The world’s most unassuming Christmas tree is set to go under the hammer at an auction. This 31-inch tall festive decoration boasts 25 branches, 12 berries, and six mini candle holders. Remarkably, this 103-year-old tree has weathered the challenges of two world wars and witnessed the terms of 23 different Prime Ministers.
Its origin traces back to 1920 when it was a heartfelt gift to an eight-year-old named Dorothy Grant. Dorothy cherished this unique tree until her passing at the age of 101 in January 2014. Subsequently, it became the inheritance of her daughter, 84-year-old Shirley Hall, residing near Loughborough, Leicestershire.
Charles Hanson, the owner of Hansons Auctioneers, expressed his perspective on this extraordinary Christmas tree: “It has to be the humblest Christmas tree in the world. But as simple as it was, Dorothy loved it.
It represented the magic of Christmas and 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. It may appear sparse to us today but to her, it was special. She enjoyed decorating it with cotton wool to make it look as if it was sprinkled with snow.”
The historical roots of Dorothy’s Christmas tree are traced back to 1920 when her mother, born in 1891, is believed to have purchased it, likely from the well-known retailer Woolworths.
Woolworths, a prominent High Street store that began selling some of the earliest mass-produced artificial trees around the same time, had opened a store in Leicester in 1915. Interestingly, during this era, some of the initial artificial Christmas trees were crafted using machinery originally designed for manufacturing toilet brushes.
This particular tree stands out as one of the earliest of its kind.
Reflecting on its potential appeal, Charles Hanson remarked, “The power of nostalgia could help this tree find a special home too. It may appeal to a museum.
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.”
The decision to part with the tree is deeply personal for the seller, driven by a desire to honor her mother’s memory and preserve the tree as a humble reminder of 1920s life—a decade marked by both prosperity and challenges.
Hanson continued, “Despite the devastation of the First World War and the Spanish flu pandemic, there was renewed optimism. The Roaring Twenties saw major advances in science and technology.
But the decade also brought the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression. Sadly, war, the aftermath of a pandemic, and economic instability are still with us today. But, then as now, Christmas joy will never be dampened.”
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