As I write on page 125, "Because of how this game was meant to be used, less than ~40 complete examples are known. (About 20 of these were discovered in an old drugstore in Kentucky and were sold at auction in Ohio several years ago. These have been filtering into the marketplace since, greatly reducing the value of this item for the short and medium terms.)" This may be a good "parts" item to pick up.
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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.
1920s Beistle vintage Johnny Pumpkin w/owl 11 in. stand up Halloween decoration
I hope to see many more Johnny Pumpkin iterations listed this season, as I've always liked them. The seller has pointed out several condition issues with this item. Here are two more: The protrusion at the top of the head is missing. Although not always part of the design, it was with this particular one. Also, this item has had its fair share of sun, or exposure to light, as it is quite faded. If you want to see a nice assortment of Johnny Pumpkin designs, check out pages 122-124 of my newly published third edition.
08/06 Update: Even with numerous condition issues, this item fetched $45.77, a very strong result!
Stunning Paper Mache Jack o lantern pumpkin Halloween Art
This is not an item with any age to it. Based on the iconic parade lantern in the collection, this is a soulless piece with few compelling qualities in my opinion. Items like this have decorative value only, and yet someone dropped $228 on it!
RARE Vintage Halloween Beistle Green Witch Diecut USA 1950s, Large, Hard-to-Find
Beistle issued some quirky diecuts in the later 1950s - sort of a last gasp of creativity before they largely folded up their tent and yielded to the wave of forgettable, cutesy designs prevalent at that time and continuing deep into the 1990s. This is one of those diecuts. The set of three are puzzlingly difficult to find in mint condition. The defects in this piece shouldn't be held too much against it in terms of acquisition, but would certainly affect the price.
08/08 Update: I changed the sentence immediately above to better express my feelings on condition. There is no doubt that this is a piece to covet, but with nearly all such things, condition greatly impacts price. In this example, the notable defects caused it to fetch $136.16, still a strong price, but nowhere near what it would have fetched had the condition been better.
Vintage HALLOWEEN Sucker Holder E. Rosen Black Cat on Fence
I am surprised to see this seller offering this remnant without making clear in his listing that this is merely the upper half of a Rosen Trix or Treats sucker holder card. Describing it as unused with light wear doesn't make sense. Look at the photo of an entire card on page 90. You can see where some person clipped along the rise of the Trix or Treats boxed logo.
This is merely a remnant and therefore has zero collectible value. I am hoping ddavidd will cancel the bids on this and his similarly damaged cards and pull the auctions. (Shaking my head...)
Halloween Bobble head. Paper Mache. Vintage
Although well-crafted, this is not a vintage item. It was made by Stamm House sometime within the last few years and has no vintage value. (Notice the mark on the bottom of the base. Without that mark, other clues to its recent manufacture are the smoothness of the finish, the soft colors and the granular nature of the base.)
Antique Vintage Halloween Witch Pirate Roly Poly Celluloid Figures Dimestore
These are certainly two rare celluloid items. I especially like the corn pirate. Very cool. The seller doesn't point out two things that affect condition: The nose of the pirate and one of the shoes on the witch are pushed in. Both may be repairable, but be cognizant of these issues when formulating your maximum bid.
08/01 Update: These sold for the bell weather price of $1,005. See many, many more high-end celluloid pieces on pages 110-115.
RARE Boogie house for Ghosts and spooks box Halloween 1950's
This fantastic item looks complete to me. It wasn't designed to have a bottom as I feel it was made to fit over a box of candy, probably made by Brach's. David is wise not to fold it up, since these were not designed to be done and undone. I bought mine flat, folded it once, and now it serenely sits in one of my many display cases.
Thanks for the shout-out about my new edition!
07/30 Update: This neat, fragile item brought $81, slightly below guide.
1920's Halloween tin shaker with cow, spooky tree, cat & JOL
Matthew Kirscht, who did a bang-up job laying out my newly published third edition, feels the same unknown manufacturer responsible for this great shaker also made the four-sided bell-shaped noisemaker that brings relatively significant dollars even though it surfaces regularly. He subtly placed these two items next to each other on page 207. Check them out!
SUPER RARE Vintage Halloween Black Face Jack o Lantern Diecut Standup, Germany
This is a difficult German diecut to score in this near-mint condition. The Germans made several iterations of this general design in two sizes. This differs from the one shown on page 171 of my newly published reference not by the solid eyes and mouth, but because of the teeth. (Look at the same-sized example at the upper right [second photo] and compare that one's teeth to the one ziz is offering for sale.) The German diecuts have a surprising number of such subtle variations. In any event, this is a wonderful example, proven by the lofty price level this has already attained with over one week yet to go.
08/03 Update: This wonderful item brought an astounding $576, well, well, well higher than guide.
Vintage Halloween Fortune Teller Spinner Game
It's great to see such an exceedingly rare item surface on Ebay, especially one in this condition. This Here's Your Fate game was made by Whitney in the 1920s. (Please turn to page 24 to see the game in my third edition.) Measuring 10" h x 7.75" w, this game has been assigned a "1" on my Relative Scarcity Index, which means you may never see another one of these surface for sale. Prior to purchasing the one in the collection about 18 months ago, I had never known this densely detailed game existed. Don't let this item escape your grasp!
07/28 Update: I was pleasantly surprised to see that this superb game fetched well over book value, bringing $318. Congrats!
Early Halloween Paper Party Plate with Owl, Sun and Moon
This is one of the best paper plate designs available. As with virtually all of their output, Beach and Arthur of Indianapolis, Indiana pulled out the stops when designing this 8" plate. This was made in the 1930s. Other designs can be seen on pages 298-299 of my new edition.
OLD VINTAGE ANTIQUE HALLOWEEN SCREECH OWL SIREN HORN TOY
Here's a noisemaker you don't see often. These Screech Owl Siren Horns were made by an unknown manufacturer in the 1930s. The mouthpiece is different than all others I've seen so there is a good chance it is not original to the item. The condition of this horn is dodgy, but this certainly doesn't surface frequently.
07/24 Update: Even with the condition issues, this horn brought a strong $59.
Vintage 50' 60'S Halloween Die Cut 4 Alley Cats Singing
This is actually one of four sides that linked together would create a table centerpiece. This was made by Whitney in the late 1920s. This is a different iteration from the ones I've seen in the past wherein the orange borders were previously unknown to me. The complete centerpiece can be seen on page 275 of my new edition.
Vintage Halloween Skeleton Cardboard Candy Container Marked
Good to see these finally getting the market recognition they deserve. The General Merchandise Company made this set of slot and tab containers. This is one from the complete set of six. (All can be seen on page 54.) G.M. also issued other Halloween-themed slot and tab containers that are far less common yet possess the same sense of odd whimsy seen in their most widely sold set. I have become a fan of their output, so routinely search for their harder-to-find items. (Examples of some of these can be seen on pages 53 and 296.)
