Five Cents the Copy


Old magazines are great sources for classic Halloween images—children’s magazines especially, but also the large-format weeklies like Collier’s and Saturday Evening Post. Seen by millions, their covers celebrating (or spoofing) fads and traditions had a long-lasting impact on holiday iconography.

This Saturday Evening Post cover by Frederic Stanley arrived in mailboxes and on newsstands 91 years ago yesterday—or the day after tomorrow, depending on how you look at it. Self-taught, Stanley created 17 covers for the Post. Note the indication here of the witch’s fire, just out of view to our right, its low light picking out the contours of her mangy cat. Note too how the composition invokes the shape of the classic witch’s hat.

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