Just like associating PAAS with Easter, I link vintage Halloween decorations with Beistle. Halloweens of the past between the relatives’ homes were always adorned with the honeycomb crepe paper cats and witches as well as impish pumpkin faces.
The Beistle Company started in 1900 by Martin Luther Beistle as a paper goods and calendar business. It wasn’t until the 1920s the business shifted over to holiday decorations, with the machinery to create honeycomb tissue paper designs after seeing the craft in action in Germany. Cut-outs and tabletop centerpieces were made for Valentine’s Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Easter and Christmas. The popular Halloween designs featuring a band of cats, silly pumpkins and sinister witches have been recreated under other brands and clothing companies under licensing agreements as the iconic vintage imagery has gained a recent popularity.
To this day, Beistle still produces decorations using the same imagery with some updates and modern styles that include window clings and plastic signs. Family members of Mr. Beistle still maintain the operation.
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