TREE TREASURE
This home is lled with vintage baubles. Angel Hughes, who collects antique and vintage baubles, and owns the shop Tobias and the Angel, shares her tips for collecting them
These vintage baubles are so pretty and delicate, I’m definitely going to be on the hunt for some this year.
How did your love of antique and vintage baubles begin?
My love of old baubles started when I was a child, decorating the Christmas tree. I was brought up in Germany where Christmas is taken very seriously – the Germans are famous for their decorations. The baubles were usually imported from Hungary or former Czechoslovakia and seemed very precious to me. When I moved to England I was horri !ed by the uniformity of everything – the rows of boxes with identical baubles; there was no subtlety, even the shine was the same on each.
How do you decorate your tree with them today?
My mother wasn’t precious about her tree when I was growing up – she would mix beautiful glass baubles with pieces made by my siblings and me. I’m more precious and only use vintage and antique decorations. I started collecting them when I was 18 and would seek them out at jumble sales, so I now own a huge collection. My favourites are probably the very ! ne glass baubles that date from the 1880s – I love it when the colour is faded and there are signs of slight wear. I like to mix in other decorations too, as that’s what the Victorians did – they would ! ll up the tree with candy canes and wooden decorations, as well as glass baubles, to make it jolly.
Is it hard to date them?
Yes. Up until the end of the Second World War, manufacturing didn’t change rapidly at all. Patterns for items such as baubles stayed the same for many years so a bauble that dates from the 1940s could look almost identical to a bauble from the 1890s – the colours may di #er but the shape and pattern are the same.
Do you have any tips for those who’d like to start their own collection?
It’s not hard to come across vintage baubles but, ! rst, you need to decide if you like the idea. If you have a passion, your eyes will become trained to spot what you’re looking for at antiques fairs. Look on eBay, too. If nothing else, it’ll inform you on costs and what to look out for. At Tobias and the Angel, our shop in London, we sell boxes of 12 vintage baubles and decorations – they cost from £ 87.50 and include a couple of really special baubles, as well as another decoration, such as a piece of vintage tinsel, a bird or a Father Christmas.