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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.

VINTAGE HALLOWEEN EIGHT DENNISONS NO. H-37 WITCH DIE CUT OUTS & ENVELOPE 1940'S

I believe the envelope and the broomed witch cut-outs are fake. I have a vintage set in the collection and there are material differences. The problems I see are many: the image on the envelope isn’t centered; the image of the witch intrudes on the Dennison logo; the feet of the witch are blocky, lacking all of the detail present in the authentic example; the envelope differs in size from the authentic example; the envelope appears to be made from a coarse paper; the envelope is constructed differently from the authentic example; the flap isn’t shaped the way Dennison shaped their flaps; the cut-outs lack the detail present in the authentic examples, especially in the outline of the cape. I would tread with caution. Ask this seller many questions. If someone buys this, feel free to send it to me for my perusal. This seller has also listed a fence with an envelope with the stock number missing. This latter set has been reproduced. A very discerning collector in North Carolina bought such a set and sent it to me for my perusal. I concluded it was a fake. He managed to get a refund. Whether this was the seller for that transaction is unknown.

07/30 Update: This listing, containing items I believe to be faked, ended at $61. Whomever bought this, I invite you to contact me to arrange shipment so that I may inspect this in person.

08/08 Update: The buyer has just today sent these to me so that I can personally examine them. I’ll post my findings when they arrive.

08/10 Update: I examined the envelope and contents today. The entire thing is a fake. An additional anomaly I noticed is the tittle in Dennison is missing. The cut-outs are notably smaller and do not exactly match the envelope’s printed image. The authentic cut-outs would cover the printed image precisely. If you are going to purchase items from this seller, trappedintheshadow, ask many questions of her.

Box of 40 Vintage HALLOWEEN WITCH Dennison Gummed Seals - Very Cool!

Dennison rarely strayed from packaging their awesome wares in boxes and envelopes that have become familiar to collectors. For reasons I don’t know, they sometimes switched things up with their packaging. I’ve had this same set in the collection for many years. It is one of two seal designs packaged in a non-traditional manner. (The other is a tiny box of simple JOLs.) These seals and the box rarely surface. Collectors may have been confused by the packaging, accounting for what I consider a low ending result.

Vintage German Halloween 1920's Large 37" Heavily Embossed Jointed Skeleton

Those industrious Germans produced jointed or articulated highly embossed skeleton diecuts in three sizes. The 27” version surfaces regularly. This seller auctioned one of these that brought $188.75. This 37” version is much less common - and the ending price reflects this fact. The largest one of all measures 50” and almost never comes up for sale. It would probably crest $1000.

NEAR MINT RARE Vintage Halloween House of Fate Fortune Paper Card, Whitney 1930s

I love the House of Fate fortunes issued by Whitney during the early 1930s. What I’ve discovered about these little design treasures is that every single one I’ve ever examined is subtly (sometimes very subtly) different than any other. If you compare the one being offered for sale by this wonderful seller by the ones shown on page 278, you may think it is identical to the one shown at middle left or bottom right. You’d be wrong. For reasons I don’t understand, the lines comprising the windows are subtly different as are the lines and shapes of the lowest roof border. (Take out a magnifying glass and see for yourself.) Now, in terms of value and desirability, I acknowledge this is a distinction without a difference, but isn’t it a mystery? Why would Whitney have printed so many meaningless variations? That said, these are VERY desirable items. It’ll be fun to see what this brings.

07/30 Update: This brought the near-record price of $385.22!

Vintage halloween Sign Grim Reaper Skeleton Right this way and watch out RARE

Gibson produced this fantastic non-embossed diecut during the early 1930s. I’ve now seen this three times. Given that the hand is neither detached nor missing, the ending bid isn’t outlandish, especially given the visual statement this piece makes. Gibson differentiated itself from its better capitalized competitors, Beistle and Dennison, by bold designs that catch the eye even nearly a century later. Their output was far less than their named competitors, so it may be a while before another surfaces.

Rare 1920's Chein Tin Lithographed Halloween Tambourine Black Cats Witch JOL

The seller states that this tin litho tambourine “needs” a new home. One way to hasten the finding of a new abode is to offer it at a reasonable price. It is being offered at $500 with an invitation to make an offer, a sure tip-off that a seller knows the asking price is ridiculous. I’d say a reasonable offer given the softness of the market segment is in the $250-275 range.

1920's Beistle Fairy Clock Halloween Die Cut

This wonderful, colorful and large Beistle fairy clock was produced for a single season, 1923. Overall, it is in better condition than average. However, in addition to the missing large hand, notice the crease to the body and the missing tip of the fairy’s wing. Again, these are minimally material given the clock’s size and irregular border. As I type this out, the bidding has reached $482. It still has room to run.

07/21 Update: This sold for a respectable $910.

Vintage Halloween BEISTLE Witch Mechanical Invitation with Envelope

This primitive set of mechanical invitations is arguably among the earliest Halloween items Beistle offered on a retail basis. If you look at the last photo this seller includes, you’ll see what I wrote about the set in my third edition. Every example I’ve seen of this envelope - and I have seen ~30 examples - has the same handwritten strikeout over the printed quantity with the same number, 5, handwritten on the envelope. I don’t know why this was done, although my theory is that the quality of these early offerings caused Beistle senior management to get rid of excess inventory as quickly as possible without the added expense of reprinting the envelopes. I speculate…

07/23 Update: Surprisingly, this didn’t bring strong dollars - $72.

Die-Cut 1930s Halloween Party Invitation Pop Up Ghost Black Cat Jack O Lantern

This invitation is rare but in terrible condition. Not only is the interior soiled with writing, but it was once stored in an album, with evidence of this too apparent on the reverse. If you look on page 277, you’ll find two different invitations almost certainly from the same set, all probably produced by Whitney. Prices for small paper are very high right now - unsustainably high. This is just another data point for this conclusion.