Halloween Stained Glass Window

 

Bindlegrim is very excited to be back exploring the warm glow of autumn light... with a special Halloween Window created as a one-time insert included only as a freebie with each copy of the new vintage Halloween collectibles guide The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 4. To start then, let's just begin this blog entry with various arty views of the windows, at times together with the book set as described via THR's etsy bookstore or recent blog entry "Vol 4 Halloween Retrospect."

Dual-side faux stained glass paper window (2 shown) for THR.

Not to scale: window shown (right) with book trio inset (left).

Faux stained glass windows assembled by hand are limited.

Detail of matte color tissue paper that creates a warm glow.

Following is a description for these windows --- importantly noting once again that they are not-for-sale on their own, but only included as a free insert with copies of the March 2025 vintage Halloween collectibles guidebook series The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 4. (Etsy link here).

To begin, Bindlegrim designs are inspired by research pursued by THR that proves the originals to be vintage 1940's products created by Milton Bradley. Those originals hail from a time that included well-known art contributors (such as Louise D. Tessin) when the company is regularly involved in education (not only entertainment) and regularly publishing a magazine for educators called American Childhood. (Internet Archive link here). And while the new items are true to the general feel of vintage pieces, the modern Halloween Window cannot be mistaken as such, because Bindlegrim's version is deliberately different in size, imagery, color, and production method (and collages the four characters into one space). 

As for construction, the Bindlegrim versions are made of a thick 2-ply museum board frame which has been laser cut by the artist yet hand-assembled in the final steps. Still, the result is a doubled-sided decoration with colored tissue paper inside (very old school) which by result means either side is equally presentable as front or perhaps simultaneously from both sides at once. The tissue paper glows with a brilliant color while the framework remains strong and steady.

But again, this is part of a set (shown below) and Bindledgrim is not selling these - they are free with a copy of THR's newest edition of research from its archive library publications.

THR, V4 is shown here with book, crossword, and decoration.

A little bit about vintage Halloween collectibles guides are in order here, particularly the newest book that releases March 2025 by THR. If you are not familiar with THR publications - basically the archive library publishes research that utilizes many hundreds of primary sources from its collection - to better understand the history of ye olde holiday market. So far there have been four research digests and one art survey book (with more planned in future). The newest of these digests is The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 4 with book cover shown below (see THR's website or THR's online book shop).   

Cover art for The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 4 by THR publications.

While many preview images of the book are available THR's website or THR's online book shop (or even via Instagram @halloweenretrospecs) here are a few to make sure this blog entry is complete...  

Page preview of The Halloween Retrospect, Volume 4.

The Halloween Retrospect, V4 book, puzzle & decor.

THR, V4 featuring an homage window by Bindlegrim

Well, to close this blog entry, Bindlegrim might advise that while this vintage-style artist has had the pleasure of being involved with Volume 1 and Volume 4 digests... THR since it's first release in June 2023 has five books now full of data or images about vintage Halloween collectibles of the past. They are great references for seasoned or new collectors of the hobby.... and here is an up-to-date image of those that the bookstore currently offers:

The Halloween Retrospect Vol 1,2,3,4 & Halloween Artifacxts.

Hope you enjoy and if you do, perhaps Bindlegrim will continue to explore such Halloween lighting projects in future!?!?

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A post shared by Archive Librarian (@halloweenretrospecs)

Haunted Brambles Halloween Lantern (#5)

The Pumpkin Patch (Bindlegrim Lantern released 6-2012):

Who or what creeps restlessly through the brambles of the pumpkin patch at midnight...? Take a peek through an autumnal sky tinged in orange, red, or yellow.

Bindlegrim returns to the studio - and though the bindle-by-bindle move may not have brought all the usual supplies - it has lent itself to experimentation through discovery of the materials on hand. In this case, a new lantern with an offering of six total created in pairs of orange, yellow, and red.

This newest limited edition was created with silhouettes of vine and leaf motifs merging together with the leaf and Jack O'Lantern design of the black frame. There are 12 separate panes with an overall scene that takes you deep among the brambles of the pumpkin patch, encountering celestial entities, plentiful mice, a bevy of bats, a black widow, a prowling cat, a witch, a skeleton, and of course a few  pumpkins characters such as a jol-headed scrarecrow, and a JOL-headed ghost. And in the middle of all this one very scared little cottage!

