School Holidaze
From THR’s archive library, the recent digest The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 4 features a two-part article recalling certain individuals working toward educational improvements in the United States. Some may surprise. For example, while audiences today associate Milton Bradley with games, there is more to the founder (see also Milton Bradly and the Kindergarten Movement). Considering this backdrop, THR focuses on Milton Bradley Company’s early-20th-century educational materials, at one time a majority of sales. It is this side of the business that appears to draw those with similar educational vision – as with Louise D. Tessin and her love for art education (of which THR can’t help but notice items for the holidays).
Above: THR, V4 samples and extras featuring Louise D. Tessin and Milton Bradley Company.
Below is a quick synopsis of the two-part article “Bradley’s Creatives” from THR, V4:
Bradley’s Creatives – Part 1 A Short History of Holiday Visionary Louise D. Tessin (pg. 6) studies the history of an early art educator professionally hired for Milton Bradley offering a unique holiday vision in various roles from the 1920’s to the 1950’s. Includes some data concerning the artist’s personal art projects. (Contains 10 illustrations as well as source references).
Bradley’s Creatives – Part 2 Tessin, Her Contemporaries, and a Colorful Invention (pg. 14) examines the professional work of Tessin with a limited comparison to other Milton Bradley contributors (Payberg, Gode, Rehtus, Kilborn). Combines this study with a query of possible artistic vision behind Milton Bradley’s set of stained glass window transparency decor from the 1940’s. (22 illustrations, 2 timelines, and source references).
Halloween Buzz
Above is a small spot illustration from the envelope of Good Ideas for Halloween.
While THR, V4, as noted above, focuses on Louise D. Tessin as relative to contributions in her time at Milton Bradley Company, the artist has a long history of personal art (see Toucans), institutional mural art (see Little Red Riding Hood), and art educational materials (see below) that appear across the country. For example, her early years as student and as teacher can be seen during years attending San Francisco Institute of Art with many contributions of that time (and beyond) appearing in The School Arts Magazine by The Davis Press.
Above is a small excerpt from a Milton Bradley educational supply catalog showing the company with 1931 stock of ©1923 product Good Idea Packets published by The Davis Press.
THR has not looked into vintage business relations of Milton Bradley and The Davis Press, but somewhere in time the latter produces retrospective packets of The School Arts Magazine materials (with holidays including Christmas, Halloween, etc.) found in education catalogs of the former. But what are these packets? They are practically a tear-sheet collection (of maybe a dozen+ prints) from The School Arts Magazine re-packaged as Good Ideas. including Tessin and her contemporaries previous to 1923. By professional coincidence, Tessin is by then hired at Milton Bradley with major roles at their own American Childhood magazine.
Above example of work from many different contributors (including Tessin with Plate 14) that appear in pages of The School Arts Magazine previous to a 1923 date on this collection .
A Tessin Review
Above example of using the United States copyright.gov website search to locate copyright data by searching under various name such as Milton Bradley or Louise D. Tessin.
One of the great pleasures of researching for THR is finding data on original creative visionaries, and for details on such methods that you can use in your own research, see previous blog entry Collectibles Search Tools. That entry outlines how the newest book THR, V4 locates facts about art educator Louise D. Tessin, contributor, and Milton Bradley, publisher, of American Childhood magazine, to name but one of their many collaborations…
More Books by THR
As mentioned, every THR article examines available data from primary sources such as those mentioned above, and always with an exhaustive list of those Sources and Illustrations as well as Additional Reading at close of every article – for retracing of THR conclusions by the reader. But the result in THR digests and art surveys is not simply dry reading and lists – but a visualized variety of tables, charts, posters, illustrations, and more!
Above (as of this blog entry April 2025 are five books published by The Halloween Retrospect offering vintage Halloween collectibles guides as research digests or art-book surveys.
THR has a great time pursuing research and always looks forward to the discoveries of others (particularly those accompanied by verifiable sources). To that end, below is a current list of vintage Halloween collectibles guide books from THR that offer a jumping off point for the reader to discover more on their own. If you discover something new, don’t hesitate to share!
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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