Unidentified Candle Chime 

An example of Stock’s contemporary competition in the candle chime market, reproduced from Schulte-Kellinghaus. Although details such as age and manufacturer are frustratingly difficult to determine for these early chimes, it is at least fairly easy to tell Adrian & Stock products from those of other makers: in all Adrian & Stock chimes, the angels carry the bell-clappers, and are always suspended (or “floating”) from the impeller: these were Stock’s exclusive patents.

Early Advertisements for Candle Chimes 

Also shown are two contemporary advertisements for other competing candle chimes, reproduced from 1904 issues of the magazine Berliner Illustrierte.  As documentary evidence they are a bit frustrating, in that the highly stylized representations of angels floating around a Christmas tree are difficult to match with any particular candle chime. The angels pictured in the first advertisement, headed “Christbaum-Geläut” (Christmas tree chime) bear a tantalizing resemblance to those in the “Stern von Bethlehem” chime discussed below. The second advertisement is interesting for two reasons.  The text, with its heading “Fort mit den Glas-Christbaum Spitzen!” (Away with glass Christmas tree toppers!) illustrates a strong selling point for these new metal chimes: unlike glass tree toppers, they were unbreakable. Secondly, the sketchy illustration bears a strong resemblance to the Engels/Keydel candle chime discussed below, which, as we shall see, is further evidence of a strong German-American trade connection.

Rauh Bros. “Engel-Geläute Stern von Bethlehem” (Angel-Chimes with the Star of Bethlehem) (43 x 24 cm.)

Engel-Geläute “Stern von Bethlehem” (Angel-Chimes with the Star of Bethlehem). Based on the box of an example sold recently on eBay (see photo, left), manufacture of this extraordinary chime may be tentatively attributed to the firm of Gebrüder Rauh, one of many makers of cutlery and metalware based in Solingen. The exact date of manufacture is unknown, but the artwork on the box of this and other examples would indicate a date between 1890 and about 1910. (But note this detail, pictured on the right, from a 1904 advertisement for an otherwise unidentified chime, whose stylized angel figures resemble those in the “Stern von Bethlehem” chime.) The chime was apparently quite popular, and widely distributed: boxes have been noted with the names of a number of different Solingen retailers, including
I. Ranges, and Emil Jansen.  

Although angels are an integral part of the design, they do not act as bell ringers but as supports for an ingenious system of counter-balanced chimes and and impellers. The directions indicate that the chime was meant to function both as a tree-topper and as a table display, but in fact it can be safely displayed on a tabletop only with some kind of stand. The hand-shaped candle-holder is unique to this maker, as is the chime/clapper/impeller system. The counter-balance mechanism is a useful innovation, since gravity keeps the chiming parts reasonably level even if the whole device is out of plumb (as is usual with your average Christmas tree). Early advertisements for this chime proudly state that “every piece is guaranteed to function perfectly,” and indeed, it is one of the very few early models of angel chimes that can be made to work reliably today without endless tinkering. Two design variants have been noted, the differences lying primarily in the lettering on the banner and cloud. The one shown here, with its box, is in unusually pristine condition.

Rauh Bros. “Engel-Geläute,”  (Angel-Chimes)1-bell (31 x 12 cm.) and 3-bell (41 x 13 cm.) versions.

Although the boxes bear no maker’s mark, these tree ornaments are also almost certainly by Rauh. They incorporate the same odd hand-shaped candle holders, distinctive angels, and a similar — but even more elaborate — counter-balanced mechanism of candle, impeller, and chime. The 1-bell chimes (first five photos below), powered by a single candle, came three to a box; the 3-bell version (final two photos below), which ran on two candles, was sold singly.

Engels "Christbaumgeläute" (Christmas Tree Chimes)
(28.5 x 16 cm.) Keydel “Angel Chimes” (28.5 x 16 cm.)

Perhaps the earliest German candle chime imported to America was this "Christbaumgeläute" (Christmas tree chimes), which according to the instruction leaflet was manufactured in Solingen by (appropriately enough) Friedrich Wilhelm Engels, and distributed in the United States by Joseph P. Steiner of Milwaukee, WI. (Milwaukee had large population of recent German immigrants at this period.) The chime appears almost identical to the "Christbaumspitz" in the 1904 advertisement described above. Although the advertisement is associated with a different Solingen merchant — Paul Kratz — the illustrations are very similar, and the fact that both documents dwell on the "unbreakable" nature of the product is significant. As first imported to America, the chime came disassembled and folded in a small plain box, and featured a distinctive 12-pointed silver star. Note the picture of the chime used as a tree topper, reproduced from the original instruction/advertising leaflet.

By the mid-to-late 1920s the Keydel Company of Detroit, MI had taken over the U.S. distribution of this chime, and perhaps the manufacture as well. As marketed by Keydel, the chime had a smaller, six pointed gilt star, and came almost fully assembled in a larger box decorated with lithographic images and text. The box says ‘patents applied for,’ but no American patent for this candle chime has yet come to light. However, in 1923 Keydel did successfully patent an electrically-powered angel chime, which was produced and marketed at about the same time as this later version of the candle chime. [Click Here to see the Keydel Electric Angel Chimes]. The nickel-plated angel figures on this chime are attractively and delicately modeled in low relief, and the bells have a particularly sweet tone. It was manufactured for nearly thirty years (a long life-span for a product of this kind), and by the time Keydel began marketing the chime in the U.S. the molded figures had lost much of their fine detail — collectors will prefer the earlier German version whenever possible.

Heli “Christbaumwunder”  (Christmastree-Miracle) (28 x 14 cm.)

The bases of these angel chimes are marked “Heli,” either a company name, a model reference to the rotating impeller, or both. Originating in the 1920s or 1930s, and produced at least through the 1950s, these “Christmastree-Miracle” models feature blown-glass angels and spindles made in the famous glass Christmas ornament workshops at Lauscha in eastern Germany. The angels have spun-glass wings; the impellers carry the bell-clappers. Using a glass spindle was a brilliant idea: metal spindles tend to lose their sharp tips after a while, causing the chime to slow down or stop working entirely. These still work perfectly. The instruction sheet shows other models incorporating Lauscha glass ornaments produced by this firm.