History
Background
Electric Christmas lights were first used in 1882, but were not commercially available until around 1901, with pre-wired sets available by 1903. By 1920 they were popular, with a range of small and large manufacturers. The lighting sets, or "outfits," were of fixed length, with only limited and difficult to use options available to use more than one string together. In 1921, Lester Haft filed a patent for a system to interconnect multiple strings. Several small companies licenses the patent from Haft's employer, C. D. Wood Electric. Morris Propp, whose company was the largest manufacturer of the Christmas light outfits, developed a competing interconnection system, and filed his own patent. The Haft patent () was granted in 1924, and Propp's () in 1926. Before either was granted, some companies licensed the Haft patent, while others developed their own systems that may have been in violation of one or both pending patents.Formation
In late 1925, Joseph Bloch and Albert Sadacca organized a trade association of 15 of the Haft patent licensees, all small manufacturers, including C. D. Wood. Block named the trade group National Outfit Manufacturer's Association, or N. O. M. A., and later, simply NOMA. By joining together, the companies could consolidate purchasing and gain other efficiencies to improve their competitiveness. This was successful for the 1925 and 1926 seasons, and by the end of 1926, the companies agreed to formally merge into a single manufacturer bearing the NOMA name. NOMA branded light outfits were sold starting in the 1927 season. Ironically, most of the original partners who formed NOMA were Jewish, and did not celebrate Christmas. Electric Christmas lights started as product line within their novelty or electrical businesses, before coming to dominate their endeavors. Joseph Block was the first president of the company. In 1928, Propp agreed to merge his company into NOMA, and displaced Block as its president in 1929. He continued to lead the company until his 1933 death from brain cancer, and was then succeeded by Henry Hyman.Fight for control
The company was originally based at 340 Hudson Street in New York City. Its lease was up in 1932, and it moved to a building owned by Propp at 524 Broadway. That building already housed Propp's original Propp Electrical business, which had become a subsidiary of NOMA. The company was headquartered there for two years. On Propp's death, Henry Hyman, another of the original Haft licensees forming NOMA, took over as President. He was also president of his original company, United States Electric Corporation (USEC). In 36, NOMA was looking to develop a product similar to one that was already marketed to a competitor but did not have the facilities to do so. NOMA contracted USEC to produce prototypes and a test commercial run and named the product Cheero-lites. Many of the prototypes failed, and Cheero-lites did not sell well. NOMA withdrew the product form the market. Block, another of the original NOMA constituent owners and still a director of NOMA's board, sued NOMA; Hyman; Propp's estate (executor Bankers Trust and Propp's son Mortimer Propp); and three other directors (Samuel Cohen, Jacob Lunitz and Joseph H. Tuttle). He charged them with self-dealing in the lease and the Cheero-lites. Shortly thereafter, Sadacca started buying up stock in the company and ousted Hyman. Under Sadacca's leadership, NOMA, a co-defendant, worked to support the plaintiffs. The judge in the case, J. Bernstein, determined that there was no self-dealing, and the action was designed to harass the defendants as Sadacca's brother Henri was trying to wrest control of NOMA from the individual defendants; Henri Sadacca gained control in early 1939, which is when the dormant lawsuit was pursued vigorously. Bernstein stated that both causes for action were approved by the company directors, including Block; the lease was beneficial to NOMA, at a fair price, saving the company money, and consolidating operations; while the Cheero-lite product development was proposed independent of USEC, did not make USED money, and any defects or lack of sales were ordinary for new products.Innovation
NOMA introduced a number of innovations to holiday lighting, including: * the use of E17 intermediate base lamps for outdoor decorating (1928), * successfulGrowth and decline
The company survived theEuropean business
NOMA's British affiliate was founded in 1939, as a joint venture of NOMA's Toronto subsidiary and various European interests. The operation was called Noma Electric Company Ltd. It continued to succeed independently as the American company failed. In 1969, after a private buyout, the name changed to NOMA Lights. The LeisureGrow company purchased it in 2014, and it was downgraded to a brand, though LeisureGrow claims the title, via NOMA, of oldest Christmas company in the UK and possibly the world.References
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