As with other editions each lantern is signed, numbered, and packaged with label information. They are currently only available from the artist, and one has been listed this past Sunday on ebay - ending on June 17, 201220:59:01 PDT.

 
For more images of this lantern (in post and pre-production) - see the following flickr gallery:

 

Note about construction: The frame is created with acid-free museum board. The pieces were Made in the USA and hand assembled by the artist. Each work is packaged in a cellophane bag and also labeled with its number in the edition. The images are laser-prints on vellum for durability. A 3 watt flicker bulb is recommended - and it should be noted a white bulb might be best on these to keep the color hue of the paper most accurately. Small holes in the top piece are present for hanging the lantern with soft wire or strong thread if you prefer a battery operated candle. 

Space Witches (Halloween Lantern #4)

An unexpected visit came today from a host of 1950s retro-kitsch black cats and witches riding space rockets, (and some not-so-happy aliens), making an appearance at the Bindlegrim studios. This is style #4 vintage-style lantern (imagery with a ton of tiny details) that will have a possible listing this weekend...!

The gallery widget above examines each of the 12 panes (which are each different from one another) in closer detail... and here are a half-dozen photos showing the imagery in the round...

Also...  a short side note to stay tuned for a couple of Bindlegrim bagatelles. Here is some imagery from the second one under development..

There seems to be a bit of a jazz theme happening here. What started out at first as a grumpy moon covering his ears from the sound of raucous skeletons, instead transformed into a high-spirited band leader directing his quartet of band musicians.  I would hazard a guess that "Rumble Bones" is picking on a selection of tunes found on Bindlegrim's vintage Halloween music radio:

Halloween Lantern for a Haunted House

12 Eerie Visions of Creeps and Chills, Glow for HALLOWE'EN Thrills!

Bindlegrim vintage-style 2012 Halloween Hex Lanterns are officially here, with one listed as of yesterday evening via ebay (ending 2/19)! So I wanted to share a spooky batch of detail photos taken of this old school lantern featuring all new Bindlegrim imagery. (Below is the lantern front and back in its packaging).

This is style #3 The Haint House - a limited edition of only 5 offering this particular Bindlegrim imagery. As mentioned in a previous entry (The Haint House Halloween Lantern) inspiration came from vintage images of haunted houses - and unlike the old lanterns usually displaying a repeat of 6 images - these new lanterns offer 12 distinct panels (also because I have so much fun creating the images). The Haint House reveals doors, windows, and cracks, oozing with skeletons, mice, ghosts, mice, ghouls, mice, witches,  mice, bugs, snakes, mice, zombies, and other Halloween oddities such a winged moon with sharp teeth.

Here is a flickr gallery of The Haint House that shows the Halloween lantern from various viewpoints - hung in pendant style, with detail shots and in its packaging.

For consideration of the materials of this paper novelty - the lantern frame is made from acid-free 2-ply matt board with a nod to archival quality. The images are printed of durable laser-prints on vellum. And just like the good old days are Made in the USA and hand assembled. Holes are in top for string or thin wire for hanging: (I didn't wire any of these as to keep them pristine - so the photos below show it hanging by the flip switch on the socket --- not recommended for long term placement).

It's hard to tell in current photos (created more for detail rather than mood) but I'm using a 3 watt flicker bulb from the local hardware store in this lantern (and suggest either this or a battery operated candle). It creates the perfect eerie ambiance since the vellum allows low light to shine brightly. Any hotter/brighter bulbs, open flames, or moisture are not advised since this is a fragile paper novelty, and those are the very same terrors that warped, burnt, and destroyed vintage lanterns from the 1920-30s.

If you have any questions on availability of any limited edition styles --- (still hoping to see earlier versions for #1 The Pumpkin Dream and #2 The Cornish Litany follow soon) --- feel free to contact me.

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In other notes - I want, in future, to get a list of additional links for great vintage holiday artists and sellers, but in the meantime wanted to mention a wonderful seller that I've had the pleasure of purchasing items from in the recent past - 55audrey.

The seller offers a long-time popular booth on Bonanza (Audrey Grace Vintage) as well as Ebay (Book Shop) --- and also provides holiday tidbits through a newsletter and twitter. Recommended!

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Happy Valentine's Day everyone and heres to more haunted fun throughout the year of 2012.

Sketchbook of Straw (Cover Art)

Even as the snow once again covers Ichabod's Cottage (seems like there has been snow on the bogle since late October), the Bindlegrim goblins have remained busy at work with lots of new spooky goodies for 2012.

