RARE Vintage Halloween DEVIL Tiara Diadem Diecut Decoration. Germany 1930s

This seller has four of the better tiara designs listed for sale right now. Overall, condition seems to be quite good. The Germans issued these as a set of 12 during the 1920s. I feel individual designs were also sold separately. Given the recent sale wherein another tiara design brought an unsustainable price of $1608.14, I felt we'd be seeing others flushed out by the frenzy generated by a relative handful of determined, deep-pocketed bidders. What I didn't expect was to see some of the best and rarest designs being offered is such fine condition. The Halloween market seems to be too frothy right now. It'll be interesting to see what prices these tiaras bring on September 3rd. 

09/04 Update: The devil tiara brought $790. The seller's other three tiaras brought $1782.12, $1982.12 and $2182.12. These are astounding sums. I will sell any of my tiaras - I own all 12 - for an average of these last three prices! :) 

NICE Vintage Foil Jointed HALLOWEEN EVIL DEVIL Skull Crossbones RARE

This was a high price to pay for this fairly common foil diecut. They surface regularly. This devil was produced by Happy Holiday of Battleboro, Massachusetts during the late 1950s and into the early 1960s. They typically change hands for $30-40. Foil items have not been a strong market segment for many years - if ever. Is that changing? More selling data points will tell the story. At this point, I feel this result is an outlier. 

Vintage Halloween DEVIL 30" jointed Die Cut ? Beistle Electric Man

Here's a great Beistle item you don't often see. This was issued for the 1931 season only and marketed as a Lightning Wumpus, one of four large jointed designs Beistle issued. They issued two in 1929 and two in 1931. (You can see them all on page 146.) This is one of their two best, the other being the scowling Skairo. This one appears to be in remarkable condition given how much can go wrong with this large item with its wholly irregular edges. SGV is $525. 

06/24 Update: This seems to be a slow time for quality listings - and when they do surface, the results, at least in this case, have to be disappointing. This stellar item sold for well below SGV. It brought $407. The buyer must be on cloud nine. 

Orig. Rare Vintage 1910-1914 Halloween Devil Candy Container 8" Made In Germany

This is an exceedingly rare and desirable devil from the grand trio of capacious candy containers made in Germany in the early days. (The others are a witch and a black cat.) This listing represents a rare opportunity to acquire a tippy-top-shelf item through an auction format. I am personal friends with the seller and know him to be a knowledgeable and selective collector. The fact that he is fun, decent and forthright are simply bonuses. If you want to get an item that will almost certainly enhance your collection, you are looking at it. 

04/02 Update: This brought $1725. 

1920s German Composition Arched-Back Black Cat atop Devil Head Candy Container

This is one of the most pleasing devil head candy containers I've seen for some time. I like its surprised, slightly dazed expression. I see that someone asked whether this is a truly vintage item. I don't have any doubts on that score. In looking closely at the ample photos provided, everything is as it should be. The flaking of the cat's paint is quite common, and for those whom it really bothers, easily remedied. (I would encourage the soon-to-be-new-owner to leave the paint untouched...) I am not buying vintage German compo candy containers much these days, but this one sure is tempting! 

Vintage Devil Satan Paper Mache Halloween Lantern

I've seen these oddly colored devil head lanterns occasionally over the decades and remain unimpressed. They just don't have the impact the traditionally toned ones have for me. I do believe F.N. Burt made these with varying odd colorations, probably late in the overall production run. As with all inserts I haven't examined personally, I assume it is newer. Sustainable guide value for this lantern with a typical look is $350. I can't imagine, even during an optimal listing time, that this would get more than a fraction of that value, even if it didn't have a carved bottom. 

01/19 Update: This brought $153.50, a bit more than I would have guessed. 

~ 1930's Paper Mache Halloween Devil ~Vintage Jack O Lantern ~Pumpkin

Personally, I have never been a fan of pulp. Even when I first started to troll the antiques stores in 1988 for vintage Halloween items, I'd almost always pass on purchasing pulp. I felt and feel the genre is too common and too space-consuming. That said, I do have a few pulp items in the collection. One of the designs I have long liked is this devil head lantern. (I like this design far more than the other one shown on page 29.) It exudes a slightly threatening air, so different than the vast majority of pulp JOLs, especially the choir boy designs I especially dislike. Given its overall condition, this sold right around where I feel it should have. 

VINTAGE HALLOWEEN DEVIL LANTERN GERMANY PRE 1920's MASSIVE SIZE AT 14"T X 13"W

This magnificent lantern leviathan is a true showstopper. While I was scrolling through the listings I couldn't pass it by, the imagery is that strong. These huge lanterns were store displays and were made right around 1919 and then for 1-2 more seasons. I have seen three designs over the years - this devil, a witch head and an eerie JOL. I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen this lantern. These are so rare that lantern collectors should be scrambling to be the prevailing bidder. I'll be watching! The bonus here is the seller, an honest person who strives to be correct in her listings. It would be hard to find a nicer seller. 

10/02 Update: This superb item sold for $2,550! 

1920's Rare Beistle Devil Diecut, Jointed

It is satisfying to see some real treasures amongst the dross that makes up this eBay category! I have seen this non-embossed diecut come available only a handful of times in my nearly 30 years of collecting. This diecut was produced by Beistle during the mid-1920s. There is a somewhat slightly more common variant Beistle produced without the tail, but I find it less interesting. The condition issues the seller conscientiously notes aren't concerning. If you appreciate iconic Beistle imagery, don't let this great piece slip by. I like the design so much I've included it in the Inner Sanctum section of the 3rd edition with a guide value of $325-375. 

