I love history! It’s so fascinating to see what our ancestors have done, whether ‘good’ or ‘bad’ – although those terms can be pretty meaningless. It’s simply not true that everything today is better than the past, although we’ve certainly made huge advances in many fields. Anyway, before I get on my soap box, let’s look at some fascinating vintage Halloween postcards. They’re from a collection belonging to the New York Public Library and I don’t know anything about them except that they’re fun.
Is she supposed to be a witch? If so, she’s definitely a descendent of Glenda The Good (in the Oz books).
Love the cat’s eyes!
OK, the rhyme isn’t Shakespeare but it’s a way to protect yourself from really evil witches. Sort of.
A witch riding on a pumpkin and being ‘pulled’ by bats is something I’ve never seen before. What about you?
This lady has some mischievous sons, and the cow probably doesn’t appreciate this prank a bit!
This next card is “predictive”. Perhaps there was a belief that on Halloween an unmarried woman could see the face of her future husband if she performed some particular rite or ceremony? If so, this young ladies is about to marry a guy who looks like the villagers will be storming his castle any moment now (Frankenstein).
Didn’t I tell you these were fun? This just proves that history doesn’t have to be dull and boring. :-)
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