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- Editor’s
Note:
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- This
column is a regular feature in the Wayback Times in which my
husband takes interesting people out to lunch … and sends
me the bill.
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- (It's
a tough job, but someone has to do it!)
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- Send
us an e-mail if you have someone in mind for one of Peter Neilly's
interviews over lunch.
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- Peter Neilly is Out
to Lunch
- Breaking bread with
interesting people
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- Out to Lunch!
- with Peter Neilly
- Today's Out to Lunch guest is Brenda McNeilly, a creative
director in a Toronto advertising agency who is an avid collector.
She collects vintage lighters, jewellery, gargoyles, 1950s atomic
starburst dinnerware, Roseville pottery, yellow ware bowls, 1950s
barware, Bakelite, fireworks, stained glass, Depression glass
and antique purses. But the reason for this interview is to look
at, and learn, about her vintage Halloween collection. Brenda
has chosen Donlands Restaurant for our lunch after viewing her
valuable and very interesting Halloween collection
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- Peter: Thanks for meeting with me Brenda. You have
an amazing collection of Halloween-related pieces. What was it
that got you started collecting Halloween
- items?
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 Brenda: I'm
not really sure what it was. Halloween was kind of like a best-kept
secret holiday for me. I always looked at it as the holiday of
imagination and creativity. It was like a little treasure that
would come and go for me that I would really get into. I remember
from the age of four or five being absolutely amazed at the graphics
on some of the packages of the decorations and costumes. Every
year, my dad would buy me a new costume to wear, but I always
went out as a witch. I had, and still have, this witch's cape
that I wore when I was five. It has the most incredible graphics.
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- Peter: This may seem like a dumb question but what
was the origin of Halloween?
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- Brenda: The Celts celebrated the end of the harvest
season with Samhain (pronounced Sowen). Their religious leaders,
the Druids, at this time held nighttime fires that included various
rituals, such as placing bones of loved ones beside the fires.
These "Bonefires" evolved into the present day term
"bonfire." The images of Halloween are comprised of
influences from seven different countries, Germany, Scotland,
Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Haiti and the United States. Germans
arrived in North America after the civil war, bringing with them
their belief in witches, gnomes, talking trees and root people.
They created the Jack O'Lantern with the mangelwurzel, a turnip
that they fed to cows, which they carved and lit with a candle.
Although the Germans did not celebrate Halloween, they did produce
the best quality Halloween collectibles. The British (Scotland,
Ireland, Wales) arrived at the same time and brought with them
the imagery of veggie people, fairies, forest people, skeletons,
ghosts, bats - and the devil. Tales of Voodoo from Haiti and
Jamaica migrated north from New Orleans and the pumpkin replaced
the mangelwurzel turnip in North America.
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- Peter: Halloween started as an adult celebration,
didn't it?
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- Brenda: It was. In early rural Scotland and England,
adult villagers saw each other and celebrated for the last time
before the cold weather set in. Much courting and many marriages
took place at that time. When the practice of Halloween arrived
in North America, it evolved from an agrarian or farming celebration
into a broader audience that included rural and urban communities.
In 1909, the Dennison paper manufacturing company created the
first "Bogie Book" and in 1910 the first North American
Halloween cards and books were introduced. The 1920s to 1935
were referred to as the Zenith of German Halloween production.
F.W. Woolworth's and Kresge's imported Halloween craft paper
items and decorations from Germany. The imagery was highly aggressive
and was intended for adults. It was vastly different from the
mass-produced imagery that targets children today.
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- Peter: When did kids become involved in Halloween?
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- Brenda: During the 1930s, "trick or treating"
was introduced to curb the vandalism that had characterized "the
devil's night" and Halloween evolved from an adult to a
child centric holiday tradition. More benign imagery was introduced
at this time.
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- Peter: What are some of the favorite pieces in your
collection?
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 Brenda: There
are many favourites. I have these tiny celluloid pieces that
were made by the Viscaloyd Company and because they are made
of celluloid and were so light and fragile, not many survived.
These are very German looking by design but were made in the
U.S. A piece like this would sell on eBay for up to $1,000 because
of their rarity. One of the most unusual pieces I have is this
gypsy witch fortune-telling doll. I have only seen two others.
Her hair is real hair, her face is composition and her skirt
is made up of multi-coloured folded pages. When you read the
pages, each one tells you your daily fortune. Fortune telling
was a big part of early Halloween. She is amazing and is extremely
old and rare. Several faces designed by American artists were
called choirboy faces because they looked like they were singing.
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- Peter: Is there a way or method that a novice collector
can use to date vintage Halloween collectibles?
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- Brenda: There are a few things to look at. Generally,
the scarier the imagery, the older the piece. Markings or stamped
items can be approximately dated. Pre 1933 items were marked
"Germany" or "Japan" while after 1933 importing
regulations required pieces to be marked "Made in Germany"
or "Made in Japan." After World War II, items were
signed "Made in U.S. Zone Germany" or "Made in
Occupied Japan." After 1949, many pieces were marked "Western
Germany."
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- Peter: Brenda thank you for showing me your incredible
collection. You have a real passion for Halloween. Now lets head
out for one of my passions, LUNCH.
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- Brenda has a web site you can visit for more pictures
and Halloween information, www.flickr.com/photos/ghostofhalloweenspast/
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