Research Tools for Vintage Halloween Collectibles

A World of Online
Halloween Resources

The Halloween Retrospect (and Bindlegrim) are very appreciative of Etsy bookstore customers who were kind enough to take the time and leave their latest book reviews of new digest The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 4. Thank you one and all - and see below at the close of this blog entry for a handful of those review. I appreciate that so many people are enjoying these at printed primary sources given their content of visual data in tables and charts, identification posters, numerous examples, and even more entertaining pieces like the new Bindlegrim homage meant to provide tangible examples of vintage working processes. 

In the meantime, this blog entry echoes some of the content recently discussed not only in THR, V4 print publication (and a total of 5 books for sale as of this date), but THR's recent blog entry Collectibles Research Tools that considers many of the online sources many forget... likely because those sources aren't something a search engine will process. The fact is that it takes a bit of extra work to answer the old puzzles surrounding vintage Halloween collectibles. To do so, one must consider their local archive (given specialized company materials perhaps received as donations), as well as copyright and patent information. 

THR uses local archives, copyright, and patent sources.

Anyway, head on over to The Halloween Retrospect blog entry Collectibles Research Tools for a quick how-to guide that helps you use some of these sources like searching for copyright and patent data. You will ask yourself - why believe a secondary sources without citations when there is so much available online at our fingertips???

THR as Print Source 

As mentioned above, THR now has five guides on the subject of vintage Halloween collectibles - and the newest - which went on sale March 2025 from the etsy bookstore - is The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 4.  The latest digest of research continues (as mentioned above) utilizing assistance of other U.S. archives and libraries - expanding the available history information concerning the Halloween marketplace. In this fourth edition, THR is proud to share data from Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History– hometown to famous creator Milton Bradley... and yet also as recorded in the Source list of THR, V4 articles.... is the additional assistance of data found on copyright.gov and the United States Patent and Trademark Office websites.

What were the results? Well, I hope you don't mind if I share a few reviews from some of the buyers that purchased a copy from the archive library publications bookstore. 

Customer review of THR, V4 from etsy bookstore.

Customer review of THR, V4 from etsy bookstore.

Customer review of THR, V4 from etsy bookstore.

Customer review of THR, V4 from etsy bookstore.

Customer review of THR, V4 from etsy bookstore.

Customer review of THR, V4 from etsy bookstore.

Customer review of THR, V4 from etsy bookstore.

Customer review of THR, V4 from etsy bookstore.)

The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 4 (2025)
$25.00 + tax/shipping. (Purchase this book via Etsy)

Okay, okay, while THR is really happy with the reviews.... readers here probably just want the basic facts about the book. Below is a description of the research digest with the table of contents, as well as info on the two inserts (a crossword and a vintage-style window decoration). 

Set of items with THR,V4 features book, puzzle, & decor.

The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 4 is the newest 2025 digest book for collectors of Halloween who enjoy intense scrutiny on certain vintage collectibles. This is achieved through the presence of an on-site archive library (now about 625+ resources), as well as data assistance from various company records held in the United States. In Volume 4 a feature two-part article examines the career of well-known art educator Louise D. Tessin, while the second-part uses that review as a jumping off point to examine the back-story behind peculiar stained glass paper decorations – advertised in the art educator magazines by Milton Bradley that highlighted contributors such as Tessin. Additional items include: the next as semi-related to the main topic (of stained glass windows) with a quick review of Sunday school supplies from the 1930’s via David C. Cook, followed by revelations of educational Halloween products with a peek at John Wilcox, ending with a visual glance at an illustrator seen earlier in Volume 3, Mabel Betsy Hill. See table of contents for further descriptions.

The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 4 contents:

Inserts A: Transparency (new from Bindlegrim) homage to Milton Bradley’s stained glass paper decorations from 1940’s. [For related topics read blog entry To: Halloween, From: Xmas].

Insert B: Puzzle Bulletin II featuring 18×18 Halloween-themed crossword “Sight Seer Roundup” by Robert Aaron Wiley.

Introduction (pg. 4) is a shortened introduction to the archive library with important information about its research mission.

Bradley’s Creatives – Part 1 A Short History of Holiday Visionary Louise D. Tessin (pg. 6) studies the history of an early art educator professionally hired for Milton Bradley offering a unique holiday vision in various roles from the 1920’s to the 1950’s. Includes some data concerning the artist’s personal art projects. Contains 10 illustrations as well as source references.

Bradley’s Creatives – Part 2 Tessin, Her Contemporaries, and a Colorful Invention (pg. 14) examines the professional work of Tessin with a limited comparison to other Milto Bradley contributors (Payberg, Gode, Rehtus, Kilborn, etc.) of the time period. Combines this study with a query of possible artistic vision behind Milton Bradley’s set of stained glass window transparency decor from the 1940’s.  

Contains 22 illustrations, 2 timeline tables, as well as source references. [For related topics read blog entry To: Halloween, From: Xmas].

October’s Cathedral A Secret Cache Of Hallowe’en For Sunday School (pg. 25) reviews the surprising reference of Sunday school catalogs (particularly David C. Cook) as a modern resource for studying early century Halloween novelties on the vintage market. Contains 4 illustrations as well as source references.

John Wilcox & Hallowe’en Up-to-date, Unique, & Splendid Portrayals of Spirit (pg. 28) identifies certain obscure decorations as supplied through educator-focused catalog advertisements for the company. Contains 4 illustrations as well as source references.

The Witches’ Dance More Hallowe’en Chaos by Artist Mabel Betsy Hill (pg. 31) revisits the amazing vision of one illuminator seen earlier in THR publications (such as Volume 3) when reviewing early haunted house imagery in Better Homes & Gardens. Contains 7 illustrations as well as source references.

Index The Halloween Retrospect, Vol. 1 – Vol. 4 (pg. 33) from first to fourth digests.

Vintage Halloween collectibles books for March 2025.

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.