Popular with collectors, turn on the magic of winter with a snow globe. Give it a light shake and watch the snowflakes whirl. Look inside to see a variety of things such as Santa Claus, snowman, dancers, your favorite Disney characters, or a number of whimsical scenes. By capturing the magic of winter as well as the nostalgia of winters past, a simple shake of the snow globe brings delight and joy as you watch the glittery snow swirl around inside a water-filled 3-D scene. Snow globes are the perfect way to add beauty to a shelf or mantel representing your style and personality.
Over the year they have been called several different things including snow shakers, water domes, snow domes, and even paperweights.
Although the first mention of the snow globe was in 1889 at a Paris Universal Expo, there were no additional ones seen for several years. According to the Austrias, Erwin Perzy was the inventor of the snow globe or “schneekugel” in the early 1900’s. He specialized in producing surgical instruments and worked in a small home in the countryside on the outskirts of Vienna. His initial goal was to invent a brighter light source, an improvement on the lightbulb, not a toy or collectible. He tried several glass lenses in front of the lightbulb, but the solid glass was very expensive, so he employed a water-filled glass globe instead. He poured glass powder into the water, but the powder sank to the bottom. He found semolina flakes often used in baby food, in his mother’s kitchen, and tried that. It did not do anything to improve the light but inspired him to make his first snow globe. He made a miniature replica of the Basilica of the Birth of the Virgin Mary in Mariazell, Australia, and placed it in the globe. By 1918 after World War I, they had become quite popular in Europe.
In 1927, a man named Joseph Garaja in the U.S. applied for the first snow globe patent in this country. His method of making the snow globes was an underwater assembly which saved time and money. This made snow globes more affordable than the initial design. By the middle of the century, snow globes had become an American phenomenon. Walt Disney’s earliest-known snow globe, one with a miniature Bambi, dates to 1959. You can now purchase snow globes with many of Disney’s popular characters.
Now snow globes are made by many different producers, but the original design stayed in the Perzy family. Their snow globes continue to be high-end, handcrafted designs. The company now has 350 different designs in its standard range, but thousands of others that customers can special order. Their client list includes Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
So, is the snow still made of semolina by the Perzy family? This is a family secret, and the magic of the snow globe is the wonderful world inside.
Austria tours and vacations plan to resume in the Spring of 2021.
