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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.

Gurley Candle, 4" Cat on Fence, Creasent Moon, Exc Cond..

Candles are a genre that hasn't caught fire (bad pun...I know...) over these many years, lagging the overall market like common tin litho noisemakers. This sale price for arguably one of the better Gurley designs is surprising. These typically bring $18-20, so to have one bring in more than double is unusual. I feel that candles, tin litho noisemakers and the more common pulp JOLs are great entry points for new collectors. They are plentiful, cheap and low-risk relative to getting stuck with a fake. (As I point out on page 87, the Gurley name was resurrected in 2006 and the new firm began producing candles using new molds.) Look to pay guide values for items within this genre. This result was great for the seller, but the buyer could have waited and gotten it at half the cost.