Dennison Halloween Number
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.)?
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 Dennison cover art from autumn publications
in The Halloween Retrospect archive library collection.
In the newest edition Volume 2 - The Halloween Retrospect, the archivist reports on a story beginning two years previous, when attempting to decipher Dennison serial numbers on library shelves of the archive. (Again see the 1915 Party Book serial number shown below). Research begins by contacting Nancy Prince (@dennisonarchivist) who has recently completed an accessible trove of Dennison information housed at Framingham History Center. And the author's research continues during 2023, with her help, as hours are spent tracking down 200-/+ titles (Halloween and otherwise) to record serial numbers into a single spreadsheet (also shown below). And of course, the clincher to all of this is the discovery of historic documents (internal letters) that confirm any theories surrounding the numbers (which you can view in the article).
Can you translate No. 37-50 M-9-15 from this Bogie Book?
The Halloween Retrospect recorded ~200 Dennison titles in a spreadsheet.
The resulting article: "Decrypting Dennison: Serial Number Guide Featuring Autumn Publications" is written in the typical detail of THR, so that the reader can fully understand both the complexity of the question, and all the ideas considered to find the solution. All of this is paired with a full-color 11″x17″ fold-out poster (see below) rich with imagery from Dennison's Halloween titles (circa 1909-1935) paired with their serial numbers, which by end of the article the reader should be able to read without any issues. Here is a sneak peek at poster and book content:
The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 2 (cover, two Shackman
novelty postcards, and Dennison Halloween poster).
The Halloween Retrospect Vol 2, shown here as sample pages
featuring Dennison, Shackman, Rosen, & German imports.
featuring Dennison, Shackman, Rosen, & German imports.
In addition to the Dennison article, The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 2 also contains some shorter articles with image-driven pieces about B. Shackman & Company (w/extra insert cards - see below), E. Rosen Company, and also a quick look at the German couple (and kinfolk) on the cover. For the table of contents see either this blog entry or publications section of The Halloween Retrospect website.
Cover art for The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 2
To review, THR volumes are for those obsessed with details of the vintage Halloween market, so content is short research-emphasis articles for puzzlers who enjoy hearing more about the past. The low-cost editions cram a 6"x9" 32-page booklet with text (for word lovers), visuals (for image lovers), and sources (as main point of the series) so readers get transparent unbiased results. And THR refers to 515+ catalogs in its own archive library, so that editions may companion other sources. I hope as author, editor, collector, archivist, librarian, artist, designer, publisher, and seller of The Halloween Retrospect that you too enjoy the type of publication I wanted to see and share.
You can purchase Volume 2 and Volume 1 via the store on etsy.