Time for Halloween Decorations (Schiffer Book for Collectors) [Paperback]

This is not well written or well photographed. What is the point of this book? It is certainly not a professional effort but was clearly done by someone who might love Halloween but doesn't know how to write or take pictures.

Time For Halloween Decorations, is atrocious. Lavin's first book added modestly to the canon of vintage Halloween memorabilia knowledge, but the same cannot be said for this pitiable effort. This book is almost wholly without merit and except for completists is not worth owning. I am troubled by "authors" wanting to push such undercooked products on the marketplace when the number of publishing slots for our fun hobby is necessarily limited. When these forgettable efforts sell poorly, it makes it that much harder for those of us with something truly worthwhile to add to have our expertise heard in the marketplace. So, why am I so down on this book? There are many reasons. The cover imagery is not representative of the contents. The 1923 Beistle fairy clock would lead one to think the thrust of the book would be Beistle products from the same era. In fact, the vast majority of the book consists of items made long after this golden age of imagery. Lavin dilutes the integrity and cohesiveness of the book by arbitrarily throwing in 17 pages of items made by other manufacturers - all but one of which have been shown in other references and therefore add essentially nothing to the base of existing knowledge. Another significant defect of this book is the photography. Too many of the photos are underexposed. For instance, photos on pages 10,13,16,18-19,20-21,26,28-30, 32,35,52,62-65,68,119,120,124-125,142 and145 are often so dark one cannot make out important detail. Another significant defect is the hurried nature of the book. Two key examples of this rush to publication are images shown with the negatives reversed. On page 93 Lavin shows the same Halloween elf (upper right) that she showed on page 60 of her 2004 book. If you look carefully you'll see that she used precisely the same image but carelessly flipped the negative for the second book. (The image shown in her 2004 book is correct.) Another example is the lantern shown on page 141. If you look carefully at both the lantern and the needless photo of the insert on this page, both negatives have been flipped. (Compare them to the way the lantern actually looks as shown on page 144 of Lavin's 2004 effort. Look at the teeth and the detail of the witches' hats and the running JOL creatures' top stems.) My main objection to Lavin's second book is the number of items duplicated from her 2004 book. There seems to be more fillers and extenders in this new book than there are in any hotdog. For instance, pages 79 through 81 are essentially a rehash of pages 72 and 73 from 2004. Page 93 is a rehash of page 90 from 2004. Page 140 is a rehash of page 87 from 2004. Pages 130 through 134 are a rehash of page 141 from 2004. Page 141 is a rehash of page 144 from 2004. The lower half of 2007's page 152 is nearly identical to page 160 of this same book. Even aside from these duplications, Lavin didn't seem to have enough material to truly justify having this book published. She shows mind-numbing iterations of the same thing on too-many pages, (see pages 23-25, 35, 37, 53, 67,70,77,132-133,138-139,150 and 151for examples) or too often simply allows one item to fill an entire page. Unfortunately, Lavin devotes many of the 160 pages of this book to items that have only the remotest connection to Halloween. The "South Pacific Mask Hats" shown on pages 122-123 are puzzlers, as are the masks show on pages 105 through 111. Another downfall is the space Lavin devotes to showing items that have been shown in other works ad nauseum ad infinitum. Pages 45 through 47, 79 through 81 and 99 through 103 are a particular waste. Lastly, I have no confidence in the valuation she places on most of the items shown in this sad effort. The valuations seem arbitrary. They are certainly significantly inconsistent with the prices realized at on-line auctions, general shows and antiques malls. In summary, this book falls well below what an informed consumer and collector should expect from a collecting reference. Those who wish so avidly to see their name in print should put the requisite effort into their product so as to make it actually useful and desirable.

I'm no hoity-toity Ivy League professor of Halloween literature or professional 'New York Times' book reviewer with a bloody Halloween ax to grind, but I am confident when I state that "Time for Halloween Decorations" would make an excellent addition to the Halloween shelf of anyone's holiday bookcase. No room on that bulging shelf? Throw out some of those dusty volumes of Satanic ritual and inky black magic. Don't have a holiday bookcase? Shame on you! IKEA has many inexpensive bookcases and shelving units that would suffice. Do yourself a favor and start your holiday bookcase today! You won't regret it. Ever. I give you my solemn oath.