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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.

1920's Antique German Halloween Die Cut Candy Box-- Rare & Hard to Find

This is just a poorly married item. Some untalented end-user simply glued a tatty German diecut to a box. The arched-back black cat diecut doesn’t even fit on the box top properly. This seller, one of the earliest collectors on the scene, really should know better. It is disappointing to see this kind of junk listed as something worth collecting. It has decorative value only - nothing approaching the price this seller is dreaming to get.

Vintage Metal Halloween Noisemaker Snaggletooth Witch 8"

You can confidently date this long-produced gypsy witch clanger to the 1950s. How? Earlier versions used wood balls for both sides. As with all tin litho manufacturers, T. Cohn had to find a way to compete in the cutthroat 1950s thanks to an onslaught of cheaply made Japanese products. One of their cost saving measures was to replace the wood balls with these unattractive flat-stamped pieces of tin. I prefer the earlier versions.

Vintage Kirchhof Metal Slide Whistle Halloween Noisemaker

When I was a new collector I saw these fairly regularly. Times sure have changed! I haven't seen one being offered for sale for some time. It’s great that some nice items finally are being listed on eBay after a dispiriting run where virtually all listings were forgettable. The RSIN for this slider noisemaker is 2 with a sustainable guide value of $150. Kirchhof made this nicely designed slider in the early 1930s. I can't think of similarly designed tin litho noisemakers, so if you don't have this yet in your collection, this item looks to be in very nice condition.

08/04 Update: This great item sold for $156.28.

July Break

Hi Faithful Readers,

eBay has been such a crapfest these last few weeks that I’ve struggled to find anything on which to comment. I am going to take a break from blogging for the month of July. There are so many fun things to do outdoors that being cooped up tending to the blog is unappealing. Have a Happy 4th! I’ll return with some posts on August 1st.

Doily or mat, witches, bats, Great condition

The prices these individual non-embossed paper doilies have been bringing boggle my mind. Produced during the 1920s - probably by Whitney - they were sold in glassine envelopes in quantities of 10 per envelope. I have a complete set of these in the envelope. You can see it on page 282. I’d be happy to sell the package for $800 plus shipping. (I’d also sell the green set for $800 plus shipping.)

Vintage 1920’s Dennison Halloween Die Cut Reference Bogie Book NICE

The seller is offering this 1926 Dennison Bogie Book as a BIN for $125 and is willing to entertain offers. This edition is typically found in bad shape due to the low quality of paper stock Dennison inexplicably used for this particular edition. This looks to be in nice shape, so the asking price is reasonable. If you can snag this for $100-125, it is a bargain.

Facebook Halloween Scam

I was alerted this morning by a collecting friend to a scam that occurred on one of the Facebook groups dealing with vintage Halloween. Apparently someone posted vintage Halloween things for sale, collected money from several people and then vanished, laughing all the way to wherever they live their miserable existence.

I have nothing to do with social media. Not only does it trivialize life, but unless the corporations that own these entities are going to pay me for using my personal information - no thanks.

This scam underscores how important it is in being selective with whom you do business these days, especially for such expensive items like truly available and truly vintage Halloween. Here is my advice:

  • Buy from people on proper selling sites like eBay with solid feedback, not these quasi-selling sites like FB. Having recourse is a prime consideration.

  • Buy only from people you know or from those to whom you’ve been referred.

  • Ask me. I’ve been collecting for over 30 years and know the market and its sellers. I’ll tell you the sellers with whom it is great to transact business.

SCARCE 1920's Embossed Halloween Jack o' Lantern Pirate Diecut Decoration

This seller priced this too low. This large pirate JOL face diecut was on eBay for only a few minutes before it was gone. (I saw it and clicked to buy it but it was already gone.) The seller referenced my book, pointing out that smaller yet similar ones appeared on page 181, yet oddly priced this at ~half of sustainable guide value. If it would have been listed with an auction format, I know it would have brought many more dollars.

Vintage Heavy Embossing Pulp Cat in Costume Halloween Decoration Germany 15.5"

I’m glad to see this not uncommon diecut garner such strong dollars, certainly due to its condition. I recently acquired a near-mint German fence diecut complete with four figures. This diecut is quite long, about 28” or so. It is exceedingly rare. I’ve looked for one for years, but never found one good enough to be part of the collection. I finally found one being sold along with many other fine things out of an old collection near Philadelphia. Its acquisition has caused me to begin planning for a massive overhaul of two large walls currently covered with diecuts. My intention is to deaccession about one-third of my German diecuts, keeping only the rarest and those in the very best condition. The overhaul will be a big chore, one that I haven’t been eager to start. When it is done, I think I’ll gain more satisfaction from having fewer diecuts spread a little farther apart. So, stay tuned. I’ll be selling lots of German diecuts in a few months.

Dennison 1920s Nut Cup Place Card Jack O'Lanterns unfolded Black & Orange Graph

eBay has been such a wasteland of late that I’ve struggled to find anything to write about, so it refreshing to see this fun and rare Dennison nut cup. They first issued this item in 1928 with a stock number of H566. I’m happy to see such a strong result but not surprised given the paucity of quality items lately and how well respected the seller is in the collecting community.

Rare Halloween German Antique Diecut Witch 2 piece 3D effect Black Cat Crow 9”

It’s heartening to see rare diecuts like this surface amongst the vast array of crapola that has largely become eBay. I first saw this diecut when I acquired one for the collection in September 2015. I think it was amongst the designs made in 1935 for export to Canada. It is quite an eye-catcher with the white hair. The use of a crow is also unusual. As I type this, the price has been bid up to $392.79. I expect it to go much higher. Good luck!

06/12 Update: I felt this should have brought more. It ended at $1,312.