Uploaded October 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Halloween is one of the most popular holidays in the United States, with Americans predicted to spend a record 10.6 billion dollars on costumes, candy and decorations. While trick or treating for candy and yard decorations are predominant parts of the holiday today, the Halloween party was once all the rage. And though costumes and decorations are now easy to find in stores, Halloween revelers of the past made their own using one material in particular: crepe paper. Today, I’m taking a look back at the history of Dennison Manufacturing Company, and how crepe paper came to dominate Halloween.
“Novelties in Paper,” Buffalo Courier, Feb 8, 1891
“Women’s Work,” The Buffalo News, Feb 9, 1891
“The Misses Heath,” Buffalo Courier, Mar 6, 1892
“Evolution of Crepe Paper: A Fabric of Pronounced Decorative Possibilities,” The New York Times, Jun 18, 1893
“Women in the Ascendant,” The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Feb 27, 1894
“Advertising by Sample,” Pastime, Printers’ Ink, Sep 11, 1895
“Fanciful Uses of Crepe Paper,” Buffalo Courier, Oct 27, 1895
“Fanciful Uses of Crepe Paper,” Emma H. Heath, The Ladies’ Home Journal, Nov 1895
“Crepe Paper Decorations,” The Topeka Daily Capital, Nov 8, 1895
“New Designs in Crepe Paper,” Boston Evening Transcript, Nov 27, 1900
“Many Hallowe’en Parties,” The Decatur Daily Review, Nov 1, 1904
“Paper Novelties for Halloween,” Record-Journal, Oct 14, 1908
“Hallowe’en Party,” Brown County World, Nov 6, 1908
“Jewelry Box Industry and the Dennisons,” The Boston Globe, Jul 25, 1909
“Hints for Hallowe’en,” Fall River Globe, Oct 30, 1909
“Some New Hallowe’en Magic,” A.W.R., Harper’s Bazaar, Oct 1912
“Making Your Own Halloween Favors,” The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Oct 12, 1912
“Favors for the Hallowe’en Party Can Be Least Expensively Made of Crepe Paper,” The New York Times, Oct 26, 1913
“Crepe Paper Costumes are Mysteriously Lovely and Most Bewitching,” Omaha Daily Bee, Oct 28, 1917
Seventy-Five Years, 1844-1919, Dennison Manufacturing Co., 1920
“Costumes, Stunts for Mystic Eve,” Spokane Chronicle, Oct 26, 1925
Dennison Beginnings, 1840-1878, Charlotte Heath, 1927
“Halloween Tummyache Means Big Business,” Sally Ryan, News-Pilot, Oct 30, 1965
“Halloween Collectibles Scare Up Top Dollar Prices,” Ann McCutchan, The Burlington Free Press, Oct 29, 1994
“Decorating Home for Halloween Evokes Spirit of Holiday’s Golden Age,” Joan Waters, The Sacramento Bee, Oct 31, 1996
“Horrified Hearts,” Rebecca Hood-Adams, The Clarksdale Press Register, Oct 7, 2000
Halloween Merrymaking: An Illustrated Celebration of Fun, Food, and Frolics from Halloweens Past, Diane C. Arkins, 2004
“Certain Crepe Paper Products from China,” U.S. International Trade Commission, Jan 2005
“Dennison Manufacturing Company Archives, 1844-1990: A Finding Aid,” Farmingham History Center, Oct 2018
“A Most Valuable Fabric: Crepe Paper in the Early Twentieth Century,” Beverly Gordon, Piecework, May 6, 2022
“Halloween Participation Returns to Pre-Pandemic Levels with Record Spending,” Lottie Watts, National Retail Federation, Sep 19, 2022
“The Halloween Ephemera Factory: An Empire Built on Orange Crepe Paper,” New England Historical Society, updated 2022
“Crepe Paper Costumes,” Disposable America
Halloween is one of the most popular holidays in the United States, with Americans predicted to spend a record 10.6 billion dollars on costumes, candy and decorations. While trick or treating for candy and yard decorations are predominant parts of the holiday today, the Halloween party was once all the rage. And though costumes and decorations are now easy to find in stores, Halloween revelers of the past made their own using one material in particular: crepe paper. Today, I’m taking a look back at the history of Dennison Manufacturing Company, and how crepe paper came to dominate Halloween.
“Novelties in Paper,” Buffalo Courier, Feb 8, 1891
“Women’s Work,” The Buffalo News, Feb 9, 1891
“The Misses Heath,” Buffalo Courier, Mar 6, 1892
“Evolution of Crepe Paper: A Fabric of Pronounced Decorative Possibilities,” The New York Times, Jun 18, 1893
“Women in the Ascendant,” The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Feb 27, 1894
“Advertising by Sample,” Pastime, Printers’ Ink, Sep 11, 1895
“Fanciful Uses of Crepe Paper,” Buffalo Courier, Oct 27, 1895
“Fanciful Uses of Crepe Paper,” Emma H. Heath, The Ladies’ Home Journal, Nov 1895
“Crepe Paper Decorations,” The Topeka Daily Capital, Nov 8, 1895
“New Designs in Crepe Paper,” Boston Evening Transcript, Nov 27, 1900
“Many Hallowe’en Parties,” The Decatur Daily Review, Nov 1, 1904
“Paper Novelties for Halloween,” Record-Journal, Oct 14, 1908
“Hallowe’en Party,” Brown County World, Nov 6, 1908
“Jewelry Box Industry and the Dennisons,” The Boston Globe, Jul 25, 1909
“Hints for Hallowe’en,” Fall River Globe, Oct 30, 1909
“Some New Hallowe’en Magic,” A.W.R., Harper’s Bazaar, Oct 1912
“Making Your Own Halloween Favors,” The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Oct 12, 1912
“Favors for the Hallowe’en Party Can Be Least Expensively Made of Crepe Paper,” The New York Times, Oct 26, 1913
“Crepe Paper Costumes are Mysteriously Lovely and Most Bewitching,” Omaha Daily Bee, Oct 28, 1917
Seventy-Five Years, 1844-1919, Dennison Manufacturing Co., 1920
“Costumes, Stunts for Mystic Eve,” Spokane Chronicle, Oct 26, 1925
Dennison Beginnings, 1840-1878, Charlotte Heath, 1927
“Halloween Tummyache Means Big Business,” Sally Ryan, News-Pilot, Oct 30, 1965
“Halloween Collectibles Scare Up Top Dollar Prices,” Ann McCutchan, The Burlington Free Press, Oct 29, 1994
“Decorating Home for Halloween Evokes Spirit of Holiday’s Golden Age,” Joan Waters, The Sacramento Bee, Oct 31, 1996
“Horrified Hearts,” Rebecca Hood-Adams, The Clarksdale Press Register, Oct 7, 2000
Halloween Merrymaking: An Illustrated Celebration of Fun, Food, and Frolics from Halloweens Past, Diane C. Arkins, 2004
“Certain Crepe Paper Products from China,” U.S. International Trade Commission, Jan 2005
“Dennison Manufacturing Company Archives, 1844-1990: A Finding Aid,” Farmingham History Center, Oct 2018
“A Most Valuable Fabric: Crepe Paper in the Early Twentieth Century,” Beverly Gordon, Piecework, May 6, 2022
“Halloween Participation Returns to Pre-Pandemic Levels with Record Spending,” Lottie Watts, National Retail Federation, Sep 19, 2022
“The Halloween Ephemera Factory: An Empire Built on Orange Crepe Paper,” New England Historical Society, updated 2022
“Crepe Paper Costumes,” Disposable America
