About 10-12 years ago, a small cache of mint Spook's Trip games was found and briefly washed over the market. I haven't seen that many unused examples since then. Beistle produced this diminutive game during the 1950s. SGV is $100.
08/21 Update: This sold for a strong $152.50.
09/25 Update: Another sold on 09/21 for $169.16.
This stunt game was produced by Beistle during the 1930s. Like this particular example, when these surface they typically have one or more of the perforated areas disturbed. This sold for $125. A pristine example would go for much more. Pre-1950s Beistle items have been a hot market segment for many years.
This is the rarer of the two versions of this game produced by Beistle in 1930 and 1931. The other has a hat-wearing cat at the top, no clock dial or metal spinner and an easel. Although it is easier to display than the version up for auction, the auction version is visually more interesting and typically commands a 30-50% premium to the other version. Interestingly, this particular item was a salesman sample. I have other Beistle items in the collection with the same handwriting.
I'm surprised at the ending price, as these typically trade in the $50-75 range. Gibson produced at least six different tongue twisters, as these were sold in glassine envelopes from 1928-1932. They also produced a smaller version with full-bodied cats that I think are visually more appealing. Both can be seen on page 23.
This seller realized bafflingly high prices for nearly all seven of the skittle pieces they listed, with this one ending at the most baffling amount. (As this is being written, the same seller has listed an additional five skittles.) These items are quite common, surface regularly and typically fetch between $65-85. As a shout out to a long-time collector who chafes at these items being described as skittles, it is quite possible they were meant to be table decorations only. When I first began collecting, I had several (even then) long-time collectors and dealers advise me as to what I was seeing. (Remember that back in 1988 there were no references solely devoted to our fine hobby.) Paul Schofield and Mary Lou Holt described this set to me as skittles and described how they were used. I accepted the conveyed information and never thought too much more about it. However, I accept that they may have been incorrect.
I'm glad to see this great Beistle game finally getting some love. These typically don't fetch more than $100-125, and I've often wondered why. Although the innards are ho-hum, the box lid has excellent graphics that make for an eye-catching display. This game was released in 1932 and wasn't offered at retail for more than a season or two.
I don't understand why some collectors feel this has a connection to Halloween. Although it is a fortune game, that fact doesn't connect it to Halloween any more than a fortune cookie at your favorite Chinese food restaurant connects to Halloween. Because this game has no graphical connection to Halloween, I've never included it in any edition of Vintage Halloween Collectibles.
I'm glad to see these items selling so well even though they come up for sale often. I recently had an exchange with a long-time collector as to whether these items are really skittle game pieces or are simply decorative elements for a table. When I first began exploring the fun world of vintage Halloween collecting in 1988, I took my cues from dealers and collectors active in the hobby for many years preceding my involvement. Two of these folks, Paul Schofield and Mary Lou Holt, described these items the same way - as skittles. (No one ever described them differently.) Over the years, I've seen a few boxes surface for these items. These boxes do not describe them as anything other than Hallowe'en Figures. So, what is the real answer?
09/01 Update: I've received a number of meaty replies. Here is the one I like best: "The pumpkin head skittle you commented on presents another clue. The base on all three that are for sale on eBay currently have a bigger base than the usual. It has a double slot which would be for a place or name card in front I believe. That would lend credence to the table favor use. However I think this base is rather rare as I've usually seen only the narrow base with slanted sides. The narrow ones would be usable in a bowling type game. Skittles was a very popular game during this time so you can't totally discard that idea. Perhaps multiple sales ideas for the same product? Crazy how variations keep being unearthed in many of the German products. THANKS so much for your work!! It's means a lot to dealers and collectors to get this information."
This is one of the earliest commercially produced Halloween party games. It is unusual to see this intact, because to play it you had to cut it up. That alone makes this a worthwhile something to acquire. Saalfield was a long-lived Akron, Ohio based firm best known for being a publisher of children's books. Founded in 1900, they survived through 1977. This party game was copyrighted in 1907 and produced for several seasons on muslin. There was a smaller enveloped version made from 1910-1919. This later version was printed on cheap paper that hasn't held up well over a century's time. The muslin game should fetch around $100.
The seller is offering this not uncommon Beistle game for $149.95. SGV is $60, so I don't feel anyone will be interested at that price. The seller is offering a "make offer" option, so I would advise $45-55 is the right price given its condition. Beistle secured a copyright for this game in 1935, but didn't actually produce for distribution until 1938. Production continued for many seasons thereafter.
Beistle issued several versions of this party staple, Fortune Wheel for Hallowe'en Parties. The one offered here is the third and last iteration, produced from 1932-1935. It differed from its predecessors by lacking a honeycomb base and attached fortune flaps. The first and second iterations were produced from 1928-1931. The first was ~11.75" high whereas the second, smaller one measured ~9" high. In terms of rarity from hardest-to-find to most common, the order would be 2, 1 then 3. The one offered by this seller typically fetches $225 in near-perfect condition, which this is not. The seller dismisses the reproductions issued by Beistle itself as "cheap." I don't agree with that characterization. The reproductions are well made and issued with care shown to the collector's market by having them marked in such a way that it is impossible to confuse old from new. I applaud Beistle's consideration of the secondary markets.
Be cautious here. These games were made sometime after 1980 and don't have the collectible value of the first iteration version made in the United States. The next iteration was made in Japan. This iteration is one I haven't seen before, and was made in Taiwan. The styrofoam middle is also something new to me. It screams "crap." Unpunched games from the 1920s and 1930s are desirable and hard-to-find. This isn't that.
I am blown away by what this game brought. The Jack-O-Lantern Target game was produced by Parker Brothers from 1929-1932 and almost never comes available for sale. As with most games, the most interesting aspect of it are the graphics on the box lid. Although nearly complete, missing only at least 7 cork bullets and the advertising card, the condition of the box is so poor that $1525 seems quite high. I bought the one in the collection at an auction in Minnesota in 2000. I have seen only a few since, all with much better boxes than this one. They all sold for significantly less than this one.
The price paid for this was much too high. Produced by Beistle in the mid-1950s, this diminutive Ghostly Stunt and Fortune Game typically trades for $75. Factoring in the jaw-droppingly high price the seller is charging for shipping a wafer-thin piece of cardboard measuring 4x6", I would not have given it a second glance, even when assuming it would sell for the sustainable guide value.
There was a time when what this seller is offering this great game for would be a steal. Those days are gone for a few more years, at least. As I write on page 125, "About 20 of these were discovered in an old drugstore in Kentucky and were sold at auction in Ohio several years ago. These have been filtering into the marketplace since, greatly reducing the value of this item for the short and medium terms." I feel that $1,100 to $1,200 is the current market value of a mint example of this game - long one of my favorite items.
