Hobbies And Interests
Origins of Snow Globes
Snow globes are believed to have originated in France and are based on glass paperweights. The first snow globe of record, featuring a miniature Eiffel Tower encased in a glass globe on a ceramic base, was marketed at the 1889 Paris Universal Exposition as a souvenir. The concept quickly spread throughout Victorian-era Europe, with snow globes featuring religious figures, clocks, figurines, medals, flowers and other objects produced and sold in Germany, Russia, Poland, England and other countries. Some snow globes were perched atop music boxes.
Mass Production
Snow globes immigrated to the United States in the 1920s, generally as souvenirs of local towns and attractions. In 1927 an entrepreneur, Joseph Garaja of Pittsburgh, applied for a patent to mass-produce glass snow globes. The patent was granted two years later; the concept was copied and snow globes proliferated. When plastics came into vogue, manufacturers began making cheap snow globes of clear plastic, generally dome-shaped atop an opaque plastic base. And by the 1950s virtually every amusement park, theme park and even roadside attraction offered its own snow globe souvenir.
Snow Globes Today
Today, plastic snow globes are still ubiquitous, although a secondary market has emerged of high-end collectible glass snow globes featuring elaborate Christmas scenes, religious ornaments and even Disney characters. Some snow globes even have internal lights and electric motors that eliminate the need for shaking.
Collecting Snow Globes
Snow globes have become an increasingly popular collectible. Most collectors focus on a specialty, such as snow globes from amusement parks, or natural parks, or U.S. cities. Others focus on more high-end glass globes featuring Disney characters or snow globes with attached music boxes. Prices for the little plastic "snow domes" still sold as souvenirs at various tourist attractions are generally in the $5 range; upscale glass snow globes can sell for $50 to $200. Examples include a series of glass snow globes with Thomas Kinkade scenes and a lavish Disney snow globe featuring Sleeping Beauty's castle, complete with lights, surrounded by a parade of Disney characters.
The Snow Globe Concept
Early snow globes were made of heavy lead glass domes on a black cast ceramic base, filled with water and then sealed. The "snow" particles were made of bone chips or porcelain fragments. Over time, the glass became thinner and the bases, lighter; the "snow" also evolved and was made out of particles of foil or white plastic. Light oil, glycerin and glycol are sometimes added to the water to slow the descent of the snow.