The story of one Christmas tree: a hundred-year-old laconic decor turned out to be, if not priceless, then very expensive (6 photos)

A Christmas tree is a mandatory attribute of the New Year and Christmas. You can't go anywhere without the main symbol of the holiday. But while some spend time looking for a suitable natural or artificial Christmas tree, others carry out an audit of their closets. And they make good money from what they find.





Representatives of the British auction Hanson, who reported on the record-breaking lot, were themselves quite surprised by what happened. After all, the red price of this retro thing, even taking into account its advanced age, should not have exceeded a hundred bucks.



Dorothy Grant

Dorothy Grant's relatives, wanting to please the 8-year-old girl, bought a Christmas tree for her back in 1920. Apparently, Dorothy turned out to be very sentimental, because she carefully kept the not-so-pretty and fluffy tree all her life.





Shiri Hall with her mother's things

Grant died in 2014, and the tree was inherited along with other belongings of her daughter Shirley Hall. The woman came up with the idea to put the lot up for auction, because there are a lot of people interested in old things.

But, apparently, the item interested the auction participants not so much for its actual value as for its story - touching and sincere, which they wanted to be involved in. And the Christmas tree, which was 103 years old at the time of sale, was bought for 4 thousand dollars.



Charles Hanson, auction house owner, and what Hansons Auctioneers calls "the world's most humble Christmas tree"

Charles Hanson, the owner of the auction house, who was also surprised by the final price of the lot, commented as follows:

Dorothy loved this tree. It has become an integral part of family holidays for decades. That it brought her such joy is amazing in itself. The story reminds us that extravagance and frills are not needed to capture the spirit of Christmas. For Dorothy, having a Christmas tree was enough. Generations past continue to teach us valuable lessons.



The Christmas tree was sold at Hansons Auctioneers art and antiques auction on December 15, 2023 in Oxfordshire

Hanson has already had a similar case: four years ago, an artificial tree purchased in 1937 was purchased for $190. But Dorothy's Christmas tree became a record holder. It was bought for 4,000 thousand dollars.



What kind of tree will you put up or have you already put up?