Artifact - Photo of the First Christmas Tree Lights -- New York Magazine

Artifact: Just Another Publicity Stunt

Findings from the streets, files, and hard drives of New York.

Published Dec 14, 2008

(Photo: Courtesy of the Thomas Edison Museum (from "The History of the Christmas Figural Light Bulb," by Robert Iwamasa and Patrick Fay, 2006)

Back in the day, Christmas trees were decorated with lit candles. In 1882, an executive at Thomas Edison’s brand-new electric company tried something new. Edward H. Johnson wired 63 handmade lightbulbs in a string and, hoping to get some attention for his fledgling company, invited reporters to see them draped around this tree in his home on West 12th Street.