Vintage Halloween 1913 Dennison’s Bogie Book - ULTRA RARE - NOT A REPRODUCTION

This is the only Bogie Book edition not part of the collection. I considered bidding on it, but its condition was too problematic. Others may have felt the same way as the listing should have brought significantly more dollars. It also just may be the time of the year. Many sellers make the mistake of listing vintage Halloween goods now. I find that from now through the end of the year is a great time to buy. The number of listings skyrocket while at the same time the average collector has finished their shopping for the year. Prices typically drop, sometimes precipitously. Bargains typically abound right now. Relative to this particular listing, it is nice to see such a quality item amongst all the dreck!

09/24 Update: I was surprised this Bogie didn’t fetch a higher price. It sold for only $676.

Vintage Halloween Dennison's Bogie Book, 1925 Suggestions for Halloween Booklet

This post is less about this particular Bogie Book listing than about Dennison Bogie Books in general. Dennison was clever in that they tried to speak directly to end consumers by giving them decorating ideas, maximizing the utility of the crepe, seals, cut-outs, illuminated silhouettes, etc. that Dennison was so fecund in sending to market. Once a consumer’s head was filled to bursting with ways to enhance their planned event, Dennison would allow individuals to send in their own orders directly to the firm. Of course, if a consumer wished to browse a retail establishment, Dennison had stand-alone “brick and mortars” and also supplied their wares to generalized stationers.
The Bogie Books helped this strategy along AND Dennison made money on them, selling them for a nickel or dime depending on the year. Today, when Bogie Books come available, their typical condition is what you see with this listing - truly used. These nearly annual publications were a wealth of information for those long-ago consumers and for today’s collectors an invaluable source of knowledge of what Dennison made available over the years.
Dennison’s business strategy didn’t emerge fully formed. Their first Bogie Book, in 1909, seemed a tentative effort - so tentative, in fact, that they didn’t see the commercial possibilities of these publications for three years. (There seems to be only a single copy of the 1909 Bogie Book extant. You can see it on page 135.) From 1912 through 1917, a Bogie appeared each year. 1918 was a miss almost certainly due to WWI. From 1919 through 1926 the annual publications were titled Bogie Books. After that, Dennison couldn’t seem to settle on a title blithely flitting from one to another.
Not all Bogie’s are created equal. In terms of very specific information on what was being produced with what stock numbers, the best ones are from 1914-1922.
The rarest copies before the 1920 edition are, in order, 1909, 1913, 1912, 1914, 1916, 1915. (I have yet to find a 1913 edition for the collection.)
There are even masochists like myself that torment themselves with a quest to collect the envelopes in which the Bogies were mailed to consumers. I have assembled almost a complete collection after many years.

VINTAGE HALLOWEEN DENNISON’S ‘BOGIE BOOK’ In Near Mint Condition

The buyer did get a bargain scooping up this 1924 Dennison Bogie Book for a song given the condition. Bravo!

Dennisons Bogie Book Halloween 1926 Vintage How to Entertain Costumes Party Idea

The 1926 Dennison Bogie Book is arguably the most common one of all. If you are going to see one for sale it will invariably be this edition. The later Bogies and their differently named brethren become much less of a rich resource for archivist collectors like me. The detailed annual offering of wares shown in the earlier Bogies disappear, replaced by illustrations and other generic pablum. Dennison moved the detail to the Price List pamphlets, so these elusive publications become much more of a resource to those interested in understanding what was produced when. The collecting market has finally awakened to this reality as prices for the Price List pamphlets have escalated. (I feel they have much more room to run.)
The price for this edition, even in very-fine-plus condition or better, typically never reaches the lofty height this listing is requesting.

