The pre 1963 era.
The General Electric company has been selling decorative bulbs
almost as long as the light bulb has been around. Here are some early samples.
Bulbs from this era are easy to recognize because there is no ZIP code. For
example, the address of G.E. company prior to 1963 was -
General Electric Co., Nela Park, Cleveland 12, Ohio.
Here are the oldest bulbs in my collection, a 5
pack of C-9 ceramic bulbs.
Looking at the back, the lack of a ZIP code dates the pack to pre 1963, while the
patent cited dates it to after 1956.
Here are 4 hard to find flame style bulbs in C-9 size. As you
can see, the bulb on the right has a brass base.
G.E. bulbs with brass bases date to pre 1957. For more information, see
U.S. Patent # 1900463.
Here are 5 G.E. Snowball bulbs from the 1950s.
"They're white - till they light!"
These are G14 globe bulbs with a clear color coating, then over that is white
Styrofoam.
The use of aluminum bases dates them to after 1957.
The colors from L-R are red, violet, white, yellow, and blue.