Texas Capitol ornament for 2017 a rare collectible
Preservation board monumentalizes Statehouse in gold
AUSTIN — For the first time, collectors of the official Texas Capitol ornaments can this year buy a 14-karat gold replica of the storied Statehouse, from the dome to the chiseled granite facade.
An exact model, right down to the large Texas flag hanging at the south entrance. Price: $125. “We’ve never offered a complete 3-D of the Capitol in an ornament, and we expect this limited edition to sell out quickly,” said Erin Christensen, director of retail sales for the State Preservation Board that manages and maintains the 1888 landmark.
“I think they will go fast. It’s a limited edition ornament. We only have 500 of them.”
She said initial sales of the ornament, a first-ever initiative, have been brisk.
In another first for the holiday season, the regular Capitol ornament has a transportation theme: A white carriage that’s delivered the official state Christmas trees to the Statehouse, led by a white horse.
The Capitol got its first holiday tree in 1917, a 25-foot, locally grown cedar that was placed in the Senate Chamber and decorated on Christmas Eve.
“Such a wonderful Christmas tree as this glorious cedar did make!” an Austin newspaper wrote, reporting that the tree was given in honor of Texas soldiers who were fighting abroad in World War I.
After the tree was decorated, visitors sang carols and donated gifts and then moved to the
House Chamber for a holiday dance that, according to the story, “made complete the evening’s pleasure.”
In the decades since, holiday trees have been displayed in the Rotunda, Governor’s Reception Room and both legislative chambers, as well as various spots on the lawn.
In recent years, the Capitol’s holiday trees — now pines, delivered to the governor, lieutenant governor and House speaker — have been delivered in a white carriage the week after Thanksgiving — a tradition memorialized in the 2017 ornament. It sells online and at the Capitol gift shops for $20 each.
“This is the second year that we’ve highlighted traditions at the Capitol as part of the ornament series,” Christensen said. “Last year, the ornament was a decorated Capitol tree, featuring ornaments from the past 20 years. This year, we’re honoring the tradition of the delivery of the Capitol trees.”
The official Capitol ornaments have been issued since 1996, launched by Nelda Laney, wife of then-Speaker Pete Laney, D-Hale Center, as a way to raise money for maintenance of the historic landmark and fund educational programs on site for schools.
In the first two decades, ornaments mostly featured architectural features of the storied center of state government, including the Capitol’s distinctive dome, its chiseled entryway, ornate doors and signature brass hinges, the “Lone Star” designs on its ceilings and fences, and the Goddess statue at the top of the dome.
More than $18 million in ornaments have been sold since the program started, said Chris Currens, a spokesman for the State Preservation Board.
Proceeds from the ornament program have gone to pay for painting the dome, new carpet in the legislative chambers that replicates the early-day floor coverings and restoration of historic paintings in the statehouse, officials aid.
From the time the first Capitol ornament was sold 21 years ago, just as a topto-bottom restoration and expansion of the Capitol was completed, the treehangers have become collector’s items.
Three years ago the 1millionth Capitol ornament sold on eBay for $5,176 to a collector.
“We have every one of them on our tree at home, part of our family tradition,” said Rae Giovanni, a Dallas resident and native Houstonian who was standing in line on a recent afternoon to buy the 2017 edition — as well as a limited-edition ornament.
“They’re gorgeous, and they say Real Texas. What more could a Texan want at Christmas?”