Happy Halloween and Recalled Halloween Toys

October 30, 2008

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Vintage Halloween Postcard With Large Figural Bat

Pajamadeen has a secret vice — she collects vintage postcards. And Halloween postcards are our favorite. They’re among the most imaginative postcards ever produced, as this splendid c. 1907-1915 example illustrates. This Halloween collectible is scarce, and made even more so with the seldom-seen inclusion of the large figural bat as the subject matter. The postcard reads: “If you light a candle at the ends/Twirl it that the air it rend/Should the right end stay lit, All will be gay./If the left stay lit, the witches stay/If both stay lit, you will be it./If both go out, you have routed them out.”

Chinese-Made Casper the Ghost Figurines Recalled Due to Lead Paint Content

On a more somber note, one of this year’s “tricks” is the voluntary recall of Casper the Friendly Ghost Halloween Mini-Figures. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Minneapolis-based Coyne’s & Co. announced the recall yesterday. Resin and paper used in the figures contain high levels of lead in the paint. About 14,000 Casper mini-figurines were sold nationwide between June 2005 and September 2008. You can guess where they were made. The Casper figurines were marketed in mini-bags decorated with spider webs and a spider. Casper was available dressed as: