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Page 12 The Antique Shoppe October, 2019
SPOOKY COLLECTIBLES

by Roy Nuhn

Long, neglected, greeting cards of the 20th century regular Halloween cards. Some were single pieces of
is just now beginning to come into the spotlight. As cardboard; others, the so-called French-fold, today’s
collectors discover the treasure trove of forgotten standard. All came with envelopes for mailing -
and ignored cards from the years between two world adding a bit of privacy not previously enjoyed, but
wars, Halloween greetings published between 1920 soon appreciated.
and 1940 are getting much of the attention. Surprisingly, greeting cards of the 1920s and
It was during this same period that today’s giants 1930s are more difficult to find than the older
of the greeting card industry firmly established souvenir postcards or 19th-century beauties. Folks
themselves. They are the names that are so familiar living in those eras lovingly saved and carefully
to us today - Rustco, Gibson Art Co., and Hallmark. preserved their cards, often in albums; not so
Hallmark achieved its premier position as of the people from the Roaring ‘20s and Great
worldwide leader in the industry because of the Depression years of the 1930s - the first throw-away
firm’s outstanding success in the ‘20s and ‘30s. generation in our nation’s history. Little was saved,
This was the result of founder Joyce Hall’s uncanny and greeting cards received for Halloween and
ability to produce truly beautiful greeting cards and Art Deco design, a much-sought after variety of other holidays were more often than not discarded.
in his extraordinary marketing expertise. The name early 20th-century greeting card. For the foreseeable future, enough are still stored
“Hallmark” itself is of recent vintage, having been away in dark attics and cellars of old homes to keep
introduced for the collectors happy. It is only when the number of
first time in the late collectors grows that we will realize just how small
1930s. Prior to this our priceless heritage is.
the company had Halloween cards, along with other greeting cards, became modern in artistry
been known simply and printing techniques after the end of World War II. The cards of the ‘20s and
as “Hall Brothers,” ‘30s, though, are more reflective of the art found on pre-1918 postcards, which
which is the logo seen helps to explain their appeal to today’s collectors. In fact, some of the same
on all of their cards early 20th century artists were still hard at working during the ‘20s and ‘30s,
made in the 1920s including C. Twelvetrees, Grace Wiederseim, and possibly Lawson Wood and
and early 1930s. Ellen Clapsaddle.
Unlike most Halloween cards of this era feature the usual gathering of goblins, demons,
other holidays, there and spirits. Highest in demand are novelties, such as die-cuts and mechanicals,
had never been which, by the pulling
Halloween greeting of a tab or moving
cards in the second French-fold style holiday greeting card by some part, bring into
half of the 19th Rust Craft Co. (1920s or 1930s). action a witch or ghost.
century. The holiday While most cards have
was much too new. no artist’s signature,
Until the Gaelic people the illustrations are
immigrated to the United colorful, fanciful, and
States in successive waves appealing. At the top of
from 1840 to the turn of the most collectors’ want
century, Halloween was lists are those cards
absent from our calendars. with Art Deco artwork.
But in the greatest melting As with the Art
pot that the world had ever Nouveau movement
seen, the ancient customs of of a few generations
the Old World mixed with the earlier, artists and
ideas, beliefs, and practices of Two of the single card style, part of Rust Craft’s publishers were quick
the newly emerging American “Hand painted” line (1920s and ‘30s). to borrow whatever was
people to form a totally new culturally trendy.
kind of “All Hallows Eve.” By the 1940s, the holiday had become purely one for youngsters. It was no
It soon came to be called longer an occasion for the
“Halloween” - a night of exchange of greeting cards or
pranks, general mischief, adult partying. It was all “trick
and the occult, which slowly or treating.”
spread throughout the country. During the last 25 or so
By 1900, Halloween was years, though, there has been an
being widely observed just increasing trend of availability
as the passion for souvenir of Halloween cards in stores.
postcards came along. Halloween greeting card of the 1920s But, all in all, interest still lags.
Quickly the tradition was and 1930s, both single card and The 1920s and ‘30s were the
established among the public French-fold varieties. last era of prolific Halloween
of exchanging Halloween greeting card publishing and
greeting cards with each exchanging and this fact adds
other, like any other holiday. luster to the collecting and
The habit stuck, and when the postcard fad collapsed on the eve of World appreciation of them. Halloween party invitation card,
War I, greeting card publishers stepped into the breech and offered consumers copyrighted 1926.