Hello, My father recently passed this summer at age 91 and we
were going through the crawl space and came across this set of Delta
Electric Christmas Bell-Lites my father purchased, obviously a long
time ago. We used to put them on the hearth every year up until the
late 1970s.
I was trying to find the year of manufacture and ran across a few
articles and forums about the company, but no direct mention of the
product. From what I gather from the article by Bill Wineburgh at
https://www.mmdigest.com/Pictures/bell-Lites1.html " 5.5" Cardboard
Disc Plays Christmas Bell-Lites", and one other article elsewhere,
they are from the 1950s.
The set pictured is in better condition than mine, as the paper discs
are warped from age and humidity and the player tines are slightly
bent, but it works! The price on the box is $24.95 which seems like
a large amount for the 1950s; maybe a hundred dollars or so in today's
money?
It is such a shame that wonderful music products like this, that have
lasted for over fifty years, are lost on today's society. They are so
simple and beautiful.
Best wishes,
Darcy Martineau
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