Halloween postcards were nearly as popular as Christmas cards for the first few decades of the 20th century, and probably vanished when the telephone came into popular use - but over 3,000 were produced before then. I'm most interested in the cards that depict fortune-telling rituals or games, but cards also featured children in costume, prankplaying, anthropomorphic vegetable people, and Halloween symbols such as witches, ghosts and jack-o'-lanterns. Some modern-day collectors look for cards by certain companies (i.e., Tuck is popular for its "veggie men" series) or particular artists (especially Ellen Clapsaddle, who is most famous for her rosy-cheeked children). Some cards involved elaborate embossing, and a few were even "mechanical", meaning they had moving parts (for example, a hand holding a mask could be swung aside to reveal the frightened face beneath).

Many of these cards appeared as black and white illustrations in my books; now here's your chance to enjoy them in all their original glorious color!