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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.

Antique Halloween Nut Cup USA Minty

This is arguably one of the most colorful nut cups ever made. The symmetry of the design is appealing. What is truly great, however, is the seller. She is someone I met in the early 1990s when I had only been collecting for ~5 years. She and I gravitated to the same sort of things, including folk art by the best folk artists. Among many other artists, she has many items by Scott Smith and best of all, Matthew Kirscht. I treasure all the many hours we’ve spent together. Bid with the highest level of confidence! Be sure to check out her other listings.

Vintage Halloween Placecards Cats on Fences Rare!

These five colorful place cards were produced by Whitney during the 1930s and were sold only as a complete set of six in glassine envelopes. The one missing shows an arched-back cat similar to the one at the lower right, only facing right. The complete set can be seen on page 273.

09/18 Update: This incomplete set brought $187.50.

Vintage Halloween Rosbro Witch on A motorcycle Plastic Candy Container

The constancy of the valuation of this item over 30+ years amazes me. When I first began collecting in 1988 this hard plastic design routinely sold for $150. It jumped to $300 around 1993 and has largely stayed there across these many years. (I am referencing the most common color variation of green and orange seen in this listing.) Rosbro made these in great quantities for many years. They are not rare yet the pricing has been largely static, certainly since 1993. I find this curious. I never was much interested in the hard plastic market segment, although I do wish I would have picked up all of the Kokomold designs when they were cheap.

RARE HUGE EARLY Vintage Halloween Johnny Pumpkinhead Diecut Decoration, Beistle!

I think this seller’s conclusion that this is a design from the first year of production of Beistle’s Johnny Pumpkin family, 1919, is spot-on. I checked my ultra-rare 1921 Beistle catalog to look at the illustrations. The nose seen on the one up for auction is nowhere to be seen. My theory is that a Beistle art/design manager wanted the Johnnys to look more like traditional JOLs, hence the rhinoplasty job. I love learning this kind of design info. Thanks for being so observant, Cindy!

Vintage Halloween Dennison Hallowe'en Suggestions Magazine, 1931 New Bogey Book

I’m glad to see this Dennison publication get some love. The publications after 1926 are devilishly difficult to find in collectible condition, none more so than those published in 1931 and 1933-35. I’ve often wondered why this is the case. The weight of the paper used doesn’t seem to differ from Dennison’s earlier publications. Perhaps the booklets were used more rigorously and for a longer time since the Great Depression was causing serious economic havoc then. I don’t really know, but this one that fetched solid dollars seemed to be in better condition than many I’ve seen.

RARE Vintage Halloween Jack o Lantern Diecut Decoration Flipout Base Beistle 30s

It’s hard to know what went wrong here. (You know the market is seriously overheated when an ending price of $705 for a paper Halloween decoration is considered insufficient.) Whether it was the not-insignificant condition issues, the corrected error on size or vintage Halloween fatigue from simply too many solid items being listed too often as too closely spaced intervals, this item should have brought much more. This is one of the items from my reference that is most often inquired about as to my intention to sell it. Another hasn’t come to market in many, many years. I suspect fatigue is the most impactful cause, although the case for fatigue is not airtight. Check out what the same seller realized in auctioning one of the trio of eccentrically-designed 1950s Beistle witches - $1,325.99.
Prices have become such a turn-off that I have actively explored other forums where price sanity is more of the norm. I encourage people to attend the larger antiques shows where there are more chances at finding things reasonably priced. Trading with other collectors is another activity I find to be much more fun than trolling through the eBay detritus to find a few jewels that then typically spiral to too-lofty levels.

Vintage Halloween Lantern 4 Panel Paper Lantern Decoration Made In Germany 1

This is a 1990s or later reproduction of an authentic vintage German design first produced during the 1920s. The reproductions were imported into the USA by Blumchens. The black borders on truly vintage lanterns will be heavily embossed. This has only modest decorative value.

08/17 Update: The seller is listing several of these, being opaque about the fact that these lanterns are not vintage.

Exceedingly Rare Vintage Halloween Tango Cat

Some really great paper items have been surfacing with such regularity that purses and wallets all across the USA and Canada have been made thinner by the bounteous harvest. Add this exceedingly rare Tango Cat produced by Beistle to the list. It has been a long time since I’ve seen a truly vintage example surface, especially in this fantastic condition. The seller, a deeply knowledgeable collector, is a wizard with paper restoration. As he honestly points out, the tip of the cat’s hat has been replaced. I’ve seen his restoration work myself. It is so good that this minor matter shouldn’t act as any sort of brake on a desire for acquisition. Beistle produced only two Tango figures from this era - the other is a witch and is also being offered by this fine seller. Both designs are notoriously difficult to find without some problems to the lower extremities. This looks to be a real keeper for collectors.

08/17 Update: This item fetched $772.

NMINT SCARCE Vintage Halloween Cat & Candle Placecard Decoration, Dennison 1920s

Although I feel there is too much high-end Halloween hitting the market too often with too much regularity hampering what truly stellar items are fetching, there are anomalies like this sale. You all realize this price is insane, right? This Dennison place card is beautifully designed and is a visual treat but it surfaces with great regularity. The price is typically $260-300 in NM+ condition. The result reminds me of something Whitney Houston once blurted out - “Crack is whack.”