The Antique Register™, Inc.

32 Sept-Oct 08
Let’s Go Antiquing!
As a child growing up, I always loved Halloween. Who,
to this day, doesn’t remember the excitement of getting
dressed up in your favorite costume and going out into the
dark to trick-or-treat? As lovers of Halloween costumes, we
didn’t save a lot of our costumes or decorations. You will
find that most folks didn’t save their decorations as they
do with Christmas decorations. This makes the hunt for
vintage Halloween costumes a
bit expensive, in that some style
varieties tend to be scarce.
Customs and Traditions
Halloween is a popular holiday
that takes place on October 31st in
both the United States and Canada
when children dress-up in costumes
and go door to door, trick-ortreating
for candy or other treats.
Over the years, times have changed
and children now go to school or
community parties featuring mock
haunted houses, scary stories, treats
and games. Many communities
also hold parades and other celebrations for Halloween.
Halloween developed from an ancient tradition that is
rooted back some 2,000 years ago to an ancient Celtic pagan
festival of customs and superstitions. The festival was called
Samhain (pronounced SOW ehn), which stands for “summer’s
end,” or “Hallowtide,” the night of the great fire festival. The
festival marked the end of the harvest and the beginning of
the dark winter season and was celebrated October 31st. In
the 800s, the Christian church established a new holiday, All
Saints’ Day, on November 1st. All Saints’ Day was also called
All Hallows’ since Hallow means saint or one who is holy.
The evening before All Hallows’ was known as All Hallows’
Eve and was soon shortened to Halloween.
Costumes were worn by the Celts to blend in with ghosts
during the eve when the veil between life and death was at
its thinnest. These costumes were said to be worn to scare off
the spirits.
It was once common for people to leave food out on a
table as a treat for the spirits believed to be out and about
on Halloween. These people went house to house “souling”
that is asking for small breads also known as “soul cakes”
in exchange for prayers. In some areas of England, groups
of masked adults dressed in costume would go door to door
asking for food and drink in return for a performance or
song.
Halloween Costumes
Vintage Halloween costumes were often handmade out
of crepe paper. One early American business firm, The
Dennison Paper Company, had “Bogie Books” (1912-
1924) and other crepe paper books with lots of ideas and
illustrations of costumes that could be made with crepe
paper. Some of the first costumes were fairies, Gypsies and
� Feature Story �
Collecting Vintage Halloween Costumes
by Sandy Erdman
burglars. These vintage crepe costumes are actually the most
popular collectible although they were often discarded after
Halloween. Finding a vintage crepe costume can be a real treat
to a collector. In the 1950s, factory-made costumes of popular
figures from movies and television appeared. Store-bought
costumes have since become popular among both children
and adults. Popular costume makers included Collegeville,
Ben Cooper and Halco. These
packaged costumes came in a box
with an outfit and mask—today’s
collector’s value pricing ranges
from $25.00 on up. Those nowvintage
Halloween costumes were
often found at Woolworth’s and
other five and dime stores.
Young people today wear
costumes ranging from simple
homemade disguises to elaborate
store-bought costumes consisting
of the usual: witch, ghost, Dracula,
mummy, devil, angel, cowboy,
Indian, and princess. Other time
honored favorites include: cartoon characters and superheroes
of Batman, Superman, Spiderman and Cat-woman.
Halloween costume celebrations are not only popular with
young people, but also among adults and many now wear a
costume to work on Halloween. Others attend private parties
or Halloween events held at nightclubs, hotels or restaurants.
Popular cities such as New York and New Orleans, along
with other cities across the United States and Canada, hold
extravagant Halloween costume parades in which thousand
of people participate. Many cities provide entertainment not
only in schools but in amusement parks and shopping malls.
Private and civic organizations put together mock haunted
houses to entertain and to raise funds for charity.
Where to Find and Pricing of Vintage Costumes
I have discovered that, like for any other collectible these
days, interest has grown in collecting vintage Halloween
costumes and other Halloween collectibles on eBay. There
is a wide variety of Halloween items listed from the pre-
1960 category to the modern category including vintage
style costume items and, of course, newly made reproduction
Halloween costumes with a vintage flair.
Collectors might find anything from a vintage Collegeville
Gypsy Girl Halloween costume starting at $9.99 on eBay
to a vintage 1930s Devil Satan Halloween cloth costume
at $99.99 or an authentic vintage Ben Cooper Walt Disney
Zorro at a buy-now price of $140.00.
Some websites offer many types of Halloween costumes
and collectibles with some value ranges of just $5.99 up to
$200.00 plus; some costumes are sold new and some are
vintage style. Collectors can become so overwhelmed in
searching for these items that they can easily jump right in
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