I recently discovered that Beistle has been making reproductions of some of their classic Halloween decorations. For years I've been wishing aloud for this very thing. I found this Skeleton Dancer at a dime store in Branson, Missouri earlier this month. The copyright on the card says 2004, but I must be out of it because this is the first I'd ever heard of these. This piece is jointed and much sturdier than the stuff we have today. According to the card, the design was first released in 1966. The store also sold a witch, and a black cat (possibly flocked) from this series.They also had smaller Beistle packs that weren't marketed as repros, however I know the art has been around for many decades. Here's a look at those designs (thanks to dex1138 for the scans)...
So keep an eye out for these and please leave a comment if you find any other designs. Thanks Beistle. Maybe someday I'll learn how to pronounce your name.
Man do these bring back memories. 1961 to 1968 were the years I was in Elementary school. We used to hang things like these in the classroom windows all the time. Thanks for these.
ReplyDeleteDave
I had these - the cutouts were our primary halloween decorations outside of the hacked up pumpkins. I'm going to buy a bunch from the Beistle website......
ReplyDeleteI have two other Beistle reproductions... an owl and a cat sitting on a crescent moon's nose - without a doubt my all-time favorite Halloween images!
ReplyDeleteParty Partners licensed these and put them out. They don't appear on the website menu currently, but this'll show you what they made:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.partypartnersdesign.com/othalloween.html
Actually, I believe you photographed my Skeleton Dancer when you were here, but he's high enough quality that you didn't spot him as a repro.
For those of you in the Seattle area Display and Costume in North Seattle is stocking these, although their stock was quite low when I was in last week.
ReplyDeleteI discovered these reproductions a few years back and was thrilled. Unfortunately, Beistle does not sell direct to consumers and you need to do quite a bit of scrounging to find the reproductions online or locally.
ReplyDeleteIn the end, I was able to find most of my shopping list.
Sure would be nice if they sold direct to the public, though.
VERY, VERY COOL! And I love the "Haunted Concepts" pix below. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteNice job with the scans. I still hadn't gotten around to tweaking the orange.
ReplyDeleteYeah, they look great! I may even download your tweaked copies!
ReplyDeleteI got those at iParty and there is also a two foot tall screeching black cat.
I snagged a the Beistle witch repro at Home Goods a few weeks back. It's a 'dancing witch' with a jointed waist so she can shake it up. I'll see if I can take a shot of it for you.
I'm having nada luck finding these repros in my stomping grounds which is a shame because a Watusi action witch should be on every true Americans front door this Halloween!
ReplyDeleteAnd I pronounce it "beastly" just because I can.
I found thes and others at the Beistle website. you can't order from them, but you can email them to send you a list of retailers or online websites that do sell them. I did so, and haven't heard back yet. reggaexx - that cresscent moon with the cat on the nose was on their website.
ReplyDeleteDave
How odd. The other day I was at a 1940's/50's themed restaurant (Runy's) and I was noticing that their vintage soda ads appeared to actually be vintage (or at least, not too obviously repros). It got me thinking about the Halloween stuff that was also on the walls, and how old those designs might be. I examined one close-up (a witch), and whadaya know, Beistle! Never heard of them before, and then I end up here and there's Beistle again!
ReplyDelete"...there's this, like, lattice o' coincidence that lays on top o' everything..."
I meant Ruby's.
ReplyDeleteI just got an email back from Beistle. They said the only place us "common" folks (non-wholesalers in other words) can buy onlin are these two places:
ReplyDeletePartyCheap.com
or
123Party.com.
Dave
awesome memory dave! Thanks for posting the info from that email too.
ReplyDeletematt- glad this brought back memories for you. dave posted two sites above that you will have better luck at. I hope you get your hands on some of these.
raggaexx- I've got those two also. I actually found them at Wal-Mart a few years ago. They weren't labeled repros either.
devlin- great info, thanks. I must have entirely missed that on the package.
I can't believe you let me go on believing that yours was original. I feel so betrayed.
qtilla- thanks for the report!
thanks sparkle!
I just realized you posted these monster maniac. Dex you are dominating the web!
Monster maniacs images are big enough to print, unlike mine.
steven- with the internet anything is possible.
and I pronounce it Beastle in my mind.
phillip- Ah, how I love it when stuff like that happens. I'm glad to be a part of your "coincidence."
Got word at my blog that some of these pieces are at Wal-Mart this year also. Also, sorry to say 123Part.com is for bulk buyers only. I ordered about $20.00 worth of stuff from PartyCheap.com. They have a lot of great Halloween decorations that aren't Beistle also.
ReplyDeleteDave
You all are lucky you can track this stuff down even if it's a bit of a challenge. I find it frustrating that my quest to get a Beistle skeleton dancing the watusi is going to end in tears. Nothing on ebay, and being in Bangkok makes going to the dime store out of the question. What is ironic is that all this stuff is surely made in China, parts of which are only a couple hour's plane ride away, yet finding this stuff for sale here is difficult. There are plenty of Halloween decorations for sale (a lot of urban Thais go to Halloween parties) but I have yet to see any of Beistle's vintage designs. Oh well, maybe next year...
ReplyDeleteThanks again for the info Dave.
ReplyDeleteSteven- as a collector who lived nowhere near a city in the pre-internet days, I feel your pain. I have come to learn that if I wait long enough, the objects of my desires almost always turn up eventually, sometimes in the least likely places, and sometimes even for free. Hang in there, and say hi to Bangkok for me.
Hmmmm. Makes me wonder how many abandoned factories are out there with this sort of thing still in boxes. Look into that for me will ya? :)
I have the top hat and monocle cat tattooed on my left forearm. I love the old Beistle stuff!
ReplyDeleteCool! What a great way to put that awesome art to use.
ReplyDeletewww.Retroween.com is the newest and best source for the classic Beistle Halloween decorations AND Christmas decorations, in my humble O. Thanks Kirk, yer the best. That's www.Retroween.com
ReplyDelete