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.