1919 Dennisons Bogie Book Vtg Antique Halloween Party Decoration Catalog Costume

This hard-to-find copy of the 1919 edition of Dennison’s Bogie Book brought about what I expected given its condition. Most of the editions from the teens are tough to score in decent condition. Given current knowledge, the 1913 edition is near impossible to find, with the 1912, 1914 and 1916 editions only slightly easier to procure. (Dennison’s first Bogie Book was issued in 1909. There is only one copy known to be in private hands. There was nothing published for 1910 and 1911. There was then a run from 1912 through 1917. Nothing was published in 1918 due to WWI.) The next tier of availability from the teens would be 1915, 1919 then 1917.
I am missing the 1913 issue. I began seeking out the original Bogie Book mailing envelopes - talk about a masochist - years ago and have been lucky to find many, all of which can be seen on pages 100-104. At some point Dennison ceased designing a specific envelope for the annual Bogie Books. Although I think this ceasing began before 1926, it certainly began by 1926 when Dennison began packaging their Bogie Books in envelopes marked as “Dennison Instruction Books.”
Another level of masochism involving Bogie Books is to collect trade editions, or non-library editions, in hardback.

Rare 1915 Vintage Halloween Dennison Bogie Book Costume Catalog & Crepe Napkin

This listing was up for an hour at most before it was snapped up. These early Dennison Bogie Books are becoming increasingly hard to find in any condition. Although the listing showed it sold for $189.99, the buyer is a long-time reader who passed on that she bought it for $100, a good deal. (The napkin bundled as part of the lot is just a bonus.) The first Bogie Book was published in 1909. There is only one known copy. The next was published in 1912 and new editions were published without a miss until 1918. Editions prior to 1922 are rightly the most coveted as they have the most information. Dennison targeted these books to the end consumer so the annual editions tend to show all items newly available for that year plus some old stock. Collectors interested in such things, like me, can roughly chart when items were first introduced and for how many seasons an item was available. The 1913 edition is so hard to find that I still don’t own a copy.

Dennison's 1913 Bogie Book (Original Edition)

What a true steal some lucky eBay prowler got in acquiring this exceedingly rare 1913 Bogie Book for a mere $185, with free shipping to add insult to injury. This edition is the only one that has escaped me these 31 years of collecting. It is the second hardest Bogie Book to get, with the 1909 edition being the hardest by far. (There is only one known copy.) I’m sure this listing didn’t last more than minutes. The seller left gobs of money on the table.

Vintage 1920’s Dennison Halloween Die Cut Reference Bogie Book NICE

The seller is offering this 1926 Dennison Bogie Book as a BIN for $125 and is willing to entertain offers. This edition is typically found in bad shape due to the low quality of paper stock Dennison inexplicably used for this particular edition. This looks to be in nice shape, so the asking price is reasonable. If you can snag this for $100-125, it is a bargain.

bogie book dennison halloween costume seals catalog victorian 1913 decorations

This is the best example of this exceedingly rare edition of Dennison's Bogie Books I've seen. Dennison issued their first Bogie Book in 1909, apparently to the sound of a belly flop, as they did not issue a new edition until 1912. (There is only a single example of the 1909 version known to exist. You can see it on page 135.) The 1912-16 editions were printed in quite small runs compared to the later editions. By the time the 1922 edition hit the shelves, the print runs were large as these turn up frequently. If you look at the photos generously provided by the no-doubt-delighted seller, you can see that in 1913 Dennison was still largely hewing to the business strategy of providing crepe and napkins and suggesting ways to customize crepe for parties, rather than emphasizing their higher-margin boxed goods. This strategy rapidly changed, evidenced by the content of the Bogie Books in 1914 and after. Dennison found their niche in boxed items and they never truly surrendered that market dominance. The ability to gain these kinds of insights is surely one reason for collectors' love of these booklets. 

