Tiny ancient Christmas tree sells for thousands
One of the world's first mass-produced Christmas trees has sold at auction for a whopping 56 times higher than its original purchase price.
The tree was first bought in 1920 for just six pence, and was snapped up at the auction in England by an anonymous buyer for £3,400, or $6,433 AUD.
The tree was described by the auctioneer as “the humblest Christmas tree in the world”, measuring just 79cm in height, boasting 25 branches, 12 berries and six mini candle holders.
The tree sits in a small, red-painted wooden base with a simple decorative emblem.
The Christmas tree was first bought by the family of eight-year-old Dorothy Grant in 1920, with Dorothy using it as her tree until she passed away at the age of 101.
The tree is believed to have been bought from Woolworths, with Grant decorating the tree as a child with cotton wool to mimic snow, given that baubles were considered a luxury at the time.
After Grant's passing in 2014, the charming tree was passed down to her daughter Shirley Hall, who was "parting with the tree now to honour her mother's memory and to ensure it survives as a humble reminder of 1920s life".
It was expected to sell for between £60 and £80 (between $110 and $150 AUD) but was bought for the astonishing price of £3,411 when it went under the hammer at Hansons auctioneers on Friday.
Charles Hanson, the owner of Hansons and a regular guest on the BBC’s Bargain Hunt said, “This is one of the earliest Christmas trees of its type we have seen. The humblest Christmas tree in the world has a new home and we’re delighted for both buyer and seller … I think it’s down to the power of nostalgia. Dorothy’s story resonated with people.”
He added, “As simple as it was, Dorothy loved that tree. It became a staple part of family celebrations for decades. The fact that it brought such joy to Dorothy is humbling in itself. It reminds us that extravagance and excess are not required to capture the spirit of Christmas. For Dorothy it was enough to have a tree."
“Some of the first artificial Christmas trees utilised machinery which had been designed to manufacture toilet brushes. The waste-not, want-not generations of old are still teaching us an important lesson about valuing the simple things and not replacing objects just for the sake of it."
Image credits: Hansons Auctioneers