The history of how these mass-produced novelty lights became a holiday fixture is a distinctly American Christmas tale.

Still, Johnson, Edison and others invested $35,000 to form the Edison Lamp Company to sell the bulbs. Before long, Johnson had a bright idea. We tend to think of Christmas-season traditions as ...

“A snowy, flocked Christmas ... “Larger bulb lights, reminiscent of classic incandescent styles, add instant retro charm.