This tally bursts with energy - so typical of many Gibson small paper items. Contrast this smile-inducing gem with the static and drab artwork shown on the candy box in the post below. You can’t go wrong with this long-time and very knowledgeable seller - one of my favorites.
02/23 Update: This awesome seller received a top bid of $46 for this super tally.
This common pulp JOL was produced by ATCO during the early 1960s. Complete examples have a cardboard cover for the hole on the bottom. This result is another surprising one this season as these typically bring $35-45.
The apogee of Hallmark’s design aesthetic was reached with the intricately colored items from this set issued in the late 1920s. There is a tally of the image with the cat and owl playing cards that is quite a bit larger than the identical image on this place card. There is an even more intricate invitation from this same set. Prior to my acquiring one recently, I had never seen this place card before. I have come to appreciate Hallmark’s output from this narrow range of years. If you appreciate the best of small paper, this card is one you must acquire.
Beistle had a short-lived, but apparently fruitful, relationship with German artisans. The common lantern seen on page 37 and this precursor to their iconic 1930 are two solid examples of this alliance. This lantern was produced in two sizes with this one being the smaller. It comes available less frequently than the larger version. This seems to be in quite nice condition having both the original bottom and the very-often-missing top connector.
The G.M. Company produced several large heavy cardboard candy holders, all with unusual and memorable imagery. They also produced the much more common set of six smaller candy holders you can find on page 54. The larger holders almost never surface in nice condition. This one is in as nice of condition as they come. The bonus here are the sellers. They are close friends of mine who have a great (perhaps unsurpassed) eye for antiques and collectibles. You can wholly place your trust in their listings! Be sure to check out the other super items they have up for auction right now.
This Beistle garland is incomplete. They made two versions - one with 10 JOLs and one with 13 JOLs. Given that the complete garland was held together with easily bent rivets, garland remnants, like this one, surface more often than complete garlands.
This is a very desirable JOL garland produced by Beistle during the 1920s. Another reference cites this as being produced later but the generous use of primitive rivets or joiners throughout makes this unlikely. I have a complete, near-mint+ example in the collection, which appears on page 145. The seller is right - it originally was complete with 13 JOLs with rectangular block ends. This is only the second time I’ve seen this garland. I would encourage the seller to be more precise in her description relative to the 2 JOLs that fell off. Are they still extant? If so, making the garland whole is a small task, indeed, given how primitively the sections are joined. If complete, this garland is a must-have for serious collectors.
Beistle produced at least two versions of this garland during the early 1920s. One measured ~60” while the other measured 72”. The 10-JOL version was produced earlier than the 13-JOL version. Most of these were one-sided. In any event, this seller is the very embodiment of the word optimist. They are asking $1,450 with an option to make an offer. Even in this day of overheated prices, it is worth at best $450 given the overall condition.
It’s hard to tell from the poor photos provided with this listing the precise condition of this lantern, produced by Beistle during the early 1930s. Is it slanted so that it won’t stand properly? The description is almost indecipherable, almost as if the seller was trying to write a haiku. In any event, if the lantern isn’t slanted from poor storage, this is a hard one to find and would be a good one to acquire for a collection. Dimensions aren’t provided by our very poor poet, but if it like the one in the collection it measures 9.25” high by 10.25” across.
05/02 Update: The seller stopped the listing and relisted the lantern due to an accident involving the lantern wherein it was further damaged.
Hallmark produced a wide variety of these small, non-embossed diecuts on a thin cardboard stock during the later 1920s and into the 1930s. For a long time I thought these items were produced by Whitney. However, as I added to my collection of items actually marked by Hallmark, I began to see that many of these diecuts appeared as images on their tally and place cards.
Some firms were disciplined about marking their individual items. Dennison was probably the most disciplined, followed by Beistle beginning in the 1930s. Hallmark falls in the vast middle with Whitney surely being the least disciplined.
04/23 Update: This sold for $16.50.
This mint little nut cup is being offered by a knowledgeable and trustworthy seller. You can have confidence in dealing with them.
03/17 Update: This great item brought a strong $58.
I haven’t seen this tally many times. I think it was produced by Whitney during the 1920s. Have confidence in dealing with this wonderful seller.
At ~8” high, this is the largest such candy container I’ve ever seen. The seller took a risk at starting it at $498, but the lot has received two bids already. What a monster!
I’ve received lots of questions as to my opinion on this lantern. Given that I owned the larger and one-of-a-kind parade lantern made by the same artist or artist’s collective from 1997 through 2017, I am confident that it is genuine, dating from 1908-1912. (However, short of personally examining it, this is only an opinion. Don’t rely on it for anything.) I feel that the mouth insert is not original. Please refer to page 129 for more on the parade lantern.
10/04 Update: This lantern brought $5600, significantly in excess of the $2500-3000 they’ve brought over the last 5 years.
This band hat was produced by Beistle during 1930-1931. It looks to be in remarkable condition, although jamming it onto a styrofoam head makes me wince. The imagery is compelling. I consider it to be one of their best hats!
09/224 Update: This sold for $321.
