A Halloween collectibles library:
THR’s Bookstore on Etsy
THR’s library includes two art-book surveys Halloween Artifacts, V!: Lighting and Halloween Artifacts, V2 Festoons with four research digests The Halloween Retrospect V1, V2, V3, V4.
Well, here we are in midst of winter overtaking autumn for holiday season 2025…!!! And seems an appropriate time to say thank-you from THR’s bookstore on Etsy. Thank you to the many archives and libraries assisting in stages of research. Thank you to those who help the process of producing and selling these publications. And, of course, thank you to those purchasing one of THR’s vintage Halloween collectibles guidebooks! For a small niche publishing venture – THR is happy to celebrate sales of 400 books – see also @halloweenretrospecs on Instagram.
While this little venture has been great fun, it also requires a ton of time for a one-JOL business — to research, write, edit, photograph, illustrate, design (@bindlegrim), stock, promote, package, and ship. But it is your purchases that truly supports these labors – and by result has allowed us all to discover much more about the antique and vintage Halloween market! In fact, the tally for today (November 30th, 2025) equals a six-book research library! These include two art-book-style surveys Halloween Artifacts, V!: Lighting and Halloween Artifacts, V2 Festoons as well as four article-based digests The Halloween Retrospect Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3, Volume 4 .
All THR books about vintage holiday collectibles are listed on this site under Publications – all offering a checkout link where you can buy singles books or combinations. This author sells on Etsy to control quality, manage taxes required for U.S. sales, and manage safe sturdy shipments via chosen postal rate (USPS Media Mail, etc.). Note, this also gives THR a chance to include bonus materials like postcards, fold-out posters, or (as with THR, V3 & THR, V4) an original Halloween-themed crossword puzzle.
Above is screenshot of THR’s Etsy shop selling Halloween Artifacts, V!: Lighting and Halloween Artifacts, V2 Festoons and digests (The Halloween Retrospect V1, V2, V3, V4).
If you are new to The Halloween Retrospect archive library’s Halloween collector references, please see the Home page (for an introduction and two+ years of relative blog entries). Also, check out various pages here such as About or Publications. In the meantime, this blog entry will offer a review of THR’s digests and art surveys that all pull their data from on-hand resources of consumer-vendor catalogs (numbering about ~650), and/or from company materials across the US (such as Framingham History Center for THR, V2 ,or Hallmark Archives for THR, V3).
THR’s Bookstore Packages:
Single and Combination listings
THR’s Etsy shop offers one list of all six books – Halloween Artifacts, V!: Lighting with Halloween Artifacts, V2 Festoons as well as The Halloween Retrospect V1, V2, V3, V4.
Given THR”s niche subject matter, it is wonderful to now offer six vintage Halloween collectibles books for sale! THR never guessed it would be publishing this long — long after offering a little 32-page verbose digest (now on it’s second run) about such dry topics as vintage educational materials for Halloween (etc). But, since then, the author has had the pleasure of working with a Dennison archivist to discover the facts behind that company’s publications serial numbers… and the pleasure of working with a Hallmark archivist to explore that company’s wonderful mid-century pop-up centerpieces…. and a great time discovering Milton Bradley is to credit for faux stained-glass decorations… or to offer the recently-released large photo books on lanterns and tissue paper honeycomb that feature wonderful collector contributions!
THR realizes this two+ year explosion of energy has perhaps resulted in an confusing array of subject matter and bonus materials. One hope is that new, various groupings of past works will help alleviate any confusion… such as all six books above, or just the digests below, as like one with just the digests.
THR’s Etsy shop offers a combination listing that includes all four research digests The Halloween Retrospect Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3, Volume 4.
THR’s Etsy shop offers a combination listing that includes just the two recent art-survey books Halloween Artifacts, V!: Lighting (about lanterns, shades, and glow-in-dark diecuts) together with Halloween Artifacts, V2 Festoons (about garlands, centerpieces, and costume pieces).
Of course, if you prefer a certain book on a certain subject – THR’s Etsy bookstore keeps those active too. Following are galleries and short descriptions of each book’s content page to page:
HALLOWEEN ARTIFACTS,
VOLUME 2: FESTOONS
Survey Book (Oct 2025):
A brand new vintage Halloween collectibles book for autumn 2025 – Halloween Artifacts, Volume 2: Festoons – continues the large-format photo-book series to offer collectors more of a gallery-style layout. The latest focuses on objects of orange-and-black honeycomb tissue-paper (which creates three-dimensional garlands, centerpieces, and costumes). Once again, the 8-1/2″x11″ softcover book centers around a 100-page collection of collectibles, and includes for each: 1) full-color feature images in a 7″x6″ frame, together with 2) notes including a timeline tally of dates from novelty merchandise catalogs, and 3) clipping of the item from one or more select vintage sources.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword by Christ Conte (pg. 4).
Contours, Crowns, & Flourishes: The Magic Mutability of Holiday Tissue Paper Designs (pg. 5).
Introduction Revisiting a Foreword from Research Series THR, Vol. 1 (pg. 6).
Halloween Artifacts: Festoons THRs Archive Collection Synchronized with Library Data (pg. 10).
Sources & Additional Reading: A Quick List of Additional References (pg. 13).
THR, VOLUME 4,
RESEARCH DIGEST (March 2025):
The newest recent digest edition, The Halloween Retrospect Volume 4 features a stylistic study of early art educator Louise D. Tessin (and others) and the possibility of certain contributions toward early 20th-century Milton Bradley stained glass window transparencies. Shorter items include a look at Halloween products in Sunday school catalogs, John Wilcox items, and visual by Mabel Betsy Hill. Official copies of this 9″x6″ softcover 34-page book (with color and black & white illustrations) include free Bindlegrim decor and crossword puzzle..
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Note that official copies include a Bindlegrim window decoration and crossword puzzle.
Introduction shortened (pg. 4)
Bradley’s Creatives – Part 1 A Short History of Holiday Visionary Louise D. Tessin (pg. 6)
Bradley’s Creatives – Part 2 Tessin, Her Contemporaries, and a Colorful Invention (pg. 14)
October’s Cathedral A Secret Cache Of Hallowe’en For Sunday School (pg. 25)
John Wilcox & Hallowe’en Up-to-date, Unique, & Splendid Portrayals of Spirit (pg. 28).
The Witches’ DanceMore Hallowe’en Chaos by Artist Mabel Betsy Hill (pg. 31)
Index The Halloween Retrospect, Vol. 1 – Vol. 4 (pg. 33) from first to fourth digests.
HALLOWEEN ARTIFACTS,
VOLUME 1: LIGHTING
Survey Book (Sept 2024):
The newest reference from THR is Halloween Artifacts, Volume 1: Lighting and this book 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).
THR, VOLUME 3,
RESEARCH DIGEST (June 2024):
This recent digest edition, The Halloween Retrospect Volume 3 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).
THR, VOLUME 2,
RESEARCH DIGEST (December 2023):
The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 2 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).
THR, VOLUME 1,
RESEARCH DIGEST (July 2023):
With research pulled from the pages of nearly 500 catalogs (1900-1979) housed in one archive library, The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 1 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).
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.
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