Vintage Halloween CARDBOARD CAT DRIVING JOL CAR CANDY HOLDER - 1940'S - USA!

The G.M. Company produced a number of slot and tab candy boxes during the 1940s and 1950s. Their most popular and easily found designs were a set of six first produced during the mid-to-late 1940s. This whimsical cat driving a skeptical JOL is one of this set of six. (You can see the others on page 54.) These are not typically found in this superb condition. Even the colors are bright! If you care about doing business with knowledgeable and upstanding sellers, you can’t go wrong with klectibles!

08/02 Update: This brought an astounding $225.35.

VINTAGE 1930's Gibson HALLOWEEN Party Tally Card BLACK CAT inside JACK O-LANTERN

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.

Antique Gibson Halloween Gummed Seal Black Cats in NM box 1930 RARE

Here’s another aberrant result for small paper, all too common this crazy season. If it wasn’t for two apparently wealthy bidders this would have ended around where it should have - $100. It is a box of Gibson seals with only ~half of its contents!

Vtg Halloween Hallmark Diecut Place card Cat Owl JOL Moon H83 - Unused, Rare!

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.

LARGE vintage Dennison's "Singing Cat & Witch" diecut! Rare & near mint. 1928!

This fantastic diecut is in remarkable condition. In fact, it may be in the best condition I’ve seen. It seems as if Dennison printed this in 1928, a buyer came along then tucked it gently into a drawer never opening it again until it was liberated for this listing. I think the buyer is right - the songbook being held was almost certainly meant to serve another purpose. I can imagine this hung on a wall at a long-ago party with “FOOD” and an arrow contained within the perimeter of the songbook. Awesome! It will be fun to see what this brings.

Vintage Halloween Paper Mache Cat Candy Container

This seller must be an optimist. They are offering this relatively common pulp cat with damage at the bargain price of $250, with no chance to make an offer. Only on eBay. This late 1940s pulp cat in this condition seldom breaks $100.

GREAT ANTIQUE VINTAGE HALLOWEEN WITCH, BLACK CAT, & OWL CANDLES NEVER BEEN USED

This lot consisting of three candles is unusual in that I’ve not seen any of these designs before. I wonder if the witch could be by Gurley? I don’t think the other two are. I feel the owl is the star of the lot.

Antique/Vtg BIG Die Cut Cardboard Halloween Cat Double Face Lantern Orig Insert

Beistle produced this lantern in the very early 1940s, along with an owl face design they often sold then as a set. Neither lantern has ever garnered much enthusiasm on the secondary market, for reasons that escape me. Is the item too large? Is the design unappealing?

Vintage "Halloween Parade" E. Rosen Rosbro Plastic Cat Pushing Pumpkin on Wheels

The seller has posted this for $899.99. Good luck!

vintage HALLOWEEN place card circa 1920s hold to light black cat

This is a wonderfully rare example of a hold-to-light place card, produced by an unknown manufacturer during the 1920s. These are rare enough that I only added one to the collection a few years ago. The buyer got a bargain at $137.50.

Vintage Halloween Scratch Jointed Black Cat Beistle Original Envelope c1920s

If you ever have a chance to acquire an early Beistle envelope like this one, jump on it. By the ending price, it is evident that at least two people understood just how rare and desirable early envelopes are. This isn’t even one of Beistle’s masterpieces. Take a look at the Hallowe’en Elf envelope on page 125 to see what is arguably the pinnacle of their artistic care of something truly meant to be disposable.

Halloween Pressed Paper Hanging Decorations Large OWL, small cat & small bat

It’s pretty rare that I am able to get a bargain on eBay outside of the mispriced BIN listings. This auction-format listing actually ran for a full week. I put in a bid significantly higher than what I ended up paying for this lot - a relative pittance of about $110 with shipping. Lots of collectors were asleep at the switch or were inundated with the avalanche of listings that materialize at this time of the year. Although the owl is quite nice, it was far eclipsed by my interest in the two mini-diecuts - both rare enough that I’ve never seen them. Although the bat is not in the condition normally required to become part of the collection, it is energetic and full of personality. I have a similar cat with the tail demurely by its side, but not this great design. For once - an auction bargain!

Later Update: Well, not so fast. A good friend pointed out to me that the mini-diecuts I was so excited about look to be cut-outs from two of the set of six German diecuts of characters with crescent moons that you can see on page 184. I don’t know how I didn’t see that before. So, the only person asleep at the switch was me. The lesson here is that even someone who has been collecting for 31 years can be dumb enough to waste money on remnants! Very good catch, CR. How I wish I would have had your wise counsel before bidding on the lot!

VTG 11" BEISTLE Halloween Black Cat Pumpkin Bat Honeycomb ORIG CT

It’s great to finally see some quality items on eBay, a forum that has lost much of its luster due to its lackluster policing of the categories, its practice of automatically listing and relisting the same crapola without requiring sellers to lower prices, its disparate treatment of sellers versus buyers and the seemingly endless increases to fees.
This rare hat produced by Beistle only during 1930-1931 is an example of the stuff I’d like to see more of on eBay. Beistle produced a limited number of inspired designs for their band hats during this interval. This is one of their best designs. (You can see others on page 240.) Although this isn’t in near-mint condition, I haven’t seen one for sale for so long that it may not make that much of a difference.

08/18 Update: This brought $202.50. Condition did seem to impact the bidding.

RARE Vintage Halloween 20s Black Cat Waving Walking Die Cut Germany N. MINT HTF

I love this heavily embossed German diecut. It has so much energy and personality. It’s one you don’t see very often. The bonus is that it is being sold by one of the good guys. The seller is knowledgeable, honest and a true collector in his own right. Don’t hesitate in doing business with him! This particular item appears to be in exceptional condition. I appreciate and value the minimalist description. I wish more sellers would just stick to the basics rather than going on and on in their descriptions. This diecut is “2” on my RSIN and was produced during a short window in the 1920s.

08/06 Update: I’m so glad to see this gem sold for $251.50.

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.