Merchant’s House Museum Hosts A 1950s Christmas in an 1850s House
By: Gabrielle Sierra Nov. 15, 2011
This holiday season, the Merchant's House Museum (NYC's "best-preserved" mid-19th century home) time travels 100 years to celebrate Christmas in the 1950s -- when the traditional American Christmas hit its mass-produced, post-War-prosperous peak. The halls will be retro-decked with an authentic tinsel tree trimmed with bubble lights and vintage ornaments; molded-plastic, lit-from-within Santas, Rudolphs, and Frostys; iconic Lenox "Holly" china, and vintage holiday cookie-baking paraphernalia, toys (Mr. Potato Head! Cooti!), and Christmas cards. Strains of "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" will drift through the House. The exhibit will feature Deb O'Nair's extensive vintage holiday collection.
Many of the quintessential Christmas celebrations that we associate with the 1950s -trimming trees, singing carols, sending cards, exchanging presents, and eating cookies - had their roots in the mid-19th century. And the 1950s gave rise to a number of new traditions in their own right. Learn how the innovations of the 1850s created and inspired the traditions of the 1950s when you take a Bubble Light Tour on Saturday, December 10; toast the season at the Retro Holiday Party on Wednesday, December 14; tap your toes to holiday carols and tunes from 1850 to 1950 at a concert on Saturday, December 17; or celebrate the New Year at the annual New Year's Day Open House on Sunday, January 1.
Event Details
Exhibition: From Candlelight to Bubble Light: A 1950s Christmas in an 1850s HouseDates: Thursday, December 1, through Monday, January 9
Time: Noon to 5 p.m. (closed Tuesday & Wednesday)
Location: Merchant's House Museum, 29 East Fourth Street (btwn Lafayette & Bowery)
Description: The halls of the 1850s Merchant's House will be retro-decked with vintage trees, over-the-tinsel-top decorations, and memorabilia from the golden age of Christmas, while strains of "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" drift through the House. Indulge in the nostalgia of Christmas past and see how the holiday innovations of the 1850s became the traditions of the 1950s - and today. From the Collection of Deb O'Nair. Included with regular admission, $10, $5 Students & Seniors.
"Bubble Light" Cocktail Tours
Dates: Friday & Saturday, December 9 & 10
Time: 90 Minute Tours at 6 & 8 p.m.
Location: Merchant's House Museum, 29 East Fourth Street (btwn Lafayette & Bowery)
Description: See Manhattan's "best-preserved" mid-19th century house retro-decked with over-the-tinsel-top 1950s vintage holiday décor from the collection of Deb O'Nair. After your 45 minute tour, enjoy a classic cocktail and taste 1950s Christmas canapés. Vintage cocktail attire encouraged, but not required. $40, $25 MHM Members.
"From Candlelight to Bubble Light" Holiday Tours for the Whole Family
Dates: Saturday, December 10
Time: 45 Minute Tours begin every half hour from 2 to 5 p.m.
Location: Merchant's House Museum, 29 East Fourth Street (btwn Lafayette & Bowery)
Description: Learn how the holiday innovations of the 1850s became modern traditions as you tour a mid-19th century House retro-decked with over-the-tinsel-top vintage Christmas decorations and holiday memorabilia from the 1950s. $20, $15 Children 12 & under, $10 MHM Members.
"Holly Jolly" Holiday Cocktail Party
Date: Wednesday, December 14
Time: 6 to 8 p.m.
Location: Merchant's House Museum, 29 East Fourth Street (btwn Lafayette & Bowery)
Description: Toast the holidays with 1950s flair in a mid-19th century house, retro-decked by Deb O'Nair and her holiday collection with over-the-tinsel-top vintage decorations and holiday memorabilia. Enjoy classic 1950s Christmas cocktails and canapés, "rock around the Christmas tree" with the Tinsel Tones, and do some last minute shopping at our fabulous holiday gift bazaar. Vintage cocktail attire encouraged, but not required. $40, Free for MHM Members.
Tinsel Tunes by the Tinsel Tones
Date: Saturday, December 17
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Merchant's House Museum, 29 East Fourth Street (btwn Lafayette & Bowery)
Description: A concert of holiday favorites, from 1850 to 1950, performed in an 1850s parlor filled with 1950s decorations and vintage Christmas memorabilia. $30, MHM Members $15.
New Year's Day Open House
Date: Sunday, January 1
Time: 3 to 6 p.m.
Location: Merchant's House Museum, 29 East Fourth Street (btwn Lafayette & Bowery)
Description: Come follow the centuries-old New York tradition of paying New Year's Day calls, this year with a vintage-twist. Take a tour of the 1850s Merchant's House Museum, retro-decked with 1950s ornaments and memorabilia, then enjoy a cup of holiday punch and canapés in the cozy period kitchen. Featuring the collection of Deb O'Nair. $30, MHM Members $15.
Celebrating Our 75th Year as a Museum (1936-2011)
The Merchant's House Museum is New York City's only family home preserved intact - inside and out - from the mid-19th century. Home to a prosperous merchant-class family and their staff of four Irish servants for almost 100 years, it is complete with the family's original furnishings and personal possessions, offering a rare and intimate glimpse of domestic life from 1835-1865.
"Not so much a museum as a raw slice of history" AVENUE Magazine
On the web: www.merchantshouse.orgAbout Deb O'Nair
Conceptual stylist Deb O'Nair's extensive collection of vintage holiday decorations and 1950s/60s Americana is featured in her soon-to-be-released series of holiday greeting cards. An East Village icon in her own right, Ms. O'Nair is known for her time as keyboardist and vocalist in bands Tina Peel, The Fuzztones, and Das Furlines. She also participated in the downtown New York art scene of the 1970s and 80s.
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