What is The Halloween Retrospect archive library of vintage Halloween collectibles and sources, that inspire in-house publication such as 32-page article digests The Halloween Retrospect (with 1st, 2nd, and 3rd volumes available) or the new full-color 114-page art-book visual surveys Halloween Artifacts (which in its first release features vintage Halloween lighting)...?
The Halloween Retrospect collection houses a bookshelf full of vintage sources 1900-1979 that (as of 10-2024) number a little over 550+ vintage catalogs, with additional books, magazines, advertisements, and more. These are resources that have been collected over the past decade-plus as primary sources that portray the original market that has become today’s vintage Halloween collectibles. Why is that different than what has come before it? Today's collectors expect more than someone's word-for-it on date and rarity (which has been inconsistent in the past) to instead expect verifiable sources hailing from those eras that an item originally appeared on the Halloween market.
In recent blog entry What Next?, news was shared that The Sane Halloween Observer blog of vintage Halloween collectibles is changing direction in support of The Halloween Retrospect archive library that extends and digs more deeply into the subject of the antique and vintage Halloween collectibles. While some blog content originated here, the recent print publication advance those ideas even further, there may still be interesting facts, items, or image out-takes that find there way here instead of THR's blog and/or print publication (due to size, edits, etc.).
Following are books for sale from The Halloween Retrospect (available from the bookstore on Etsy).
Halloween Artifacts,Vol 1:
Lighting (Art Book)
The newest reference book from THR is
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.
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).
The Halloween Retrospect:
Volume 1, 2, 3 (Set of Digests)
This
THR Etsy store listing includes 3 softcover books (with respective inserts) - one each of
The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 1, 2 and 3 - references for Halloween collectors who enjoy deeper research on vintage collectibles as achieved through an on-site archive library as well as data from various company records of archives across the U.S.
See the different volumes listed below (also sold separately) for details of what each book contains in Table of Contents, as well as any inserts which may include posters, postcards, tally cards, puzzles, etc.
The Halloween Retrospect:
Volume 3 (Digest)
The third digest edition,
The Halloween Retrospect Volume 3 (
for sale on Etsy) features a two-part article that in Part 1 studies haunted house ephemera (early-20th-century to mid-century) and in Part 2 features mid-century pieces by Gibson and centerpieces by Hallmark as innovations in paper collectibles. The book also has small articles on the 60’s wave of sound effects vinyl and a list of catalog terminology.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Note official copies contain Hallmark centerpieces poster and crossword puzzle.
Letterbox (pg. 4)
Introduction 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).
The Halloween Retrospect:
Volume 2 (Digest)
The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 2 (
for sale on Etsy) 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 (as like those on the cover art).
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).
The Halloween Retrospect:
Volume 1 (Digest)
With research pulled from the pages of nearly 500 catalogs (1900-1979) housed in one archive library,
The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 1 (
for sale on Etsy) 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.
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).
All these books (as well as a set of digests) are for sale via Etsy (see details including table of contents here). They are offered here direct from the author so that each book can be inspected for quality, and shipped carefully in a sturdy box. Thank you - from this self-published venture at THR as archivist, librarian, archivist, writer, editor, designer, artist, publisher, etc., etc...
