Vintage 1920s Beistle Halloween Favor Basket, Ghoul, Jack-O-Lantern, Cauldron

Beistle produced four different honeycomb favor basket designs. Although the four designs surface with roughly the same level of frequency, this particular design is the hardest to locate in collectible condition. (Why, I don't know...) What I do know is that the condition on this one, by a fabulous seller, is the best I've seen in some time. SGV is $325. With over five days to go as of this writing, the price is on-track to attain that pricing level. This design is, without doubt, the most eye-catching one Beistle produced.

03/07 Update: This desirable Beistle favor basket ended up fetching a very strong price of $425. The second underbidder stopped at SGV, while the ending price was as a result of two determined bidders. 

03/21 Update: To illustrate the importance of condition, another one of these sold on eBay on 03/20. It was in fair to good condition and fetched only $73. 

(2) Early Halloween 7 3/4" Jointed Crepe Figures WITCH & SCARECROW. c1930s NR

The seller is off by up to three decades as to when these were made. Both the scarecrow and witch "whimsies" were made by Beistle during the 1950s. (An owl was the third design of the set.) Only later, almost certainly under license, were these designs made in Japan. The designs marked as being made in the United States have sustained collector interest. When the ones marked "Japan" do sell, they bring half or less of what the older ones made in the USA bring. 

Beistle Halloween bat diecut and tissue

Man, I haven't seen one of these offered for quite some time. This rare devil bat diecut was made by Beistle for a few seasons bracketed by the years 1925-1931. It was sold in two variations: with either orange or black crepe paper wings. This diecut is impossible to find in truly mint condition given the way it was designed. Knowing this, the one being offered here is darn nice. The imperfections the seller has endeavored to highlight are all minor. Sustainable guide value is $400, but early and rare Beistle items have routinely been bringing well in excess of guide during the past year. It will be fun to see what this listing fetches. If you don't own this yet, don't let this slip through your fingers. 

01/17 Update: This great item brought $485. 

Vintage Beistle Halloween Jack-O-Lantern Man--Honeycomb Arms & Legs! Excellent!

This rare Beistle dancer was made between 1925 and 1931. The seller sold this at the wrong time of the year. Sold during the prime selling season of May through September, this would almost surely have realized between $350-450. 

3 Vintage halloween Beistle Party Favor Baskets Original Package Owl Cat Witch

This nice little grouping is interesting. Beistle produced and sold these from 1927 through 1931. There were four designs overall. This listing is missing the one I like best, which shows a witch wearing a skull laden robe stirring a cauldron. The honeycomb sections that have separated from the main bodies, ostensibly due to dried glue, should be easily re-attachable. The extant glassine envelope is dull and shouldn't be much of a factor in what you may wish to bid on this lot. 

Antique 1920's Beistle Flaming Halloween Fortunes

This Flaming Hallowe'en Fortune game was manufactured by Beistle during the early 1930s, available in two versions. The first iteration had six "flaming fortunes" while the second and final version had twelve. The perceived rarity of this game took a real tumble about ten years ago as more and more of them surfaced on on-line venues. The price tumbled, too. Today, complete versions in perfect condition and with their glassine envelope bring in the low $300s. Most collectors dislike this game, saying it is too boring and seems like an after-thought for Beistle due to its uninspired design. 

Halloween Decoration Dated 1925 Fan-Out Tissue On Cardboard Witch//Pumpkin

Beistle produced these small honeycombed favor baskets in four designs from 1927 through 1931. Although they are seldom seen, this design is arguably the best and most coveted of the four. The seller describes it as having a lot of wear, but I would say the condition is average for one of these delicate objects. The entire set is shown at the bottom of page 225. 

06/11 Update: This sold for $138.50. 

ANTIQUE HALLOWEEN BASKETS, 1925 (3) FAN-OUT TISSUE ON CARDBOARD, CATS, PUNKINS

I feel whomever prevailed upon this listing got a real bargain. Vintage Beistle material is hard-to-find and typically brings very strong prices. To find honeycomb items in the condition the seller states is unusual, so I am mystified as to why this trio didn't bring stronger dollars, especially considering there have been so many recycled listings on eBay for so long. 

