Vintage Halloween Collectibles Research (1900-1979)

Hallmark Vintage Halloween Collectibles Part 1: 1950's Volume 3 of guidebook research series  The Halloween Retrospect  ( available on THR's Bookstore via Etsy ) is underway from the library desk of the archive - this time with a focus on vintage Hallmark Halloween collectibles. As a preview of book content (which will be on related subjects though notably different in content) this entry, and those upcoming, will attempt to develop a better timeline for Hallmark vintage holiday products starting 1950 to the cutoff date of 1980. This will be specific to party-centric ephemera including assembly, honeycomb, and centerpiece items. Readers will likely notice, as with “Decrypting Dennison: Serial Number Guide Featuring Autumn Publications” (THR, V2) , that it lends to better results when one looks beyond our Halloween obsession.  Shown here is the store box for shop owners that contained  a unit (or 12 sets) of the Haunted House party items.

Sane Halloween Observer Case of the Mutilated Heirloom  or  Tear up the Panes! Here, Here! There are two mysteries in this entry, and perhaps you can detect the answers? Mystery One: We are probably still some hundreds of years (one hopes) before bits of vintage Halloween are treated like pottery sherds and bone fragments. There are enough (and more showing up all the time) intact versions of these mass-produced items that there is simply no need for anyone to be out in the field panning for fool's gold... and yet, here we are... The story begins that in April 2020 the following lot was purchased at the incredible bargain price of $33: Halloween lot of mixed-date items as sold for $33 to re-seller.  (Not to scale. Candlesticks removed from images). If you notice, tucked away in the back, is a lantern described in rough condition , but given that the great skeletons were described in ok condition this lantern doesn't look too rough and seems at least ...

Sane Halloween Observer Even though the last entry here was almost two years past, that doesn't mean research ceased. With assistance, I have since pieced together a rather large collection of imported Einzinger Narrenfibel catalogs ( some seen here in previous entries ), and this 1965-1967 edition was particularly one I had been looking forward to obtaining based on known excerpts; it also turned out to be quite the prize given the additional surprises! With this in hand, I'm still trying to figure out why it is assumed by old-school experts (as yet offering zero counter evidence in print) that paper items from Germany ceased after WWII - even though items assumed as 1930s are found here in this 1965 catalog. Einzinger Narrenfibel 65 Question! Is the tale of certain German mask makers for Karneval (and world export) similar to what occurred with embossed German diecuts? The timeline seems to match. Take Manebach, for example: -"Manebach masks were trendy in ...

Sane Halloween Observer Spooked by German diecut availability through the 1970's, (pushing experts' guide dates beyond the 1920s-1940s)? As mentioned in the blog introduction - ( see addition of point #6 ) - content is offered here from historical print (re: vintage discoveries), so I welcome counterpoint (likewise  from historical print , that is) that does indeed seclude German diecuts to a time before the mid-century. In fact, I would be most grateful if anyone would provide an actual account of German diecut manufacturers which, to my knowledge, does not exist? This leads us to yet another expansion for the availability of certain German diecuts (previously glimpsed in the entry Halloween in Germany: 1955 ).  In a similar pirate theme, we now have this  Narrenfibel 1960 catalog (shown here scanned from the vintage item) that offered its German audience the chance to buy these embossed cardboard items - a Hellcat, Skeleton, and Port Lantern....

Sane Halloween Observer Some items, like German diecuts and tin toys, repeatedly cycle through the market, perhaps indicating that if it's in a book or often listed on ebay that its not really a rare item at all --- or maybe those items just get attention simply because they've been loudly identified? While this noise continues with a known set of collectibles, occasionally some items are a genuine surprise. The item shown in this post, and not even in that good of condition, stunned quite a few people, even old-school enthusiasts. Why are we still lacking in information about some items, even the not so rare? Here's a digital rendering of how this diecut might have appeared as whole, noting that the bottom right corner (paw and tombstone area) is obvious artistic license based on the Gibson style. Digital version (above) and photo (below) as shared on facebook  Vintage Halloween .  Digital re-creation based on image below. Image as seen on  facebook...

