vintage halloween decorations pre1960

This seller has several interesting assorted lots up for auction. The star of this lot is the gourd-shaped Beistle diecut, which seems to be intact and in collectible condition. Bear in mind that there are material issues with several items: the three-sided Gibson JOL shade is missing its black top-piece that serves to hold the lantern together, the Beistle walking witch diecut has no legs and the bottom ends of the large Beistle diecut of a cat with a smiling moon behind have been trimmed. I’d advise bidding accordingly.

07/29 Update: This sold for much more than I would have expected - $710!

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.

Vintage Halloween Decor: Beistie Cat, Witch and Cats--Poor to Fair Condition

The cat with the honeycomb pumpkin is the throwaway element to this assortment. The two Beistle cats are desirable, but the star of the lot is the Gibson table neckwear place card. It was made during the early 1930s. These seldom come available. The condition is typically problematic, like this one. Still, it would make a good placeholder if it can be gotten cheaply enough.

This lot sold for $161.49!

Vintage Mechanical Halloween Witch & Pumpkin Q&A Die-Cut Card

Gibson produced a line of these witch fortune place cards during the mid-1920s. There are two designs. One shows a witch standing holding a pumpkin, like this one, while the other design shows a witch stirring a cauldron. The latter is more involved and harder to find. The buyer got a bargain on this, as they typically change hands in the $65-85 range.

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!

Vintage Halloween Cardboard Tab & Slot Candy Container Nut Cup Witch Cat Gibson

What a magnificent item! I had never seen this Gibson nut cup design before seeing this listing. I appreciate the detailed rendering of the scene and the colors chosen by the designer. Gibson produced some of the most interesting and avant-garde products. I’ve collected their output (small paper, seals and diecuts) many years. The seller is a long-time, knowledgeable member of the Halloween collecting community. I love doing business with her!

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.

Vintage Halloween Black Owl Seals Gibson Great Condition

I’m glad that boxes of Gibson seals are getting the market attention they deserve. (In fact, a box alone sold for $79!) Gibson was always the also-ran to Dennison in terms of seals - certainly both in artistry and quantity/distribution. Box for box, Gibson seals are much harder to find than Dennison. I began collecting them in earnest 20+ years ago and still only have maybe 30 boxes.

Vintage Gibson Embossed Halloween Seals Jack-O-Lantern IOB Germany

As I write on page 264, “These may be among the first boxed sets of seals Gibson issued. Unlike all other Gibson seals I have seen, each of the seals…is marked on the reverse, “Gibson Line Made in Germany.” I assume this was a very short-lived association …. “ The example in the collection doesn’t have a quantity sticker, so the fact that this listing shows the box held 35 seals is good information.

Vintage Gibson Halloween Black Cat Tally Cards

The buyer of this lot of two Gibson tallies got a bargain. Both are visually appealing, colorful and large. The full-bodied cat looking back is the better of the two. It is rarely seen, especially in collectible condition. That tally alone should have brought $60. This is another example of the perils of using the Buy-It-Now feature when not specializing in what is being sold.

Vintage 1920-30S Gibson 3-Piece Diecut Halloween Table Decoration JOL Fence

One of these sold just two months ago for ~$302, so this ending price represents a serious escalation in perceived value by at least two bidders. These surface enough that I feel the prevailing bidder vastly overpaid.

Vintage Cardboard Orange and Black Halloween Bat, 14" Wide Wing Span

This fearsome bat decoration was produced by Gibson during the 1930s. It is an odd amalgamation of expertly designed bat body with such forgettable, plain wings they seem almost an afterthought. That mismatch has caused prices for this design to be modest, especially compared to Gibson’s winged owl decorations.

Pre-1960s Halloween Die Cut Lot of 4

Whomever was lucky enough to swoop in and acquire this lot for the laughably low price of $90 should be doing a happy dance for eternity. The Gibson tombstone diecut alone is one of the most highly coveted products made by that firm. Listed alone, it would have easily brought multiples of what the entire lot brought. The large piece to the left is part of Dennison’s Hobgoblinville set.

Rare Antique Gibson Party Sign with JOL Man - " Step Lively This Way...."

It’s interesting to see this variant Gibson party sign. The fact that the head is severed from the main body and then so amateurishly repaired is unfortunate. Who would have guessed that Gibson made at least two versions of this cool diecut?

Vintage Halloween 1920s Dennison Bat Mechanical Stunt game unused 5.5"

This was produced by Gibson, not Dennison. It is a hard-to-find item with a mechanical feature.

09/12 Update: This brought $166.50.