REVLIS
12346 Throop St
Calumet Park, Chicago, IL
and
12330 S. Halstead St.
Chicago 43, IL
then
2417 W. 123rd St.
Blue Island, IL

CO 4-6211

FU 9-2332

“The Cadillac of Christmas Trees!” was the company slogan, coined by founder and aluminum tree pioneer, Chester Hankus. Revlis trees were the biggest, best, fullest and FIRST! Custom order? Why, certainly! What color combination would you like, dear?

The Company

The Revlis Company humbly began in the basement of the home of founders Chester and Helen Hankus at 12346 S. Throop St., in the Calumet Park neighborhood of Chicagoland. Having no children, they were very dedicated to the operation of the Revlis Company. The Hankus family is the first of The First Families of Aluminum Christmas Trees!

Patents

The contributions of Chester Hankus pre-date the renowned Revlis brand. In fact, his patents, production, and marketing pre-date any competitor. He had several innovations to protect. There are 5 Revlis patents registered by Hankus. The earliest date is 1956!

All patent images courtesy of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Rick Hankus (Chester’s great-nephew), recalls hearing his father, Frank Hankus, say that Chester would have been a lot wealthier if only he had owned the right patent. This statement has been proven to be powerfully prophetic. The substantial size and weight was a hindrance to distribution. In spite of this, Revlis trees were shipped as far as Hawaii, Japan and South America!

Distribution and Partnerships

The majestic Starlite trees were first exclusively available at Christmas Tree Land, located at the Sheldon Heights Golf Range. Zigfield Troy, owner of the golf course, shook hands with Hankus to introduce and promote the stainless metal trees “…to the people of Chicago, the United States, and the World!”

Originally advertised as the “Starlite”, “Starlight” and “Star-Light”, newspaper ads began appearing in 1956.

As early as 1958, the Revlis brand appears in print, and ads began to reveal a departure between Hankus and Troy. Revlis is advertised as available in outlets other than Christmas Tree Land.

Hankus locked in the Starlite by Revlis brand, and Troy debuted his own line of trees under the brand C. Sincere. In the early ‘60’s, local newspaper ads reflected the impassioned competition:

“No Phoney Baloney!”
“Exclusive from Christmas Tree Land!”

Enjoy the gallery of Revlis ads and articles!

Hallmarks of Revlis

QUALITY

Chester Hankus declared Revlis “The Cadillac of Christmas Trees” with good reason. The quality was high with a price point to match. All Revlis trees were taper trees, with even the smallest models having at least 3 different sized branches. Every consideration was made to produce a stunning tree designed to “last a lifetime!”

POLES

The hallmark of a Revlis pole is the innovative, patented slanted joint. This design gives stability to the heavy Revlis!  The holes are in a zig-zag, 8 per row pattern.  The top row or possibly top 2 rows will be in a 4 per row pattern.

BOXES

If only the boxes were “The Cadillac of Boxes”. They are notoriously not strong enough to handle the bulk and weight of the substantial Starlite, and as a result, boxes are rarely found in nice condition. A collector can rejoice when the box is still present. However, it is advisable to photograph the box and store it away. The patented cardboard pallet, though, is a big plus for a highly incremental taper tree such as Revlis. If you are fortunate enough to obtain a Revlis with an original storage pallet, look closely at the front corners. Are there initials or an inscription?  The intrepid ladies who wound the Revlis branches often initialed their work with their bandaged fingers.  Occasionally found on the right side, but almost always on the left, the inscriptions may be faint, and are often in pencil.

Initials Gallery

INSTRUCTION SHEETS

Never let a missing instruction sheet weigh heavily in your decision to buy a Revlis. They are rarely present. Once I opened a newly delivered Revlis and the instruction sheet slid out from within the cardboard pallet! It is the only one I personally have ever found. Be assured that this Christmas season I will be peering inside all my Revlis pallets!

ANOMALIES

As if the Revlis trees were not complicated enough, the family-staffed approach to production was less formulaic than some of the corporate manufacturers. Assessing an anomaly must be done within the context of appraising the tree as a whole. There are many Frankenstein trees!

Taper Increments

2 of the same model of tree can have different incremental tapering systems! In this case, 2 Revlii are better than one! After sorting out one tree, it will be easier to figure out the next one, even if the increments do not match.

Blue-Green vs. Peacock

Both of these monikers are used to refer to the 2-tone Revlis.  Some models were wound with double-sidedneedles that are blue on one side, green on the other. Some were double-wound with separate blue windings and green windings, resulting in a fuller tree.  The Peacock moniker is the more commonly used reference.  With 5 blue-green combos by Revlis dwelling in The Aluminum Forest, we can attest that box stamps reflect that the Revlis Company used both names for either model.

         

Departures from Pole Design

The Aluminum Forest is home to 2 examples of anomalies in the Revlis pole: In the case of a Blue-Green model 4C105, an octagonal pole is present rather than the round. The pole exhibits the Hankus-patented slant-cut join, but the octagon shape is the hallmark of another Chicago company, Stainless Metal Craft. Between the two companies, there are some other very interesting similarities!

This 4C105 has all the hallmarks of being an original, complete Revlis. One can only speculate about some connection between Revlis and Stainless Metal Craft!

The second Revlis pole anomaly in The Aluminum Forest is with a silver 6D161. It is covered in period-correct mica! One assumption is that it could be the handiwork of a creative housewife. However, with close inspection, the glitter appears to be embedded in the paint. Like the Blue-Green 4C105, this model 6D161 is otherwise a textbook Revlis. Unless and until another glitter pole turns up in the Revlis universe, we just don’t know if this is a factory offering from a company known for taking custom orders.

Family

A commonly known tidbit about Revlis is that the moniker is ‘silver’ spelled backwards. In fact, that used to be all the info I had on the Revlis company. Through the magic of social media, I found Rick Hankus, the great-nephew of Chester Hankus. Over the course of about two years, Rick graciously spoke with me many times about Chester, Helen, the dog named Silver, and the Revlis years. Rick’s brother, Father David Hankus, also honored me by sharing his memories. Even niece Carol Heim offered some recollections and anecdotes.

By 1958, the Hankus family operation moved out of the S. Throop Street basement and expanded into new headquarters with a showroom at 12330 Halstead St. in Calumet Park, and a plant located in Blue Island. Many Hankus family members worked there, including 7 brothers, 2 Aunt Helens, and Aunt Isabel.

Chester’s wife, Helen, was always perfectly dressed and coiffed with a signature black bow in her hair. The other Aunt Helen, sister of Chester, along with Aunt Isabel, wife of Stanley, worked in production. Rick recalls that they had all 10 fingers bandaged at all times. Both Rick Hankus and Father David Hankus remember accompanying their great aunt and uncle to the offices on Sundays (Saturday was the only day off for Chester and Helen), where the boys would run and play around the showroom trees.

The Christmas tree business was booming. The Hankuses were wealthy, though they lived modestly. There were, however, some allowances. There were always silver dollars in Chester’s pockets for the nieces and nephews, and Chester’s Cadillac Seville was another exception! Father David recalls that no one else around had a Cadillac, and he could count on earning a little money by keeping it clean for his uncle.

Another exception to their modest lifestyle was the spectacular Hankus Annual Christmas Display. According to Father David, Chester and Helen enjoyed making people happy with their display, and people came from all over to see it. The cornerstone of the display was a large Revlis tree in the front picture window.

Enjoy the Gallery of Revlis!

Aluminum Lovers, your input is most welcome on this subject!