Nothing says Halloween like these great cardboard cut-out decorations that seem to have adorned the walls of every public school I ever attended throughout the 1970s and 80s. Printed by The Beistle Company (some designs are copyrighted as early as 1968), their availability in stores from year to year is entirely unpredictable.
I happened upon this 8-peice set at Wal-Mart a few years back. These seem to be slightly smaller versions of the ones I remember from childhood, but otherwise haven't changed.
(Apologies in advance for the patchwork nature of some of these scans which were pieced together from multiple passes.)
The Witch (1973)
Black Cat (1968)
Jack-O-Lantern (1973)
Flaming Skull (1973)
Scarecrow (1979)
Skeleton (no copyright date appears for this design)
The same year that I found the above collection, I also happened upon this great trio of glow-in-the-dark ghosts that were also staples of Halloween decor. Only after closer inspection did I realize these also came from Beistle. I found these at Albertson's grocery store. (No copyright date appears on these designs).
The Beistle Company is still in the party decorations business and has a website here. Unfortunately not all of the designs posted here are still being sold online, and those they do sell are currently out of stock.
I remember the witch, skull, cat, and that skeleton from when I was younger. Your right about it being in every school because I am almost positive that’s where I remember them from.
ReplyDeleteLoving your blog!
Thanks for the kinds words, El Capitan!
ReplyDeleteThese decorations seemed to be popular set-dressing for many 70s and 80s era TV shows that featured a Halloween party. I spotted them in some 90s-era productions as well, including "Friday the 13th: The Series" and "Goosebumps".
Yep. We had all those at my house when I was a kid. I'd forgotten how lame the scarecrow was/is.
ReplyDeleteToon,
ReplyDeleteYou're right, that "scarecrow" isn't going to be scaring anything...
Retroween.com has an eclectic mix of new reproductions AND OLD original Beistles. It's a direct click to the classics.
ReplyDeleteThese exact decorations in the Beistle decorama were sold in the sizes shown and in larger sizes. I have seen them in the Beistle catalogs.
ReplyDelete