Thursday, July 23, 2020

Halloween in July

Ahh - mornings here in Manitou Springs have been so crisp lately that I can smell autumn in the air.  It calls to me to start decorating for Halloween!   His Lordships says it is too early to have these thoughts though Target has its Halloween collection online  already. 

You may think "Lady M, you are crazy" but I found a historic precedent for Halloween fever  in July.  The Colorado Springs Gazette ran this ad for an advanced showing of Halloween Novelties July 1910 .

See Halloween fans have been crazy for over 100 years.

17 comments:

  1. I have to get my hands on that Succulent Ghost at Target!!I would love to see those mechanical figures from 1910 might have to do some googling later.

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    1. If you find them Bob let me know. I would love to see them too.

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  2. Really?
    Already?
    You guys are lucky. Nights and early mornings here in the midwest have not gotten that crisp yet.
    Now, about that Target bounty, I want the pumpkin with the singing heads, the skeleton unicorn, the vintage halloween tree and that nevermore bed setting! Ohhh myyy.

    XOXO

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    1. That's quite an extensive wish list - I'll settle for the tentacle candle holders. I can't help it - I am obsessed. Only 99 days till Halloween!

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  3. I saw a wall of Halloween stuff at Dollar Tree already. I don't know what is going to happen this year. Probably no bar celebration this year. And how awful that Halloween is on a Saturday this year :(

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    1. It is such a waste. Perhaps we can put sanitized bags of socially distanced candy at the curb.

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  4. I'm with Bob. I want to see vintage Halloween mechanical figures. And for $1.50! What a bargain! I'm ready for fall myself, though we're having some of the hottest weather of the year so far here in Missouri.

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    1. I tried a google search and came up with nothing. But you are the guy with the know how when it comes to research on vintage ephemera so if anyone can find mechanical Halloween figures from 1910, you can.

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  5. I started reading horror and ghost stories at the end of July. The relatively cool weather for this time of year got me in the mood for Halloween. And I have a lot of horror stories to go through.

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    1. It is amazing how one crisp morning can get me in the mood for autumn.

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  6. I will look through my old catalogs only I don't think I have anything that goes back to the teens and 20s. Sold a lot of catalogs over the years. My suspicion is they were tin wind up toys only there might have been some more complex wind ups like this one:
    https://zandkantiques.com/Antique_Halloween_Windup_Witch_Pumpkin_Dancing_Platform_19thCentury_Americana.html
    We had a few acorns start falling only I am not ready to give up the long days yet. Walks at about 8pm have been delightful on these warm nights.

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    1. That's a cool mechanical figure from 1910 so you may have something there.

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  7. This week I am unpacking some of the Halloween paper ephemera to find the original plans for building a horse drawn hearse. Thinking about copying it and framing it and storing the original. I have a brochure withHalloween auction realized prices from a large collection. I think there are mechanicals listed. Still in search of a large bookcase or something for the office to house more ephemera. This is after downsizing by half in the move!


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  8. Even though Halloween isn't my fave holiday, I love decorating outside and making sure there's lots of candy.I even have some huge furry spiders that we're able to have on the wall outside.(smile) I stopped dressing up years ago, but it's always fascinating to see what ideas people come up with when it comes to costumes. Also, no more scary movies either.(lol) Hugs and hope you are well! RO

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    1. Happy to hear you still participate. I am sadden by the number of houses that are dark on Halloween night.

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