VTG 1925 BEISTLE HONEYCOMB WITCH & CAT CAULDRON BASKET HALLOWEEN DECORATION

And the pleasurable avalanche of quality Beistle continues...It is great to see such a wealth of vintage Halloween being made available for sale this season. This favor basket, one of four designs of this size, doesn't come up for sale often. Issued by Beistle from 1927-1931, these survivors are hardy specimens as these favor baskets are inherently fragile with their honeycomb bases. Turn to page 225 to see all four to the set. 

10/23 Update: This sold for a surprisingly low price - $170.17. 

Vintage Halloween Beistle Party Favor Basket, Cat & JOL, Orange Honeycomb, 1925

Has vintage Beistle from the Golden Age ever been hotter? These favor baskets surface from time to time, but their prices, like the prices for so much of the much-coveted early Beistle material have gone right into the stratosphere. I'm really glad these wonderful things are finding their way to home where they'll be cared for and appreciated! 

Halloween BAT with WINGS 1940s

Here is another listing from the same seller with the winged ghost decoration. This devil bat was made by Beistle only from 1925-1931. Given its six season production run, these are extraordinarily difficult to find complete. Typically, the wings are ripped and/or the feet are missing. Often, the horns are long gone. I love just how evil this diecut is! The manufacturers made party decorations for adults back then, and this design exemplifies this fact. In my view, this is one of the VERY best examples of this incredibly desirable Beistle masterpiece. If you don't own one, bid on this one for sure! 

09/25 Update: Items from Beistle's Golden Age have been white-hot for many years and keep setting record prices. Here is another record: This superb example sold for $1,025. 

Iconic Halloween Honeycomb Witch Centerpiece

Although this is not a vintage item, it is worth your attention. Beistle made a similar witch table decoration in 1930-1931 that had an easel and arms jointed at the shoulders and elbows. The honeycomb skirt came in orange, black, green, yellow, orange and green and yellow and black. They recycled their Horrible Witch art first used in the mid-1920s. I've been collecting for nearly 30 years and have only seen the vintage witch table decoration exactly once, and I bought that for the collection. (It is shown on page 224.) This seller decided to see if he could make something similar - and he has succeeded! I came into possession of one of his creations with a yellow and black skirt and it is a true eye-catcher. I have woven it in to my displays and am VERY pleased with it. The sturdy honeycomb forms a full circle enabling it to stand without an easel. I sure wish I had this seller's artistic talent. He is a long-time knowledgeable collector. My understanding is that he has made only a few of these. The starting bid price of $5 is startlingly low. Do yourself a favor and snatch up one of these superb creations. I'm confident you'll be extremely pleased too. 

09/15 Update: I was glad to see the market recognized how special this newly created artisan item was with a closing price of $78. Congrats, Chris! 

Vintage Halloween Rare 1925 Beistle Witch/ Cauldron/JOL Honeycomb Basket- LOOK!!

It is such a pleasant surprise to see an exceedingly rare Beistle item on the rather sad selling platform that Ebay has become. (This decay began when their management chose to compete with Amazon rather than focusing on cultivating sellers of rare, vintage goods.) This favor basket was sold from 1927-1931. Beistle made four different designs, all measuring ~4" x ~4". All of them have an RSIN of 2. The condition issues on this example could be easily rectified by a careful, competent paper restorer. (I can recommend ACA Paper Restoration in Devon, PA.) These baskets almost never become available for sale, so it'll be fun to see what this brings. 

03/09 Update: Whomever was the prevailing bidder received a true bargain, snatching this up for less than $160. Bravo!

Neat Large Antique Orig. Halloween Witch Stand Up w/ Crepe Fold-Out Skirt USA

This is an exceedingly rare item, so rare that I have never seen this crepe paper color iteration even once. Made by Beistle for a single season in 1930, this incredible item could easily be restored. The buyer got a true bargain grabbing this for a trifle. 

Beistle Tango Witch Halloween Decoration

I know the sellers were astonished at this ending price - as am I. Given the fully disclosed poor condition of the item, this ending price is wholly unsustainable. If you look at the bidding history, you'll see that the bidding would have leveled off at a reasonable $150, again given the item's poor condition, if not for two bidders who wished to own it at such a stratospheric price against all reason. Ebay sure is an odd place! Sometimes treasures go for a song while problematic items bring dollars they shouldn't.