Haunted Mansion Poster

Ending the Halloween parade with one of my favorite items in my collection, an original attraction poster for the Haunted Mansion. The poster hangs in the Halloween room with bright orange walls, which you can see on the sides of the frame. Growing up as a kid who visited Disneyland at least once a year, I always looked at the attraction posters and this one was one of my favorites. I love the three hitchhiking ghosts graphic with the Mansion on the hill in the background. This poster was designed by Marc Davis and Ken Chapman in 1969. Note the ghostly lights in the images!

Haunted Mansion Men's Coat Costume

I am linking back to Disneyland with the last two posts for Halloween 2013. The first post is of the iconic costume piece that the guys who have the honor of working the Haunted Mansion get to wear, the long mourning coat. In a classic shade of green with a Victorian cut with long tails, the costumes help to set the mood of the attraction. This piece hangs in my Halloween room amongst all the other items I have posted this year. (Note the first image is without a flash to the camera and the last two are with flash.)

Witch and Moon Paper Decoration

Another one of my favorite paper decorations is this witch with the crescent moon behind her. Dating to the 1930s, the witch features a normal skin pallor (no green for this witch) and also a prominent mole. I also like her polka dot blouse.

Ain't It Great To Be Alive

A fun poster from the 1970s features Frankenstein trick or treating. The artist appears to have been influenced by Jack Davis and his art.

Halloween Paintings by Dan Goodsell

I consider myself fortunate to be friends with Dan Goodsell. For those who do not know, Dan is the creative genius behind Mr. Toast, Joe the Egg, Shaky Bacon and the gang. For several years, Dan has completed small paintings. Here are three of my favorite paintings, all themed to Halloween. First up is a group shot of the paintings.

The first painting features Joe the Egg as a Vampire Bat.

Next up is Joe holding a Jack-O-Lantern balloon.

Final image features Candy Corn as a Vampire Bat.

For those interested, check out Dan's blog a sampler of things or his website the World of Mr. Toastfor more Mr. Toast fun.

1970s Halloween Witch Candy Container

These Halloween Witch Candy Containers from the 1970s are a fun addition to the Halloween collection. When empty of candy, they double as banks. The method to get into the container is a nice gruesome touch as you must behead the witch. Original price from the classic Five and Dime store Woolworths.

Twin Cats

A neat set of two matching black cats paper decorations. These two kitties are two of my favorite paper decorations. I like that they are a matching set and look great on a wall. The colors are also classic Halloween. The decorations are circa 1950s or early 1960s and have an electric design to them.

Halloween Magazine Cover

The October 1958 issue of the Brotherhood or Maintenance of Way Employees Journal features a cute photograph of a young boy checking out a Jack-O-Lantern with his puppy. During this time, many magazines featured classic seasonal covers with October bringing forth a plethora of Halloween covers.

Rat Fink Costume

Although tattered and worn, this is a fantastic children's Halloween costume from the 1960s. Featuring a great design of Mr. Fink in all his glory. The costume is copyright by Revell and by Ed Roth. I wish I had the Vac-U-Form plastic mask for the costume. This was a time when Collegeville and Ben Cooper ruled the kid's Halloween costume market.

Halloween Trick or Treat Bags

In the 1950s and 1960s companies would promote themselves and Halloween by distributing Trick or Treat bags. Some were larger than other bags. The first bag probably held apples or produce and then could be reused on Halloween night to carry all the candy. The witch graphic is cute and I like the haunted house in the background.

Next up is a larger plastic bag that was given out by a bread company. This one has slightly more modern graphics and also would hold more candy.

Halloween Paper Decorations

Some of my favorite Halloween items are the paper decorations. The decorations could be hung on a wall, displayed in a window or as most of us saw them, placed on the bulletin board in classrooms. These two are fairly common and date from the late 1940s to 1950s. One reason for their popularity is the clean and fun design. Besides who does not like a jaunty jack-o-lantern and a jolly cat?

Winchell's Scary Sounds Halloween Record

A fun record featuring scary Halloween sounds and story. Given out by Winchell's donuts in 1976. The tips for staying safe for Halloween are still relevant today.

Halloween Promotional Pinback Buttons

Two large pinback buttons designed to be worn by employees to promote retail establishments and Halloween. First up is a witch stirring her cauldron. The retail establishment for this button is a midwestern United States 5 and dime store. The company is now known as AlCO Stores with Duckwalls being smaller stores. I believe this button is mid-1980s.

Next up is a button featuring a witch as well. This button is for Bennigan's a chain restaurant fern bar. A majority of Bennigan's closed in 2010. I believe this button is mid-1980s as well.

Halloween Pins

Two nice Halloween pins for the ladies to wear. First up is a witch in a black hat holding a pumpkin candy container.

Next up is a scared cat riding a broom. I think the cat accidentally activated her master's broom and kittie is flying away!

Souvenir Friday Frankenberry and Boo Berry Pencil Toppers

Keeping with the Halloween theme with two cereal premiums from Monster Cereals. The two figural items are meant to be placed on a pencil and shown off to friends at school. First up is my favorite Frankenberry and accompanying him is another favorite is Boo Berry. I will just admit that I love all the monster cereals. These were premiums inserted into the cereal box and I would always dig through the cereal if I was the first one to open the box.

Frankenberry Animation Cel

Frankenberry is one of my favorite monster cereals. This animation cel features a great image of the lovable and fruity monster. This cel was one of many sold by ASIFA in the late 1970s. I like the bunnies on his fingernails.

Wally Boag Bagpiper

Another of Wally's main talents was playing the bagpipes. His outfit is rather formal for the Revue.

Plow

Wally Boag as Pecos Bill

A nice publicity shot of Wally Boag as Pecos Bill hanging out in the little mining town of Rainbow Ridge. Wally is in his costume from the Golden Horseshoe Revue. I like the graffiti scrawled on the wall.

Can Can Dancers at the Golden Horseshoe

One of my memories from my teenage and early twenties was watching the adorable Can Can dancers as part of the Golden Horseshoe Revue. The long legs and wonderful dancers were very sexy and I enjoyed the show. I also enjoyed the dancers at Knott's Berry Farm as well. These three images are from the mid 1980s and feature a beautiful trio of dancers. I will just let you enjoy the dancing.

Souvenir Friday- Plastic Halloween Jack-O-Lanterns

Sorry about the lack of posts for almost a week. I was in Chicago at a work conference and could not post. For the month of October I am planning to focus on my favorite day- Halloween. First up are these two plastic Jack-O-Lanterns from the 1950s.

The first one is a candy container, unfortunately missing its lid. Still a great and fun souvenir.

The smaller one is a light with a simple electrical device inside.