Tree of Meaning

In 1880, the famous inventor Thomas Edison put some of his new electric light bulbs around his office.

And in 1882 Edward Johnson, who was a colleague of Edison, hand-strung 80 red, white and blue bulbs together and put them on his tree in his New York apartment.

In 1890 the Edison company published a brochure offering lighting services for Christmas.

In 1900 another Edison advert offered bulbs which you could rent, along with their lighting system, for use over Christmas.