Gourd Guys Halloween Postcards, 1908

My very favorite antique Halloween postcards feature these little gourd guys, printed by Raphael Tuck and mailed between 1908 and 1909.


 

First, the gourd guys run from a witch and her cat. 

Look at all the detail in the tiny image

of the moon & witch!



 

Here, the gourd guys have reached relative safety atop a large squash.

 

 

Finally, they make it home where a Halloween party cake awaits.

 

 

Pumpkin Candy Container

Here's a jolly looking jack o' lantern, a candy container made in West Germany around the late 1950s. Just 4 1/2 inches tall, he's made of molded cardboard and opens at the center, providing a space for small candies.



The candies are long gone, but here's where they were.

Candy containers of this type were exported from Germany for over 100 years, and they were made for many holidays, including Christmas and Easter. There are collectors who specialize in candy containers, and entire guidebooks are devoted to them. They're a fun collectible, although their fragile and disposable nature makes them a challenge to find today.



Antique Halloween Postcard: Pumpkin Boat

Something about the style of illustration in this Halloween postcard, circa 1910, makes me think of  children's picture books. I just see a story here, maybe something like "The Witch Who Came to Visit."

 

Where has she come from, and why didn't she just fly, as would have been traditional? Where is she going, in her broom masted pumpkin boat? Is she a good witch or a bad witch? She's smiling, but I suppose that's not a sure thing: the witch in Hansel and Gretel was probably smiling warmly right up to the time she tried to cook and eat her little visitors. Is that cat safe? Why isn't he in the boat too? I'm worried he's going to fall off. And just how seaworthy is that pumpkin boat? Is there any danger of fish nibbling away the bottom? Won't water come through the face holes? Seems like a major design flaw there. This is definitely a postcard that raises lots of questions.

Vintage Halloween Jack o' Lantern

Here's another vintage Halloween jack o' lantern from my collection. This one was made in the United States in the early 1940s, and is of a pulp/composition material. 6 inches tall, it still has its original paper face insert, and was clearly used: there is melted candle wax and sooty residue inside. Its amazing that these fragile lanterns still survive to enchant us today!

Pumpkin Head Postcard

This antique Halloween postcard is one of my all time favorites. The pumpkin head girl is so detailed: note her teeny tiny gold teeth, and the black cats on her dress. This fabulous character was mailed in October 1912 from Wahoo, Nebraska.