Although this actually sold with a BIN of $375, given the condition I was surprised it sold at that price point. Dennison, like pretty much every business during the Great Depression, had to scramble to survive. They released this design in 1930 on thin-stock yellow paper, and probably restricted the print run to ensure they sold everything they produced at full retail through their stores. It is a great, eye-catching design, rivaling the other door hanger design released that same year. (See the top of page 143.) Dennison played their cards well as they survived the Great Depression, unlike so many of their smaller competitors.
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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.
Vintage German Halloween Black Cat & PUMPKIN Paper Mache Candy Container
This is a reproduction made sometime after 1995. It has zero collectible value. As I write on page 69, “Reproduced versions of this container with a smaller pumpkin base were made beginning in the mid-1990s. These new versions tend to be heavier and lack the detailing of the originals.”
2 MINT Antique Vintage Halloween Party Invitation Decorations, Whitney? 1920s
These were both produced by Hallmark during the 1920s.
Vintage Halloween Hat with Plume, Flying Witch and Black Cat; Beistle, 1920-21
What a magnificent early Beistle hat. (Boy, does that witch need a shave!) The Beistle script mark was used only on their earliest products, so this hat might actually be from 1918-1919. It seems to be made from an onion skin paper grade like the many more common German hats from this same era. The image of the cat is also so well rendered. The fact it has survived over a century with its jaunty plume attached is a marvel. It’ll be fun to see what this fetches.
Vintage Halloween Coaster Black Cat, Bats; Sanders of Chicago, 1930's-1940's
I’ve seen too many wacky paper coasters produced for Halloween parties over the years, with their frenetic imagery mirroring the hopes that whatever shindig was ongoing would be equally frenetic. This coaster is different. The imagery is subtle, maybe somber even. I love it and am surprised I’ve never seen it before. I tried to dig up basic information about the Sanders Absorbent Coaster Company of Chicago, Illinois, to no avail. If you collect paper party goods like plates, cups, napkins and the like, I’d advise you to snap up this coaster now, as you probably will never see it again.
04/07 Update: This sold for an astounding $116.18, surely a record for a coaster.
