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Ad Rates / Articles / Classified Ads / Editorial / Home / Links / Showtime   Inside Antiques, by Robert Reed   Inside Antiques: Black Cats of Halloween   By Robert Reed Black cats have always been very much a part of all that is connected with the celebration of Halloween. Historians differ as to the direct link of the midnight-coloured feline and ancient holiday, but most all agree that the connection was made early on. Stories over the centuries regarding witches and black cats have varied, too. Some said they were merely nocturnal companions, while others said the witch could transform herself into the image of a black cat. Slightly more diverse accounts suggest that a witch encountering a black cat at night would simply turn the domestic animal into a companion witch.   Whatever the mythology, black cats and Halloween are indeed inseparable.   "The nature of cats, their nocturnal leanings, their inscrutable attitude, their playfulness, their uniqueness, make the cat a symbol of Halloween," says an expert on the holiday, Pamela Apkarian-Russell, author of two books on the subject, Collectible Halloween and More Halloween Collectibles.   "Next to the Jack O'Lantern, the cat, especially the black cat, is one of the most recognizable symbols of Halloween," observes the author.   During the latter 19th century, when Halloween was more of an event for adults than for children, many Victorian households hosted Black Cat holiday parties. Festivities for grown-ups included jumping over candles, fortune telling, and bobbing for apples.   Legends during that era and into the 20th century suggested moreover that the bone of a black cat had great magical powers. Many stories, particular in the American South, made reference to the "black-cat bone" and its ability to mysteriously make wishes come true on Halloween night.   Not surprisingly, black cats played a major role in Halloween postcards which enjoyed an amazing popularity early in the 20th century. Often the cats appeared with a witch, with pumpkins, or in the arms of a child. But there were other Halloween postcards where the black cat was so impressive it carried the entire holiday message with its single presence. Major postcard artists, who sometimes featured black cats of Halloween, included John Winsch and Ellen Clapsaddle.   The fabled black feline was also making other appearances in the early 1900s. The Dennison Company, for example, used the figure prominently on their holiday-related paper products from cut-outs for wall decorations to crepe paper party aprons.   By the 1920s, Dennison carried a full line of black cat items to highlight their Halloween fare. Dennison's Halloween Cut-Outs continued to be a best-seller, along with gummed seals, cardboard silhouettes of black cats,and even the Dennison's Party Costume in cat form.   Another major paper products manufacturer, Beistle, also made substantial use of the black cat image on their Halloween-related items. Beistle offered a cardboard cat with honeycomb tissue body, and basic figurals called 'Scaredy' or 'Scratch' cats. These figurals were originally the work of artist H.E. Luhrs and featured limbs jointed by eyelets. Variations of these traditional cats were featured in Beistle catalogs for many decades.   Likewise, a great number of Halloween items imported from Germany during the l920s and early 1930s also featured black cats. Among them were paperboard lanterns, paper fans with wooden handles, and cardboard whistle noisemakers.   Possibly the most unusual blackcat-for-Halloween item of the 1920s was Jack-O-Lantern Crepe Toilet Paper. Made by the Regal Paper Company, the product featured a Jack-O-Lantern with a vivid, black cat. Undoubtedly the item was for decorative, not personal, usage.   Beistle was still a major power in the Halloween marketplace of the 1930s, with such favourites as "Bristle’s Party Helps ... The Cat Head Seals". Halloween-related paper products were chiefly made in the United States, while such items as composition cat-type candy containers and lanterns were mostly made in Germany.   Tambourines featuring black cats of Halloween came from several locations during the 1930s. Some were made in Germany, some in Japan, and many in the United States. Some of the leading manufacturers of these and similarly lithographed metal Halloween items were J. Chein and Company, T. Cohn Inc., The Kerchief company and the U.S. Toy Mfg. Co. Usually the makers put their name on the pieces they produced, cat-like and otherwise.   Companies like Dennison and Beistle, which relied mainly on paper as a resource, still maintained limited production during the war years of the early 1940s. However, those that depended on metal and similar materials had to end production for the duration of the war. Black cats of Halloween were back in a relatively new form in the late 1940s.   They appeared in brightly painted orange and black versions of plastic. Some of the cats had spring-like necks to give their heads motion; other cats rode on four-wheeled platforms. Those that were marked often carried the Rosbro or Tico Toys brand. The Fibro Toy Company also contributed some Halloween items which starred black cats. These were usually in the form of die cut cardboard with tab and slot construction. The veteran Beistle Company made similar objects for a time in the late 1940s and early 1950s.   Interestingly, the Beistle Company and others also made a wide variety of eyelet-jointed skeletons during this period. They were made for wall or door decorations during the season and were quite popular in various sizes. One which was not popular and issued only on a limited basis was the cat skeleton forms. These glow-in-the dark items are considered among the most scarce of Halloween decorations today.   During the 1950s, the legendary Steiff Company of Germany made a version of a Halloween black cat. Records show that while the historic company specialized in the production of teddy bears and other stuffed animals during the 20th century, very few of these were black cats. The exception to this was made in 1955; a cat covered in black velvet with a mohair tail. Steiff also made a black mohair cat Halloween puppet in the 1950s.   In later decades, Hallmark and Empire Plastics (Carolina Enterprises) crafted a number of Halloween black cat products which still appeal to collectors.   Today, those who fancy black cats can look back on a sweeping history of companionship Photos: 1 - Classic Halloween postcard with black cat illustrated by Ellen Claspsaddle. 2 - Black cat leads singing Jack-O-Lanterns on 1920s Halloween postcard. 3 - Halloween decoration black cat make by Beistle, die-cut with jointed limbs and head. 4 - Halloween black cat, Empire Industries. All plastic, 6.5 inches   Robert Reed has written on antiques and collectibles for more than two decades. He has also authored 15 books, including his recently released Antiques and Collectible Dictionary, available from www.collectorbooks.com       Return to top of page   This Is Livin' Publishing © 2009 581 8th Line West, RR1 Hastings, ON, K0L 1Y0 Phone/Fax: 705-696-1833   webmaster