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 in these newer books are few to none, it became apparent that more primary sourcing was necessary (outside commentator-reseller ecologies often antagonistic to questioning), and so The Halloween Catalog Collection: 55 Catalogs from the Golden Age of Halloween (2003) by Ben Truwe became a welcome addition to the library shelf, and it is recommended for anyone who takes collectibles data seriously.
Ben Truwe The Halloween Catalog Collection: 55 Catalogs from the Golden Age of Halloween (2003) shown above has been available over time in both book and CD formats, although likely out of print at time of this THR blog entry.
Truwe’s publication is essential for serious research into the vintage Halloween market. This single publication (particularly when combined with catalogs held separately) greatly boosts one’s sampling capability, This simple fact allows an amateur researcher to test dates given for vintage Halloween collectibles. For example, in a first test of such capability by THR’s author, please see the original blog entry from The Sane Halloween Observer “Timeline for Witches” (April 8th, 2018), that uses the book (along with supplementary catalogs) to create a timeline of decor availability. (While noting, the article in the new guidebook The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 1 is an updated rewrite from that original entry to utilize nearly 500 catalogs on record at The Halloween Retrospect. And the updated article finds some interesting new information).
Ben Truwe
The THR archivist/librarian has on occasion had the pleasure of talking with author Ben Truwe, and this has clarified certain mysteries such as editions on certain publications. There is much gratitude for this author far beyond the content of his book, as talking with him directly has helped the archivist/librarian better understand the on-hand collection (whether copies are physical or digital surrogate) here at The Halloween Retrospect.
To recent knowledge, Truwe is no longer selling copies of the publication in any format. In more current times, he appears to have set his analytical mind to a different task – that of helping uncover the history of Medford, Oregon. For more on that, his personal website still appears active at (https://www.truwe.sohs.org/) or see also the Southern Oregon Historical Society (https://sohs.org).
Catalog Sampling
While the catalog content here at THR has multiplied greatly (exponentially expanding sampling capabilities) since first browsing Truwe’s book, this is with an awareness that Truwe’s book remains an important work here at THR, and will forever hold an honored place on the shelf of essential references. It is this very book that inspired the collection that has developed here at The Halloween Retrospect, and his book is still referenced today in The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 1 book publication.
As indicated, others out there can begin to gain a greater overview of the vintage Halloween market with Truwe’s book alone (since it is no easy task to collect 55 separate catalogs). However, as previously mentioned, it appears, sadly, that both book and the CD (from Talky Tina Press) are no longer in print. I am unsure how collectors today might obtain a copy in today’s over-hyped second-hand market. Perhaps we will be fortunate to see this released once again in the future. In the meantime, below are just two examples of the type of data one would find in the book:
Above, top: Slack MFG (1936). Above, below: Slack MFG (1941). These are examples of catalogs held at The Halloween Retrospect (similar to that found in Truwe’s book). This is a sample of the twenty-two editions here by Slack MFG, a number that counts additional years of this catalog found in Ben Truwe’s The Halloween Catalog Collection: 55 Catalogs from the Golden Age of Halloween (2003). Already, one can see that this expands availability of some items beyond dates given in current survey books.
The Halloween Retrospect
As indicated The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 1 has a rewritten version of “Timeline for Witches” that expands the catalog references used in the date timelines for certain witch decorations (one from the U.S. by Beistle, with another from Germany).
Here is a link to more website info about The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 1 (a new research-based guide on the vintage market of Halloween collectibles) and here is the link to purchase a copy via Etsy checkout.
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