Sane Halloween Observer A well-known admirer of vintage Halloween currently credits a series of candy containers, pull-toys and rockers (constructed of paper-laminated cardboard) to  General Merchandise Company  of the 1940s-1950s. Determination appears based on the bottom abbreviation of G.M. CO. , but what is the historical record of this company and of its product output?  As of this writing, I find no iteration of a plausible General Merchandise Company referred to as G.M. Co. (for example   -  The Treasury that was at one time named General Merchandise Company has no evident markings of G.M. Co. on its catalogs). As well, other than a few known series of holiday containers (for Easter , Valentines Day , Halloween see below marked G.M. Co), I find no other products via an internet search. Note that research is made difficult because  general merchandise  is a common term of business categorization such as  dry goods ; ...

Sane Halloween Observer More familiar faces (or Totenskelett a.k.a. dead skeletons ) from German-language catalogs for the celebration of Karneval . This time from 1974 --- the last image (a nautical pirate theme) contains a skeleton figure (articulated, embossed, diecut) that was here available in 2 sizes - 70 cm (~27 1/2") and 125 cm (~ 50").  Update 12-13-2015 Per some additional queries to those selling these old catalogs, as well as further research by another into more recent editions... it appears years 71/72 , 74 , and 76 have nearly 90% (?) of the same content, though I have not personally observed this with actual copies. I've been told the skeleton seen above didn't always have the same sizes available from year to year. 

Sane Halloween Observer The title of this entry is something of a deliberate misnomer. It follows on the heels of two previous entries  Diecut Bubble?  and  Seven Spooks in Narrenfibel 1968 / 1970  concerning the presence of vintage products that appeared on either side of the Atlantic. Each previous entry was intended to dispel a centric notion that... "because we celebrate Halloween here in North America, there couldn't possibly be any of that imagery (as vintage decor) found or sold elsewhere in the world." Surprise! While it's been apparent that European and Asian festival items have snuck into past price guides, it was about two years ago that I began to also question  availability   dates  ( not necessarily production dates ). This was due to discovering vintage "Halloween" decorations in German-language catalogs printed as recently as the 1970's. ( See  Seven Spooks in Narrenfibel 1968 / 1970 ). This catalog displays themes for...

Sane Halloween Observer Wonderful illustration! Cover of The Home Friend Magazine , October 1930. Click image below to enlarge. More amazing covers and illustrations can be seen here:

Sane Halloween Observer Originally used mostly in novelty items and commonly called "flicker pictures" or "wiggle pictures"  lenticular printing is a technology in which lenticular lenses (a technology that is also used for 3D displays) are used to produce printed images with an illusion of depth, or the ability to change or move as the image is viewed from different angles. (source:  wikipedia ) The image below is a quickly animated gif that I created from a recent listing appearing on ebay for a 1950's child's novelty ring. A quick google search for lenticular imagery (or the wikipedia link above) will direct you to tons of interesting new and vintage uses of this technique. Here is one link to a gallery of vintage imagery on pinterest:  https://www.pinterest.com/ohbyjingo/action-vintage-lenticular-pictures/

Sane Halloween Observer Another of those vintage decorations that gets happily ignored by valuation mania --- this is a wonderful set for those who enjoy the old glow-in-the-dark effects on printed ephemera! These heavy card-stock decorations (approx. 3"x4") identified by the ghostly "logo" as being produced by  American Novelty Corporation of Omaha  were likely created sometime between 1943-1950. One of my favorite for the nostalgia --- (I really LOVED these type of dimly glowing paper novelties when I was a kid hiding under the covers imagining that the glowing form was eerily moving before my eyes). The following photos (at right) were taken in the dark with a time-lapse of 800 ISO for 30 seconds with 5.6 aperture. PS - If you like glow-in-the-dark novelties, check out this blog : SPOOKY THINGS THINGS THAT GLOW IN THE DARK, VINTAGE TOYS OF A SPOOKY NATURE AND OLD-FASHIONED CHILLS...