Halloween Collector References (Year in Review)

Halloween Collector Guides
THR - a year in review

As of late June 2024 (almost a year since the first book) there will be three volumes of The Halloween Retrospect (and a new art survey book added below as of September) for the Halloween collector to add to their shelf of vintage references supporting that collection of visual survey books. THR is full of informative research articles that focus on certain market items as seen in the pages of various primary sources (mainly ~550 catalogs of consumer/vendor materials 1900-1979) and other archive materials across the United States (such as Framingham History Center for THR, V2 or Hallmark Archives for THR, V3).

Guidebooks for the vintage Halloween collector
with a focus on vintage research through vintage sources.

If you are just now encountering The Halloween Retrospect archive library and its in-house publishing, please see the Home page (for introduction and a list of numerous blog entries) or check out various pages such as About or Publications. And for all, this seems a good a time for a brief review of the past year’s output as a collectibles publication: The Halloween Retrospect.

NEW!
Halloween Artifacts,
Vol 1: Lighting (Sept 2024)
$65.00 + tax/shipping. (Etsy THR Bookstore)

Updating this blog entry in Autumn 2024 to note there is a new THR reference book Halloween Artifacts, Volume 1: Lighting (for sale on Etsy) and this guidebook heads off in a new direction, giving readers a image-driven art-book-style survey of vintage Halloween objects of light (re: lanterns, shades, or glow-in-the-dark inks). This 8-1/2″x11″ softcover book centers around a 100-page collection of such collectibles, and includes for each: 1) a large full-color feature photo bigger than 7″x6″, together with a 2) notes that include a timeline tally of dates appearing in old novelty merchandise catalogs, and 3) a clip of the item from one of those select vintage sources.

Halloween Artifacts, Vol 1: Lighting.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword by Charles Beck (pg. 4).

Harvesting an Ember Glimmers of the Past in Lanterns, Shades, & Luminescent Inks  (pg. 5).

Introduction Revisiting a Foreword from Research Series THR, Vol. 1 (pg. 6).

Halloween Artifacts: Lighting THRs Archive Collection Synchronized with Library Data (pg. 10).

Sources & Additional Reading A Quick List of Selected Publications (pg. 13).

THR, Vol 3 (June 2024)
$25.00 + tax/shipping. (Etsy THR Bookstore)

The Halloween Retrospect, Volumes 3 - the third volume of The Halloween Retrospect features a two-part article that first studies haunted house ephemera (early-20th-century to mid-century) and secondly features cards by Gibson and centerpieces by Hallmark as evidence of new paper collectible innovations The book also has small articles on the 60’s wave of sound effects vinyl and a list of catalog terminology.

Poster & crossword puzzle included with guidebook THR, V3.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Note official copies contain Hallmark centerpieces poster and crossword puzzle.

Letterbox (pg. 4)

Introduction, (pg. 4) Statement of Intent, Regarding Source (pg. 5).

Halloween Haunts – Part 1 The Witch’s Cottage and Spook House Additions (pg. 8).

Halloween Haunts – Part 2 Engineered Mansions and Hallmark Innovations (pg. 14).

Haunted House Timeline Hallmark Haunted Houses 1950-1980: Poster & Key (pg. 25).

Haunted Vinyl Sixties Wave of Haunted House Recordings (pg. 27).

The Catalog Audience Understanding Readership to Define Content (pg. 29).

Index The Halloween Retrospect, Vol. 1 -Vol. 3 (pg. 31).

THR, Vol 2 (Dec 2023)
$25.00 + tax/shipping. (Etsy THR Bookstore)

The Halloween Retrospect, Volumes 2 - continues the tradition of researching America’s past Halloween marketplace. The guidebook’s feature article examines Dennison publications with significant finds (about serial numbers on publications) from Framingham History Center. As well, V2 offers information on B. Shackman catalogs, E. Rosen cards, and certain German imports (see cover art).

Poster & cards included with guidebook THR, V2.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Note that official copies include a Dennison poster and Shackman postcards.

Letterbox (pg. 4)

Introduction Statement of Intent, Regarding Source (pg. 5).

Decrypting Dennison Serial Number Guide Featuring Autumn Publication (pg. 10).

Shackman’s 70 / 72 Peculiar Catalogs from the Tens & Thirties (pg. 20).

Skittle or Decor The New Identity Crisis for Vintage Figures (pg. 24).

Trix or Treats at Sears Rosen in Midcentury Midseason Fall Catalogs (pg. 28).

Index The Halloween Retrospect, Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 (pg. 32).

NOTE: please consider a donation or the purchase of a Membership to help support the Framingham History Center. I am sure most of us know the challenges all archives and libraries face to remain discoverable and accessible. If we, as collectors, can spend a bit of money on vintage objects, we can aid the institutions that further our knowledge. THR, though a hobbyist venture, has pledged to donate a portion of each sale from THR, V2 to Framingham History Center as a show of gratitude.

THR, Vol 1 (July 2023):
$25.00 + tax/shipping. (Etsy THR Bookstore)

The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 1 - with research pulled from the pages of nearly 500 catalogs (1900-1979) housed in one archive library, The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 1 is the first in a series of new guide books (in digest form) to offer critical perspective of the traditional narrative surrounding vintage Halloween markets, and by result offering important information to collectors in the field.

 

Poster and tally cards for Halloween guidebook, THR, V1.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Note that official copies include bookmark-tallies and a March Brothers poster.

Letterbox (pg. 4).

Introduction Positions for Context, Statement of Intent, Regarding Sources (pg. 5) .

Normal Halloween Holiday Novelties & Early Twentieth Century Youth (pg. 10).

Western Novelty Co. 1928-1990 Carnival, Concession, & Bazaar Supplies – Colorado (pg. 17).

Timeline for Witches A Journey of Two Witches: United States & Germany (pg. 20).

Ornamenten Groteske The Enigmatic History of German Diecuts (pg. 26).

Craw-Bogle Trader a proposal for off-market collecting (p. 32).