The holiday was a great time to get some writing done, and work is progressing on that new collection of Bindlegrim short stories (and perhaps poetry) called Sketchbook of Straw. There are two dark tales written and edited: The Jitter Dance and The Herbivorous Witch for definite inclusion. A third tale is undergoing editing and there is some back-and-forth decisions on if this lighter tale (along with the 4th lighter story now being written) will be included in the same volume - perhaps this will be a book with sections for darker and lighter moods?

As shown above, in preparation for the cover, I've been going through some of my old pen/pencil drawings from sketchbooks (which seemed appropriate) of the late 1980's to the early 1990's - when I was thoroughly enjoying the world of surreal and abstract art, with influences such as Dali, Miro, Tanguy, and Klee to name a few. Above are a few working ideas of how the cover might appear.

As if this wasn't enough to keep the goblins busy with all those art and literary pursuits (I'm not sure exactly when there will be enough stories to complete a full volume), there are also some design pursuits occurring with vintage-style Halloween lanterns for 2012, and keep an eye out for that news too!

Four Inspiring Halloween Artists

As I'm relatively new to creating my own vintage-inspired Halloween items, I am using this entry to mention some of the artists I find inspiring! And since my words alone cannot do them justice - I have provided many many links to their work:

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Johanna Parker:
Johanna (website Johanna Parker Design) creates one-of-a-kind papier-mache folk-art objects with work that features a host of vintage-style holiday characters - owls, cats, bats, ghosts.... and (having just finished some work myself with one such character, I could be a bit partial to the new one shown below) - a mouse! All of these works have an eye for old world artisan details of rich patinas and line work, that create a piece that could be at home on your mantel all year long. (I'm also very fond of her 2D work and you can see some of that on her behind-the-scene illustration drawings on flicker; this 2D work is also appearing now via zazzle).

If you are reading this in early July 2011 you might have time to bid on this mouse!
For more information see her blog.

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Lori Rudoolph:
Lori (web blog Retro Rudolph's) is another one of those artist who has monster skills in both 2D and 3D  work. Her papier-mache jack-o-lanterns, witches, devils, and veggie-people, start with the old school look of Halloween products (for example paper-pulp pumpkin lanterns from the 40s to 50s) but with her personal twist that features high-definition deep-brow grimaces and colorful paper additions and inserts. (Halloween for me is all about mysterious flickering lanterns and I love that many of her works offer you the opportunity for that after-dark spookiness). Well, her lanterns, bobble heads, and noise makers, are just for starters - see more of her work on flickr as well as etsy.

Check out the Retro Rudolph's blog for sneak peeks like this one!

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Matthew Kirscht:
This artist (aka Shiver Bones) has a body of work beyond just Halloween - check out this flickr gallery of his surreal fine art; (and here is his main website matthewkirscht.com). This is a world unto itself filled with bizarre characters involved in all sorts of spooky behavior... that does indeed send shivers down your spine, and if you have any knowledge of vintage Halloween post cards and company lines, you'll love the tongue-in-cheek nods to those works (like this piece called the Hellfire Lantern that touches on a classic Beistle style the company sadly no longer pursues). Like that work, I'm truly fond of his line style in monochrome or classic black and orange... and his newest work recreates vintage comics merged with his Halloween imagery:

See the Matthew Kirscht Halloween gallery on flickr.

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PumpkinRot:
And finally, somewhere between your gnarled post-season pumpkins and the most fascinating haunted house on the block -- there is that same sense of awe to be found in the artistically creepy work of pumpkinrot. With their added eye for photographic sensibilities, check out the yard displays and more in the pumpkinrot flickr galleries - (as well as the pumpkinrot main website and of all the things pumpkinrot finds interesting at pumpkinrot blog). 

Pumpkinrot on flickr

Love those pumpkin expressions? In recent news the pumpkinrot duo has created a line of pumpkins available for order from Primitives by Kathy. Check out the full catalog for a collection that includes Pumpkins of all sorts that include Reapers, Ghost Babies, Witchy, Sinister, and Charred!

The above pumpkin was found on the Pumpkinrot blog.
Pumpkinrot at Primitives by Kathy

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Okay, well that's just a few - and I would love to write more on more Halloween artists but time to move on to other things (though perhaps I'll revisit this "ode to Halloween artists" in future entries)...  in the meantime I have left this page full of links for you to explore! Have fun!!!