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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.

Antique Halloween, Circa 1920's Mechanical Dancing JOL Automaton

Wow! What a nice item. I’ve seen a lot of problematic mechanicals offered on this and other forums, but feel confident even without a personal examination that this is the real deal and not either a Frankensteined piece or a full-on reproduction. I like the autumn vest. Very snazzy! It is nice to see some nice items appearing on eBay after a long drought.

Rare Antique German Halloween Diecut Vintage Decoration

This exceedingly rare German diecut fence was produced in 1935. There is a remarkable consistency when these are seen that the leftmost figure, the mate to the plump JOL figure, is missing. I chalk it up to more than coincidence. I believe the full four-figure fence was made for a very short period of time before a decision was made to eliminate the leftmost figure. Could it have been to save on shipping? I don’t know. I may be completely off-base in even speculating that any decision was made, but the consistency of the observation is compelling. I finally added a full four-figure example to the collection a few years ago.

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Second Copy of 1909 Dennison Bogie Book Discovered!

I want to share some exciting news: A second copy of Dennison’s inaugural Bogie Book from 1909 has been discovered! Previously, the sole known copy resided in the collection. Even Dennison did not have a copy.
(This inaugural effort was far from a success. At the time, Dennison didn’t have a clear idea of what they wanted to achieve by publishing what they called The Dennison Bogie Book. With such a lack of focus, the effort yielded very little. Dennison may have printed up to 25,000 copies, but that is uncertain. I believe many were destroyed, as there are now only two copies known to exist. I speculate…They didn’t even try again until 1912, when Dennison published a Bogie Book with a sharper marketing purpose aimed at end-users. This effort was so successful that near-annual issues were produced from that year through the early 1930s with differing names and formats.)
This second copy, which I have definitively confirmed as authentic, was discovered within the last 45 days at an antiques show in New England. It was purchased by the new owner’s husband as a gift. Little did he know the rarity of that gift! An image of this new discovery appears below, so you can get a sense of the stellar overall condition.
It pays to browse antiques and collectible shows!

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ANTIQUE c. 1900 DRESDEN EMBOSSED CARDBOARD CAT CHRISTMAS or HALLOWEEN ORNAMENT

It has become startling to see such a nice item listed on the junkyard that eBay has become. These Halloween-themed Dresden ornaments are really something. It’ll be fun to see what this fetches!

01/26 Update: This fine item fetched $877.77. I talked to one collector who was surprised it didn’t bring more, but considering the time of year, I felt the price realized was solid.

Antique Halloween Jack O' Lantern Germany 1920s 4" Red Lips Orig Insert Handle

I wrote as part of an update on the Gibson owl game below that I love sellers who offer concise descriptions. This seller is a stellar example of what I feel buyers need and appreciate. Just read his description of the German JOL that sold for a higher-than-expected price. I’m positive that it was due to his reputation in our hobby plus his way with words. Kudos!