I suspect this item is a recently made fantasy piece. The graphics are unknown and don’t correspond to anything I’ve seen on unquestionably genuine German horns. Look at the only photo the seller provided of the horn’s interior. Although the bottom rim is splotchy, the interior is pristine and is constructed differently than any unquestionably genuine German horn I’ve seen. This reeks of a recently made fantasy item.
Blog
Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.
5 RARE VTG 1930s HALLOWEEN CREPE FAVOR / NUT CUP w/ DIECUT JOL NOS in CELLO
Although I have never much cared for these kinds of party favors, I do like seeing them in their original C.A. Reed packaging. So few of these still exist intact definitively establishing which firm made these inexpensive 1950s party favors. These nut cups typically sell for less than $15 each, so the seller is putting a great value on the intact packaging. I wouldn’t have made the same decision.
02/19 Update: The seller has listed another of these with the same minimum bid of $79.99. It’ll be interesting to see if there are any bids.
03/01 Update: There was one bid, so the second set also sold for $79.99.
2 Vintage Antique Halloween Diecut Rocking Cards Witch Cat Paper Rocker Ephemera
I think these are rockers from the 1920s produced by Whitney. It is a close call because the graphics are unlike Whitney but the font used seems to be the same one used for years by Whitney.
02/07 Update: This overly cute items sold for $76.99.
Vintage Halloween Clapper Noisemaker Art Deco Flapper Jack O Lantern Retro
Sometimes tin litho manufacturers like the one that produced this clanger, T. Cohn, would allow these seriously misaligned scrap items to be sold as irregulars. They aren’t too common as the producers weren’t looking to be considered anything less than a company issuing first-tier products. Aesthetically, I find these unappealing, but do understand the allure of owning such a novelty item.
Vintage Smiling Jack-O-Lantern Halloween Squeaker Satchel Candy Box!
This is an item made in Japan modeled after the superior such items made in Germany. The latter are significantly better made. This derivative object was made during the 1920s and has a value much less than a German counterpart.
01/31 Update: This sold for $202.50, right around where I expected this item to sell.
1940’s Halloween Place Card Scary Black Cat With Owl Face In Flame HTF
It sure is nice to see a quality item amidst all of the post-holiday dreck that is dominating eBay now. This exquisitely designed Dennison place card was actually issued in 1928.
01/31 Update: This sold for a strong $167.50.
1930s German Bisque Figurine Scared Child carrying a Pumpkin excellent 3 1/4"
There were a number of different cold-painted bisque items produced in the early 1930s by the Germans with a Halloween theme. These figurines have become quite popular with Halloween collectors over the last ~5 years. I used to see them with some frequency, but that day has passed. I’ll have two such figurines in my annual auction held in May. One has perfect paint - like it was purchased and immediately stored away. If you’ve purchased my reference book from me directly, please ensure that I have your contact information, so that notifications about the auction can be sent in April. The auction is only open to those who have purchased a copy of the third edition of Vintage Halloween Collectibles from me directly.
01/24 Update: This great item sold for $70.
Antique German JOL Halloween Children's Tea Cup
I don’t believe this item is from any vintage porcelain tea set - German or Japanese. It looks amateurish, especially the teeth. I think this is the result of someone with a modicum of talent copying the features from an authentic cup, perhaps for their own amusement. It doesn’t have collectible value in terms of vintage Halloween.
02/22 Update: I’m glad no one seemed to be fooled by this fake. It sold for $58.00.
RARE Vintage Halloween Composition Devil Head Lantern W/ Orig Insert Formalite ?
I’ve received a number of inquiries as to my opinion of this item. I know the seller to be an ethical and affable person who has long been a collector of vintage Halloween memorabilia. I have much regard for him. That said, I don’t feel this lantern has much age to it. From what I understand, the Formalite process applied to items made from original F.N. Burt molds simply means a gesso-like coating over the typically used pulp, like shown in the second photo. I question why the bottom of the one up for auction is flat. If original molds were used, why wouldn’t the bottom be indented, like the one shown in the third photo? (Notice, too, that the lantern shown in the third photo is marked.) The lantern up for auction seems to be made from composition, not pulp. I suspect it was probably made off-shore sometime in the last 15 years.
My thanks to a long-time blog follower for supplying the second and third photos.
vintage Halloween party invitation w/ CLOWN, paper lantern, BLACK CAT - unused
This large form-factor, elegant invitation was scooped up for a relative bargain. Produced during the 1920s, there is a matching tally card.
Vintage Halloween 1920s-1930s Die-Cut Scary Cat
I purchased a wonderful lot of these small late-1920s diecuts about 18 months ago. I long felt they were probably made by Whitney until I saw an identical image of one of the diecuts on a Hallmark tally card. So, it seems likely this was made by Hallmark. Each of the set of small diecuts has the central image outlined in orange, like this one. That may be a defining characteristic enabling one to attribute any future found such diecuts to Hallmark. I’ll be posting the diecuts now in the collection on the site’s new Acquisitions page at some point. If you haven’t yet perused the Acquisitions page, be my guest.
RARE Halloween Diecut Black Cat Fence Gibson ? Dennison ? Extremely Hard to Find
This small paper item was made by Gibson.
01/17 Update: This seldom-seen diecut brought a strong $222.50.
1920-30 Halloween Candy Bottle Container Glass Paint Witch Black Cat Broom 3-3/8
The buyer just pissed away $55.55 on this item. The seller confidently but incorrectly asserts this (and several others this same seller sold) light cover was made during the 1920s or 1930s. These were sold in the early 1990s as a 6-8 piece set. They have zero vintage value. Collectors - do your research!
Beistle Halloween Jack-O-Lantern Cut-Out Puzzle (14 pieces) #1809
A long-time collecting friend of mine scooped up this exceedingly rare Beistle treasure for the laughably low price of $136.16. (The clueless seller had listed it in the Halloween Modern category causing people like me, who seldom troll those dispiriting listings, to miss this treasure. I’ll be adding a daily perusal of this category from now on.) The lantern this uninspired Beistle creation - a puzzle for simpletons - depicts, was produced in 1930-1931, so the enveloped set was surely one of the last items they produced with the diamond mark. So, at this point, I know now that Beistle used the stunning art of the lantern, which was made in two sizes, only on one other item - this puzzle.
Creepy 1899 date Skeleton Skull Antikamnia Cure Medicine Pawn Star Calendar Card
Although these items do not fall within the category of a vintage Halloween collectible, I thought I’d comment on this sale nonetheless. I began seeking to buy complete Antikamnia Chemical Company calendar sets over twenty years ago, well before interest in them began to soar. The firm, long defunct, sent calendars to doctors gratis as an advertising gimmick. The first calendar was 1897. From that year through 1900 each complete calendar consisted of 6 hand-tinted cards showing two months each. These mischievous skeletons were drawn by Louis Crusius. Although he died at a young age in 1898, Antikamnia had purchased enough drawings to publish and distribute these calendars through 1901. (The last year’s calendar consists of only 4 hand-tinted cards showing three months each.) I now own near-mint or better examples of each calendar page, numbering 28 in total. They look awesome framed together. I’m glad to see they are finally getting the exposure in popular culture that I feel they deserve.
