VINTAGE 1960 Beistle HALLOWEEN SKELETON Riding Horse Die-Cut Party Decoration

One of these in better condition sold in October 2014 for $294.50. At that time I commented that this diecut was a divisive one with collectors aligned pretty evenly along the hate/love continuum. This was issued by Beistle from 1960-1962 when they were nearly out of gas creatively. They soon after began their descent into the mire of mediocrity. This excellent eBay seller has three of the harder-to-find diecuts from this era up for auction now. Like comic books at the end of a run generally being hard to get as the production numbers dwindle, Beistle made relatively few of these diecuts, and on typically thinner stock than earlier designs. Stylistically, these are less interesting being more "cute" than memorable. That said, I have one in the collection. I applaud the unknown artist for his color choices - if nothing else! 

02/06 Update: This sold for $400, significantly higher than expected. 

Vintage Rare Halloween Paper Mache Pumpkin man

I suspect this listing didn't last long. The seller placed a BIN price of $125 on it, well below what this might have brought. This 19.5" high JOL pirate diecut is among the largest diecuts the Germans made. (The size mate to it is a JOL woman with broom. Both are shown on page 183.) The RSIN is 2, so it doesn't often surface. The colors are bright and from the many good photos included in the listing, I don't see troubling condition issues. Congrats to whomever the buyer was - they got a good deal! 

Vintage Box of Jack-O’-Lantern Candles Pacific Candle Co.

This result is surprising. The item, issued by the Pacific Candle Company of Hayward, CA during the 1950s, is relatively common. It generally trades for around $20, complete. With this example, the box isn't pristine and the candles have clumped together making it far less desirable. 

Halloween Tin Litho Clapper Noisemaker Witch, Owl, Bats, Cats & Skull

Although a regular reader wrote that another one of these sold last year for around the same amount, I don't recall ever seeing this particular design before. (I must have missed the listing.) I was the prevailing bidder. I like the boldness and the cartoonish quality of the graphics. It reminds me of something Bugle would have produced. I'm looking forward to receiving it. 

Antique Halloween Witch & Moon *GERMAN* Glass Candy Container *GLASS FLASK*

The seller has all three of these perfume bottles up for auction right now, all starting at a very modest $2.50 each. These milk glass perfume bottles were made in Germany during the early 1930s. Although they were originally sold with cork stoppers, I've seen these stoppers rarely. These typically fetch $80-100 each. 

01/30 Update: This sold for $182.49. 

1920's Halloween Tamborine Noise Maker

This unmarked printed paper tambourine with a decorated tin rim was made during the 1930s. As I write on page 213, "Several collectors have said they have found this tambourine sold as part of a "Gypsy Woman" costume boxed set issued by Collegeville in the 1930s."

ANTIQUE HALLOWEEN TIN PARADE JACK O LANTERN, EARLY 1900'S TIN PARADE LANTERN

In reading this seller's clear description, I saw where someone was questioning whether this was old or one of the Bethany Lowe reproductions. It is, of course, a truly vintage item. The Lowe reproductions are flimsy looking and have none of the gravitas the truly old tin parade lanterns have. The seller stated that she wasn't sure if this had been repainted. It looks all original to me, based only on the photographs. The starting price seems to be one that fully values the item, a strategy that is one I wouldn't have chosen. 

Set 5 Vtg c 1920 Original Beistle Halloween Party Favors Stand Up JOL Decoration

This lot of Johnny Pumpkin figures was made by Beistle between 1923 and 1925. The "family" was made in sizes ranging from 5" to 20.25". This lot contains the smallest of the family, and perhaps the hardest-to-find variation. The smallest Johnny Pumpkins had three variants. This is the third variant - being smaller, brighter and possessing a folding prop that is part of the original art, rather than the glued-on easel always found with the other sizes. The packaging is plainer than the example in the collection, perhaps indicating this was manufactured earlier in the date range. The ending price was higher than guide, but that could be a function of the lot surfacing when almost nothing of quality was available on eBay. 

SET OF 5 VINTAGE HALLOWEEN POP UP HOUSE OF FATE FORTUNE TELLING CARDS*JOL*WITCH+

This lot prompted a number of emails. I wrote each person the same thing - that I would pass on the lot since the condition was poor. Even so, the lot brought strong dollars. These House of Fate fortune cards were made by Whitney during the early 1930s. Each of these is different than the 8 examples in the collection. At first glance, the 3-4 base designs look similar. When you closely examine different examples, there are always very minute differences present. I'm puzzled as to why Whitney would have introduced these subtle differences. It doesn’t seem cost effective. Perhaps we'll never know. Whitney went out of business in 1942. 

BEISTLE HALLOWEEN VINTAGE DECORATION WITCH 1930'S EMBOSSED

This is a great image and part of a set of five scalloped-edged, sizable diecuts Beistle began producing in 1932. Given their large size, these typically surface in poor condition. This one seems pretty nice. (Tape residue on the reverse doesn't bother me at all.) The rarest one from the set of 5 is the skeleton walking through the graveyard. It has been several years since one has surfaced. It sold for ~$3400. 

Dennison Halloween Scary Dancing Cat with Pumpkins & Bats 1920 die cut

This excellent energetic card was made by Gibson, not Dennison. This is a hard item to score, and this seller has started it at a very reasonable price. If you don't have this, snap it up. 

01/09 Update: This sold for the unimaginably high price of $155.66. 

Dennison Halloween Lady Clown with Owl in Front of Full Moon Die-Cut 1920s

This seldom-seen design of a woman in an extravagant ruffled collar with an addled owl behind was first made available to the public in 1923. It was sold in two forms: a slide box of 6 cut-outs with a stock number of H-94 and a slide box of 20 seals with a stock number of H-656. They weren't sold for more than two seasons. I was able to find a box of cut-outs for the collection only ~2 years ago and have not yet located the box of seals. I feel the starting price is quite reasonable.