Halloween

Dressed up for "Halloween" in the Vintage Photos Theme Park . I found this photo at an antique co-op in western Pennsylvania a couple of years ago. I was able to determine the month and year--October 1916--from the Mellon National Bank calendar that's hanging on the wall.

A rather dark photo showing a room decorated for Halloween. Handwriting on the back of the photo identifies the scene as a "Halloween party at apartment of Helen and Bert Pour, Cleveland, Ohio," but there's no date. Note, among other decorations, the witch above the lamp on the left, the spider web at the window in the center, and the jack-o'-lanterns above the window and on the fireplace mantle on the right.

Happy Halloween! Restless kids dressed in their Halloween costumes pose for the photographer in order to demonstrate their participation in the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF fundraising program, which has been taking place since 1950 (I'm guessing that this photo may date to the 1960s). The mom and dad are placing coins in the UNICEF collection boxes that the kids are holding. It looks to me like the kids are impatiently enduring this interruption to their evening of trick-or-treating (the girl in the center, who's grudgingly holding a collection box with her arms crossed, seems to be barely tolerating the situation). And the forced smile on the mother's face is certainly different from the pleasant expression on the father's--he seems to be the only one who's actually getting into the spirit of things!

A trick or treat photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Handwritten note on the back of the photo: "Halloween, 1955." A little cowboy--wearing a Howdy Doody kerchief around his neck and Howdy Doody boots--poses in front of the fireplace alongside his brother, whose costume features a devilish image on the front.

A trick or treat photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Stamped on the back of the photo: "Sta-Nu Prints. Jun 26, 1940, Hayes Photo Service, New Hope, Pa." Although these kids look like they're ready for Halloween, the month (June) that the photo was developed and the warm day (note the open windows of the school building behind them) lead me to suspect that they were dressed up for a play or some other school activity.

Handwritten on the back of the photo: "Suzy on Halloween '53 (her hat slipped a little)."

A black cat scaring veggie people in a Raphael Tuck Halloween postcard.

Postmarked: Hagerstown, Md., Oct. 30, 1908. Sent to: Mr. J. D. Payne, Box 816, Martinsburg, W.Va. Handwritten message: "Compliment of the season. You have a fine appetite, so [ac]cept a slice of cake at 12 p.m. on Halloween eve and have pleasant dreams."

Message on the back of this postcard: "Wish you a Merry Halloween from Isabelle." Addressed to: Howard Knicley, Brookville, Pa., R.F.D. No. 2. Postmarked: Punxsutawney, Pa., Oct. 27, 1909. Printed on the back: "Raphael Tuck & Sons' 'Hallowe'en' Post Cards, Series No. 160." In the scene on the front of this Raphael Tuck & Sons postcard, anthropomorphic apples jump into a wooden wash tub filled with water to initiate bobbing for apples on Halloween. Here are some other colorful Tuck Halloween postcards:

Addressed on the back to Miss Anna Witmer, York , Pa., R.F.D. #12, but there's no stamp or postmark. Message: "From your Aunt Annie." In this surreal scene from a Halloween postcard by publisher Raphael Tuck, a witch, black cat, and some devils fly out of the top of a creepy jack-o'-lantern centerpiece as children cower in the background. See below for some other Tuck Halloween postcards.

"You auto have a happy Halloween. Oct. 31. Painting only copyrighted by International Art Pub. Co. 1908."

Owls a hooting in the tree, Pumpkins making faces mean, And lots of thing that you can't see Tell us that it's Hallowe'en. A vintage Halloween postcard signed by artist Ellen H. Clapsaddle.

This Halloween postcard actually started out as an authentic 1908 Thanksgiving postcard (see Thanksgiving Greetings below). I couldn't resist doctoring the Thanksgiving message, however, in order to transform it into a Halloween postcard with a modern sentiment.

This Thanksgiving postcard, which was published in 1908 and postmarked in Lynn, Mass., on November 25, 1910, seemed more appropriate for Halloween to me. I couldn't resist changing the message to make it into a Halloween postcard. See Happy Halloween, You Turkey! (below).

"Hallowe'en Greeting. Ellen H. Clapsaddle. Painting only copyrighted by the Int. Art Pub. Co. 1912." Handwritten: "Annie Miller, 1912."

Artist's initials: "HBG" (H. B. Griggs). Postmarked Oct. 31, 1912, on back.