Dennison's Bogie Book - 1922 Halloween Catalog - vibrant color

Three Bogie Books from the 1920s are appreciably more common than the others: 1922, 1925 and 1926. The latter has always been common. Dennison must have been having a banner year then. The other two have become more common since 2012 when a largish quantity was unearthed in Kentucky, all in near-mint condition or better. Given that, this is a copy that is over-priced and over-graded. 

vintage 1931 Halloween HALLOWE'EN SUGGESTIONS Bogie Book by Dennison's

Given my comment on the importance of condition in the post below, I was surprised to see this tatty old thing actually vacuumed $129 out of someone's pocket. SGV is $95, but this item's condition should have put off collectors at the BIN price level. I feel a value in the $50-65 range would be more understandable. By the way, the JOL policeman drawn on the front cover's lower left corner is one of the most difficult Dennison diecuts to find. I bought the one in the collection decades ago when I didn't quite understand the relative scarcity of things. I've only seen one other ever offrered for sale and that had a date written in ink across the front. 

Vintage Halloween Catalog "Dennison's Bogie Book" 1915 w/Mailing Envelope

This listing featuring both the 1915 Dennison Bogie Book itself plus the exceedingly rare 1915 enclosure is the third time this has surfaced within about seven months. Guide value for the duo is $775. The duo listed in July 2016 fetched ~$838. The duo listed in August 2016 fetched ~$810. Comparing condition of the two from last year to this one, this is in third place, the least best. Both the envelope and the Bogie Book have much more wear showing. SGV is $775, but the condition here may work against this listing from achieving that sustainable level. It'll be fun to see where this ends. 

03/14 Update: As I suspected, this set in fair condition ended well below SGV - at $556.99. Condition is so important that there was almost a 33% decline in the money this brought compared to the only previous two examples sold on eBay. 

Antique Original 1915 Dennison's Bogie Book Halloween Decorations w/ Envelope

When it rains it pours! Funny how things work. When I bought the one in the collection 3-4 years ago I had never seen one before in any reference or in any collection. One was listed a few weeks ago and now this third one has surfaced. The set that ended recently sold for a reasonable $838 but the enclosure was in arguably lesser condition. 

09/18 Update: This sold for $809.99. The sustainable value tracks closely with guide value of $775 for both items - the Bogie Book itself and the exceedingly rare enclosure. 

RARE Vintage Halloween "Dennison's Bogie Book w/ Scary Cat & Pumpkin

This is a tough Bogie Book to acquire. This was published for the 1919 season. For some reason, similar to the 1916 edition, it almost never surfaces in near-mint or better condition. Even after all of these years the one in the collection, shown on page 101, could stand to be upgraded. The seller, new to eBay, made an error offering this for such a low price relative to guide value of $375. 

Great Original 1915 Dennison's Bogie Book Halloween Decorations w/ Envelope

OK, WOW! For avid Halloween paper ephemera collectors, seeing this listing should cause your hearts to race and your sphincters to seize. Seeing this quality listing amongst so much eBay dreck made my day. This is certainly the best listing I've seen come along in well over a year. 
Completing a set of customized Dennison Bogie Book envelopes or enclosures is high on my list. They surface so rarely they warrant an RSIN of 1, except for the 1919 enclosure that has been assigned a 2. (I am proud to own enclosures for 1909, 1914, 1915, 1917 and 1919. I have never seen enclosures for any of the other years Dennison Bogie Books were produced so cannot even be sure they exist. You can see these extant enclosures in my third edition.) From the ones I do own, this 1915 enclosure is the most cleverly designed and memorable of all the others put together. This is the ONE to own. Less interesting by comparison is the actual 1915 Bogie Book itself. This issue is not easy to find and the condition seems to be acceptable. I'm glad the seller included a shot of the Bogie inside its enclosure to show the cleverness with which this was produced. The guide value for the enclosure alone is $500, but there was only a single data point to support that specific valuation. In my view, the sky's the limit, so I'll be buckled in watching where this listing ends. 

08/23 Update: The air wasn't too choppy. Guide value for both items is $775 and it ended at $838. I feel the buyer got a very good deal overall considering the rarity of the enclosure.