This seller references that some collectors feel this type of item was a treat satchel while others feel they were meant to be worn as hats. I’ve seen quite a few of these over the last five years and have developed a theory based on this exposure. I feel both views are true. I’ve found that about half the time the decorative arch on either side of the item is glued to the crepe. In those cases they were meant to be worn as hats. When the arch isn’t glued to the crepe they were meant to be used as treat satchels. I strongly prefer when they can be used as treat satchels. The display “oomph” is so much greater than when the arch is lost amid the vast expanse of yawn-inducing crepe.
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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.
Vintage Halloween Bugle Lithograph Tin Toy Noise Marker Made In USA
Bugle Toy of Providence, RI produced some of the best tin litho designs out there. They generally ran circles around the all-too-staid Kirchhof, and were given an occasional run for the top prize by T. Cohn’s earliest designs. This shaker exemplifies my remarks. Every side shows something different with the litho being simple yet very effective at conveying the spirit of the holiday. I hope this brings strong dollars.
U.S. Metal Toy Mfg. Co. Tin Litho vintage Halloween noise maker
The prevailing bidder on this lot got a bargain, of which there seems to be plenty of these days. (My theory is that too many collectors have deprioritized eBay given how junky it has become. Why eBay doesn’t create more specific categories for holiday collectibles is beyond me.) Relative to this lot, the T. Cohn putty knife noisemaker on the left is worth the price of the entire lot by itself and then some. Cohn produced two putty knife designs that have been in-demand for years even whilst the non-tambourine tin litho market has been coolish.
2 Vintage Halloween Candy Box Lion Specialty Co
I have only seen this item once before. I bought one at the All American collectors’ show held twice annually in Glendale, CA several years back. (The show is nicely curated with items that would appeal to collectors of toys, advertising and holiday at all levels. It is a show I try not to miss. The show’s owner, Jim Maley, is a great guy with deep connections into the comic book and figural advertising markets.) Thankfully, the box at the show was near-mint. I feel this pair would have brought much stronger dollars if not for their condition. The same seller has another one up right now. Its condition is similar.
VINTAGE HALLOWEEN PUMPKIN MAN PULP PAPER MACHE- 1950S MID CENTURY- RARE
This heavily damaged item actually sold for $285, not the $375 that eBay shows. (I wish that eBay would be more transparent on what the actual final prices for fixed price listings and the like are. There are work-arounds involving other sites to sniff out actual final prices but why should collectors wanting to be educated on current prices have to do this?) As to the pulp man, I’m amazed that it sold for as much as it did given its condition.
