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House-snow-globe

A snow globe (also known as a waterglobe, snowstorm, or snowdome) is a transparent Christmas ornament that has Christmas models inside it. When it is shaken, snow particles appear. Snow globes have a built-in music box, playing a Christmas song. Snow globes can be made out of plastic or glass, though snow globes are mostly made out of glass.

History[]

At the end of the 19th century the Austrian Erwin Perzy, a maker of surgical instruments, patented the so-called Schneekugel (snow globe) and got the first patent for it. Originally his aim was to create an extra bright light source for use as a surgical lamp. As he attempted to enhance the candlepower of a so-called Schusterkugel (water-filled flask used to concentrate light since the Middle Ages) with particles made out of various materials for reflection reason, the result reminded him of snowfall and it's claimed that from this he got the idea for a snow globe. He then designed his first real globe with the basilica of Mariazell as a blueprint in it. Because of the great request for his snow globes, Perzy, along with his brother Ludwig opened a shop in Vienna, where the manufacturing continues until today as a family enterprise. Today the globes get shipped around the world; the substance out of which the "snow" is produced is passed down from generation to generation as a manufacturing secret (it can float as long as possible in the water before sinking down) (it should float as long as possible in the water before sinking down).

In the United States, the first snow globe-related patent was awarded in 1927 to Joseph Garaja of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1929, Garaja persuaded Novelty Pool Ornaments to manufacture a fish variant underwater.

In America, during the 1940s, snow globes were mostly used for ads. In Europe, during the 1940s and 1950s, religious snow globes were traditional presents for Roman Catholic children. Snow globes also featured in a variety of film sequences, the most notable of which is the beginning of the 1941 classic Citizen Kane.

In the 1950s, the globes, which were originally made of glass, were available in plastic. Currently, there are several various kinds of snow globes online. These globes are manufactured by a variety of countries and vary from the mass-produced models of Hong Kong and China to the beautifully designed varieties now produced in Austria. Snow globes display varied scenes, varying from the usual holiday souvenirs to more eclectic collectables depicting Christmas scenes, Disney characters, iconic symbols, wildlife, military figures, historical scenes, etc.

Since 2000 fashion and luxury labels, such as Louis Vuitton, Ladurée, Sonia Rykiel, or Martin Margiela, got hold of the trend and grew fond of snow globes as collectable totems and emblems of their brand name. Such passion was strengthened by inclusion in various art collections of contemporary artists Walter Martin & Paloma Muñoz (also known as Martin & Muñoz) who use snow globes as a tool, or museums who paid homage to renowned artists such as French sculptor Auguste Rodin in making high quality numbered glass dome snow globes.

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