The world’s “humblest” Christmas tree, bought for 6p over a century ago, sold for £3,411 ($4,328) at an auction on Friday.
Complete with 12 berries and six mini candle holders, the 31-inch tree was estimated to only sell for £60-80 ($76-$102) at the auction held by Hansons Auctioneers in Oxfordshire, England.
The small tree ended up in the middle of a global bidding battle and far exceeded estimates, a press release said on Friday.
Charles Hanson, owner of Hanson Auctioneers, said in the release: “The magic of Christmas lives on! The humblest Christmas tree in the world has a new home and we’re delighted for both buyer and seller.”
The Christmas tree first belonged to Dorothy Grant in Leicestershire in 1920, when she was eight years old.
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Dorothy was “wildly excited” to receive the tree, the press release said, and she decorated it with cotton wool to mimic snow.
Dorothy kept the tree until she died at the age of 101 in 2014. Her 84-year-old daughter, Shirley Hall, then inherited it.
Hanson said: “It would have been bought for pennies originally but it’s sold for thousands and that’s astonishing. I think it’s down to the power of nostalgia. Dorothy’s story resonated with people.
“As simple as it was, Dorothy loved that tree. It became a staple part of family celebrations for decades.
“The fact that it brought her such joy is humbling in itself. It reminds us that extravagance and excess are not required to capture the spirit of Christmas.”
Hanson added that while the tree resembles the first mass-produced artificial trees sold by popular department stores, it differs from those trees due to the red paint on its wooden base.
He said: “The seller decided to part with it to honor her mother’s memory and to ensure it survives as a humble reminder of 1920s life – a boom-to-bust decade.”
Hanson said a similar Christmas tree in Scotland – previously bought for pennies – sold for £150 ($190) at Hansons Auctioneers in 2019.
Hanson said: “But Dorothy’s tree has truly excelled.”
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