Archive Librarian Blog
The Halloween Retrospect
Below are on-site snippets of information expanding upon content of THR print publications. These offer a selection of treats – such as behind-the-scene views of THR or bits-and-pieces that didn’t fit a final print volume. If you wish to buy print copies of a latest edition art-book survey Halloween Artifacts or digest series: The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 1, Volume 2 or Volume 3 – all are available via THR’s book store page on Etsy.
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.
Etsy Bookstore
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 …
Toy Tales Halloween
Toy Tales Halloween 2025 Archivist – The Halloween Retrospect by Joanna Hauser – Oct 31, 2025 The Friday Five. What a most wonderful surprise! This Halloween 2025 is a special treat for The Halloween Retrospect! The archive has once again been interviewed by the fun-loving folks at Toy Tales (independent toy journalism website with a nostalgic focus) for their Friday, October 31st – Collector Spotlight series. And although last time, THR honestly tried to focus …
Artifacts V2 Festoons
NEW Sixth reference for Halloween! Announcing Halloween Artifacts, Volume 2: Festoons which is book six (!!!) in a two-year+ publication venture from the archive library of The Halloween Retrospect! This will continue the Halloween Artifacts series with large-scale full-color photographs spanning 114 pages. This bigger 8-1/2 x 11 format offers multiple views of familiar and unfamiliar vintage objects, together with data from past makers, vendors, and advertisers (aka 630+ primary sources) accompanying content as illustrative …
Honeycomb Repair
Non-Invasive Restoration of Existing Honeycomb The above image shows the before and after of af Beistle novelty dancing figure Lasansky dates 1930-1937. Note the facial features will change across the decades in latter versions. Over a decade earlier in days of initial blog The Sane Halloween Observer a musing is penned as author wonders if damaged honeycomb is at a permanent non-recoverable end. That original entry from December 14, 2014 is found here: Halloween Cat …
2nd Anniversary Review
Digests & Art Surveys: 2 Years of THR Guidebooks The above image reviews some of the various vintage Halloween collectible guidebooks and art surveys published by The Halloween Retrospect since July 2023. Not to toot one's own holiday noisemaker, but The Halloween Retrospect wishes to take a moment to review it's own recent past. The goal is to express an appreciation for all who have supported THR (archive, library, publisher) particularly by purchasing its series …
Halloween Beyond Labels
Miniature Standees Seeking new discoveries and/or ways of looking at old data are standard methodologies here at the Halloween Retrospect archive which began studies (for THR, V1 released July 2023) with no more than 480 primary source catalogs which have since increased (as of June 2025) to about 635 . So, as one might imagine, since publishing The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 2 (etc.) some interesting additions have occurred. Two newer catalogs include House of Gellman …
Good Ideas for Halloween
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. …
Collectibles Search Tools
Above image is a repeat of this blog entry's banner with Halloween collectibles research tools used by THR, V4 including: copyright, patent, & archive library materials. A World of Halloween Sources One reason THR guides published here since 2023 as The Halloween Retrospect differ, than many past guidebooks on the subject of vintage Halloween collectibles, is the archive library's use of transparent data via research tools. This information is offered as cited from THR's own …
Digest V4 THR (March 2025)
Volume 4 Vintage collectibles Guide The archive librarian returns in a big way to its digest series of vintage Halloween collectible guides with The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 4. This new release book not only continues solving mysteries of old holiday products (via research of 625+ catalogs 1900 to 1979) but this time includes a one-of-a-kind not-for-sale freebie decoration by Bindlegrim as a homage to pieces from the 1940's, as well as THR's inclusion of another …
To: Halloween, From: Xmas
Other Holidays Unlocking Halloween Product data As collector these past twenty-something years, it becomes apparent very early that numerous holidays (Christmas, Easter, et. al.) provide data relative to vintage Halloween collectibles, (and this writer thinks of their own multi-seasonal forays for Bindlegrim as creative maker). Thus, even though The Halloween Retrospect publication list (see Books) and archive library (see About) focus on October's industry, there is comprehension that perspectives to a calendrical parade will contain …
The Peculiar Bookshelf
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 a few links to relative archives and libraries across the United States offering more data for those wishing to pursue vintage Halloween collectibles. Practical …
Local Collector Guides
Art books & Research Digests (THR) Image Updated March 2025 to include The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 4: 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 Halloween Artifacts. Since the first THR archive library publication of September 2023, The Halloween Retrospect presently offers four guide book titles for the shelf of vintage Halloween collectors. The initial volumes are …
Artifacts V1 Lighting
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 photographs (on 8-1/2 x 11 full-color pages) that show unusual views or previously unseen objects across 114 pages, the focus will continue to rely …
Reference Books V3
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 collectibles publications – that is, data must come from reliable sources. Therefore, current research uses vintage sources but also modern works clearly up-front about …
References for Collectors
Reference Book Guides for Vintage Halloween collectors Updated December 2, 2025 Welcome to THR's quick review of its new best-selling book series published about vintage Halloween collectibles! As of this update, the research archive now offers a six-book library which includes two art-book style surveys (Halloween Artifacts, V!: Lighting) and (Halloween Artifacts, V2 Festoons)and four research digests (The Halloween Retrospect Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3, Volume 4)… all offered as primary source data assisting …
Digest V3 THR (June 2024)
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 illustrated data as a result of researching 525+ catalogs of customer/vendor materials from 1900 to 1979.The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 3 continues (as did THR, …
Hallmark Halloween: 1970’s
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 an article (on a different topic for collectible guide The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 3 to appear in THR's bookstore). As with “Decrypting Dennison: Serial Number …
Hallmark Halloween: 1960’s
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. And rather than play catch-up after the book release, this and nearby entries will provide a glimpse at upcoming subject matter in the series …
Hallmark Halloween: 1950’s
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 is supportive rather than a reproduction of book content), the following entries offer behind-the-scene notes toward building a better timeline for Hallmark collectibles – …
Vintage Inspirations
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 the book's front or back. The choice for double-sided objects seemed only natural — imported German standees (appearing with wide-ranging availability circa late 1920's …
THR Archive Librarian
Blog Continued…
Vintage Inspirations
March 2, 2024
Toy Tales Spotlight
February 20, 2024
Rosen Moon Pop
February 1, 2024
The Gatekeeper of Data
January 20, 2024
Dennison Publications
January 12, 2024
Dennison Halloween
January 4, 2024
Vol 2 Halloween Retrospect
December 5, 2023
Lavin’s Beistle Book
October 27, 2023
Truwe’s Catalog Book
October 1, 2023
Western Novelty Co.
September 7, 2023
1926 Halloween Poster
August 16, 2023
Normal Ad, Bogie Book 1926
August 5, 2023
Vol 1 Halloween Retrospect
June 27, 2023
A Sane Halloween Blog
May 1, 2023
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.
