they represent an era in our past, and while they still can be found out in the wild at yard sales and flea markets, they certainly are not as plentiful to find anymore. There are a few companies that have offered reproduction Putz scenes, some of which are quite stunning. If stored improperly, the originals often absorb moisture, leading to staining and deterioration. Being made of mostly cardboard, paper and papier-mâché, they become easy targets for rodent damage during storage as well. In boxes for much of the year, finding these covered in dust is not an uncommon thing. A gentle blast of air from a low-pressure air compressor can easily remove the majority of it. For broken windows, cellophane replacements can be found online to replace damaged or missing ones, although replacing them requires skill in getting that window in through the small hole in the back and lined up properly. The best way to store these (or any antique decorations) is to gently wrap in clean, white tissue paper, and placed into an ornament divider to help prevent damage during storage from bumping or crushing. Always store your prized decorations in a cool, dry place. Damp basements and attics that range from blistering hot during the summer months to well below zero during winter months will most certainly result in damage." I hope you all have a fabulous Christmas season. Enjoy the memories of years past and keep on collecting what you love! Kari Lindstrom known for The Melamine Cup on Facebook is a past board member of The Jaffrey Chamber of Commerce and has a background in career counseling.