The Halloween Retrospect archive library is an evolving reference collection of vintage information objects including (as of 1-25-2024) a little over 525 vintage catalogs (1900-1979), with an additional number of books, magazines, advertisements, and more. These are primary source materials gathered for recapturing the original market of vintage Halloween collectibles.
Clockwise. Above left: THR selection of vintage Halloween-content catalogs by B Shackman & Co. (1927-1928), The Beistle Co. (1923), Sears (1946), American Tissue Mills (1928), and March Brothers Publishing (1917). Above right: Vintage Halloween chalkware figure. Below right: THR selection of vintage Halloween-content catalogs by Slack MFG Co. (c. 1957), Granger Fréres (1931), Sally Distributors (c. 1962), Dennison’s Bogie Book (1914), and Einzinger’s Narrenfibel (1968-1970). Below left: San Francisco Chronicle, Magazine Section newsprint cover (1922).
Above is an early photo (with snapshot overlays of archive and library content) of THR shelves containing vintage-era research materials of early 20th century and mid-century timeframes. These offer a glimpse of today’s vintage Halloween collectibles as originally sold to stores and entertainment venues as vendor stock, or as favors offered for direct purchase by the public consumer. These various sources provide exciting content that is not only a window into the merchandising history of Halloween but a wide range of Americana (at times offering intriguing international connections to the development of holiday expressions we observe in current times).
Book & Blog References
While the original purpose of THR is archiving rediscovery of forgotten sources, a newer mission is shared research from such sources. The latter is accomplished as dispatch through a series of books, thus far The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 1 (Jul ’23),Volume 2 (Dec ’23) andVolume 3 (Jun ’24) – and the new upsized picture-book Halloween Artifacts(Sep ’24) – see Publications for info and bookstore link.
latest blog posts from THR’s archivist librarian.
Below, are some on-site snippets of information (or on-site blog) expanding upon various content of THR volumes. These offer a range of treats – such as behind-the-scene views of the archive, the library, and book publications, or bits-and-pieces of text and images that didn’t fit the final print volumes.
PLEASE NOTE: THR does NOT employ AI-generative technology. Content is created by human biological entities to ensure results engage accurate research with mindful artistry.
If you wish to buy print copies of the latest edition:The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 1 and Volume 2 are available via THR’s book store page on etsy .
Great Tastes in Books With recent inclusion of Halloween Artifacts, Volume 1: Lighting among books about vintage Halloween in the Practical Peculiarities household library (and see Nikk's latest cookbook Peculiar Baking), it seems a perfect time to review some of the items shown in Nikk's 2023 AND 2024 specials… and offer …
Art books & Research Digests (THR) A selection of book publications from The Halloween Retrospect archive library – featuring vintage Halloween collectibles guides in small digest volumes and the newest art-book survey. Since the first THR archive library publication of September 2023, The Halloween Retrospect presently offers four guide book titles …
NEW! Full-Color Halloween Guide Halloween Artifacts, Volume 1: Lighting is the newest guide for vintage Halloween collectibles. The book is expected to have a sales release date of September 21, 2024 from the THR bookstore on Etsy. And while the new survey book series will shift into picture-book style with big …
Primary sources & The Halloween Retrospect V3 Do you know where your guidebook gets its data, and will future research be able to use it as a citable source? This question is a continuing concern at THR's archive library, and it is a distinguishing direction with its own series of vintage …
Reference Books for Vintage Halloween collectors Updated Sept. 28, 2024 If you are just now encountering The Halloween Retrospect archive library and its in-house publishing of Halloween reference material, please see the Home page (for introduction and a list of numerous blog entries) or check out various pages such as About or Publications. In the meantime, …
Volume 3 Vintage collectibles Guide The next reference for vintage Halloween collectibles is expected for sale in early summer 2024 with The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 3. As with earlier volumes, the newest book in the series will continue to delve more deeply into certain subjects of the vintage Halloween market, offering …
Hallmark Vintage Packaging Part 3: 1970-1979 This entry is Part 3 in a short blog series examining Hallmark (1950-1980) ephemera – mainly assembly, honeycomb, and pop-ups. As stated in Hallmark Halloween: 1950's and Halloween Hallmark: 1960's, THR is writing these entries to develop data for vintage Hallmark Halloween centerpieces to assist …
Hallmark Vintage Packaging Part 2: 1960-1969 As mentioned in previous entry Hallmark Halloween: 1950's, THR is developing data for vintage Hallmark Halloween centerpieces (those near and bit later than mid-century) to assist an article (on a different yet related topic) in works for collectors' guide Volume 3 of The Halloween Retrospect. …
Hallmark Vintage Packaging Part 1: 1950-1959 The archivist-librarian has been seeking data on vintage Hallmark Halloween collectibles now that articles are underway for Volume 3 of The Halloween Retrospect (a research series from THR's bookstore). And so, as a sneak-peek to future content for faithful readers (noting importantly that this blog …
Vintage Inspirations Developing cover art for The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 2, I remember much of the inspiration came by way of vintage textures, colors, and sales copy found in vendor catalogs – with the cheeky idea that one would view the front or back sides of a vintage collectible dependent on …
Toy Tales Collector Interview The Halloween Retrospect’s catalog collection is a market history seen through vintage pages filled of gewgaws, thingamabobs, whatchamacallits, doohickeys, and holiday curios (including my personal favorite Halloween) dating 1900 to 1979. Since the library began as a bit of a side-project as a relatively new venture built …
Midcentury Halloween Candies E. Rosen Company's Moon Pop, boxed with a set of 5-card Trix or Treats sucker holders from the pages of Sears 1950 Fall and Winter Catalog for the Chicago market. One of the shorter pieces in The Halloween Retrospect, Vol 2, (second book in a research series for …
Mysteries of Source & Credit This entry was bound for a fitful start of overthink, yet the contents are completely topical to the recent edition of The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 2 and to my own experience as collector, archivist, librarian, and researcher. I believe these are important notes regarding vintage data, …
Early Century Dennison Following is a quick glance at some vintage items as companions to the article (and poster shown below) discussing Dennison's vintage Halloween catalogs (and/or various promotional publications). In "Decrypting Dennison: Serial Number Guide Featuring Autumn Publications" of The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 2 numerous Halloween titles are referenced (starting 1909 …
A History in Numbers Have you ever noticed a rather implausible code number stashed in the nooks and crannies of authentic vintage Dennison publications (such as Bogie Book, etc.)? Ever wonder if it holds any significance in terms of book collectibles? Now, in a feature article of The Halloween Retrospect, Volume …
Volume 2 Vintage collectibles Guide Guidebook announcement here for The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 2 – the continuation of a new series of reference booklets about vintage Halloween collectibles. This newest edition is set to arrive mid to late December 2023, to offer more unearthed treasures found while the archivist librarian digs …
Beistle'S Vintage Halloween It is the way of the world – some things just get more volume while others exist far from the maddening roar. Yet, speaking personally, it is often those quieter places where one finds the most amazing treasure, and this seems to hold true for contemporary survey books …
Vintage Halloween Catalogs Looking more deeply within publications concurrent to the vintage Halloween market of the past (circa 1900-1980), it became evident, as an archivist and librarian for The Halloween Retrospect, that popular surveys created in modern times (while visually rich) appear to stray from the historic record. Given that citations …
PLEASE NOTE: THR does NOT employ AI-generative technology. Content is created by human biological entities to ensure results engage accurate research with mindful artistry.