09/05 Update: This sold for an astounding $922! Looking at the bidding history, there were at least 7 different bidders who pushed it beyond guide value, indicating that that value may be much too low. 

Devil With Flame Bottom- Made In Germany,1920's

This is a common diecut in uncommonly good condition. Nonetheless, the seller's start and BIN prices are the very definition of optimistic: $462.46 and $1156.16, respectively. 

VINTAGE PAPER DEVIL 14" EMBOSSED HALLOWEEN DECORATION GERMANY

What a nice surprise to see this exceedingly rare diecut being auctioned. This is the smaller of two similar designs. (The other can be seen on page 136.) Each is breathtakingly rare. The seller describes this as being in fair condition, but it seems better than that to me. Yes, the bends in the legs are somewhat off-putting, but the separation between the tail and the wing could be easily mended. The last time one was listed was almost exactly one year ago and it fetched $3,100. It was a mirror-image of this one and was in better condition and was much brighter. The Germans made this very late in their production of holiday items for the export market before WWII. These "last year" designs were almost exclusively exported to the population centers in eastern Canada and are among the most interesting, out-there designs the Germans made before WWII - and arguably ever. 
Take a moment and read the questions and answers posted as part of the listing. They all ask for a BIN price to be added, fair game for collectors eager to get a dream piece without the uncertainties of the auction process. The seller is smart, saying basically no - there is too much interest. Read the pathetic question posted by a "Michael," who bangs on about how he wants one and then makes an eye-rollingly low-ball offer of $70. What a schmuck! I kind of hope he never gets to own one of these. 

03/18 Update: I have heard from an avalanche of collectors since this auction ended last night, most stating that if they knew it was going to be sold for such a pittance, they would have bid. The moral of the story is always to place a bid for the maximum you'd want to pay, because sometimes you might score a bargain like whomever this prevailing bidder was. It sold for only $913.99. 
 

HALLOWEEN DEVIL CANDY BOX ANTIQUE COMPOSITION OR PAPER MACHE' NO RESERVE

This is a crudely made fake, possessing none of the detailing or character of the real deal. You can see an authentic example on page 64. The verbiage the seller employs is revealing: "Good condition for being as old as it is, I am not sure of that but it looks pretty old." With all of the indubitably great stuff up right now, leave this POS and its seller behind. 

10/19 Update: I was glad to note that this horrifically made fake garnered only $34.01. The seller should be ashamed offering this crap. 

PRISTINE GERMAN DEVIL PENNANT THE CRÈME de la CRÈME OF HALLOWEEN DIE CUTS

The Germans exported a number of very odd and visually challenging designs in small quantities to eastern Canada in 1935 just before their economic focus became inexorably fixed on war and the door through which exports of wondrous holiday designs flowed slammed shut until after WW2. This devil pennant, one of four pennant designs, is among this group. What captivates me about this item is how it differs from the one in the collection. I greatly prefer this item's black hand with orange fingernails. (It is otherwise identical to the one on page 187.) This one will bring a very high price, as I know several advanced collectors who have never had an opportunity to acquire one in this condition. 

10/16 Update: Although I stated above that the pennant would bring a very high price, I was thinking more in the vicinity of $2000, not $4305.22. Naturally, this result is an aberration that will almost certainly never be replicated. (In the sincere hope that I am wrong, I hereby offer the pennant in my collection for the underbid of $4255.22!) The bidding history shows that the selling price would have settled near the $2000 mark except for two bidders, one of which, the prevailing bidder, has been caught out bidding silly prices for many items over the last few weeks. I've received many inquiries as to whether I think these bids can be genuine. I think they are as none of the items realizing such lofty levels has been relisted to my knowledge. One of my favorite sayings is: The sum of the intelligence of the planet is constant - and the population is growing. The prevailing bidder exemplifies this truism. 

Fantastic New Pulp Witch Head Available

It is rare that I tout anything but vintage items on this blog, but take a look at these. There is an artist named Timothy Ramzyk in Wisconsin who meticulously and painstakingly hand molds his own designs from a heavy, durable pulp. He has five designs in very limited quantities at price points that are in a few words, way too cheap! The designs from last year are a skull, a JOL, a black cat head and a devil head. The devil is shown below. This year he has unveiled a scary green-faced witch - and you can feast your eyes on it alongside the devil. I just got it yesterday and I was awed at the workmanship. I proudly have these two treasures on exhibit in my main display room. (For those who I've been lucky to host at my home, you know that in order for something to be placed in that room, it has to carry its own weight. These do, easily.) 

Now, Tim is only making 12 JOLs and 20 of the other four designs for the entire season. (Of course, there are at most 19 witches left.) The price for the devil, JOL and black cat is $83 each, postpaid. The price for the skull and the awesome new witch is $95 postpaid. 

Tim has created a steel stamp of his logo and has permanently branded his creations, as he has a healthy respect for protecting the vintage market. He numbers and dates each of his creations. 

For those who know me, you know that I rarely buy anything Halloween unless it is vintage. I've made an exception - and you should too. Snap these up before they are ALL GONE by contacting Tim directly at pulpnovelties@aol.com. He lists these as well on eBay and Etsy. 

Authentic, All-Original Vintage Halloween FN Burt Pulp Devil Lantern, USA 1930s

This is one of the finest of these pulp devil head lanterns I've seen in a while. Made by the F.N. Burt Company of the great city of Buffalo, NY during the early 1930s, these surface with some regularity in a limited number of color variants. The "shot-from-below" color scheme is one of the most common. This is offered by a seller who rightly prides herself on customer service, fair pricing and an assortment of vintage goods being offered throughout the year. Bid with confidence.