Vintage Halloween Collectibles Research (1900-1979)

Vintage Halloween Collectibles Guidebooks: As the image states above,  The Halloween Retrospect is a new guidebook series for vintage Halloween collectibles as a digest series for collectors seeking an archive and library research emphasis on the novelty markets of yesteryear (1900-1979). And so, while recent blog entries have focused on bits of this-and-that related to articles inside the editions of The Halloween Retrospect ( available on THR's Bookstore via Etsy ), this particular entry reviews the books' contents as well as page samples and poster inserts.  Guidebooks for the vintage Halloween collector with a focus on vintage research through vintage sources. As noted elsewhere, it is my wish as jack o'lantern of all trades , that is, as the author, editor, collector, archivist, librarian, artist, designer, publisher, and seller for this book series, that you too are seeking more details about old Halloween than previously available these last twenty or so years. In

Retro Fab Halloween: Wonder what great references exist for the vintage collectibles of Dennison's vintage ephemera? I often find it's best to look back at some of the original material of the era, and collectors are lucky that Dennison produced a ton of promotional material we can use today as primary sources.  Yes, in it's day, Dennison publishes a long string of annual Halloween-devoted books to help sell their products - from the  Bogie Book  of the 1910-1920's, to the later 1920's Halloween-themed editions of  Parties and Party Magazine , to the somewhat strained hurrahs in the 1930's with seasonal titles like The Halloween Book  (see Dennison Halloween Number) . And the company kept active well into the mid-century and beyond. However, for collectible guidebook  The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 2  a cut-off date was necessary to fit contents of an 11"x17" fold-out poster: "Dennison's Halloween 1909-1935 Autumn Publications & Serial

Decoding Vintage Serial Numbers: Vintage Halloween products are full of unsolved mysteries, even for those of us who examine all the data in this era's survey books as made available to collectors. This is one reason The Halloween Retrospect publications take a different approach, rather than repeating second-hand sources but instead dig into marks and clues heretofore unexplained, finding answers through research methods. One of the ongoing mysteries THR feels needed solving, is appearances of the cryptic serial number that visibly codes Dennison publications for many decades (see third image below). And just look at all these publications for Halloween alone (directly above and below) with Bogie Book , Parties and Party Magazine for autumn, and all those additional prices lists and pamphlets! Shouldn't we know more about  what makes them rare, rather than coincidental sightings (whether in antique shops, flea markets and yard sales, used bookstores, etc.)? Collage of Denni