This is an interesting item. The art was almost certainly derived from Dennison’s Gobolink cut-out, which they released in 1925. Although Dennison provided some financial assistance in capitalizing the C.A. Reed Corporation during the 1920s, this item is the first tangible result of the arm’s length relationship between the two firms I’ve seen. There are subtle differences, most notably the extra buttons to better hold in this version’s slightly more-swelled belly!
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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.
1940’s Halloween Place Card Scary Black With Owl Face In Flame HTF
Here is another relative bargain, although not as pronounced as the item directly below. This has to be one of Dennison's most inspired designs. The artist packed a lot of detail in such a small item, meant to be used as a place card. This first appeared in 1928. As I point out on page 257, "Notice the cat's face in the flame and the candle's expression. Although not particularly scarce, this iconic, diminutive Dennison masterpiece consistently sells at or above the cited value. It was sold with stock number H565." These have routinely changed hands in a range of $135-200 during the last 18 months, so the prevailing bidder did well.
Vintage Beistle Company Halloween Honeycomb Die Cut Decoration, 1925
Wow, people were asleep at the switch here, including me. This is one of those increasingly rare, true bargains for a great piece of truly vintage Halloween memorabilia. This is one of four favor basket designs Beistle produced from 1927-1931. (I think it is the least interesting of the four designs. The best is the witch wearing a skull-festooned dress.) You can see them all on page 225.
Vtg RARE German 1920s HALLOWEEN Porcelain PUMPKIN FACE JOL CANDY CONTAINER Jar
This exceedingly rare double vase certainly went for a lot of money, mainly due to my bidding. I was the underbidder, actually content not to have had to pay my top bid of $3215.15. I placed the bid, thinking there may be a very few collectors more crazed than I who would pay such money. I was right. Although I would liked to have it as part of the collection, in the final analysis, the price was too high, so I was not unhappy to have been outbid. Congrats to whomever the prevailing bidder was.
THE WITCH OF ENDOR Fortune Telling Game 1929 Salem Mass HALLOWEEN Rare
Over the years, this 1929 game hasn’t gotten the collector love it deserves. With now two major exceptions, the price has hovered around $100. This ending price of $299.95 was almost certainly driven by its extremely nice condition. This game’s lid is almost always concave with significant chipping. Not this one. Even so, a very high price indeed. (In June 2016, an example in slightly lesser condition sold for a record price of $316.99.)
BEISTLE SIDE OF GLASS PLACE CARD COMPLETE SET WITH ENVELOPE no res
To me, this is a previously unseen packaging variation of these place cards meant to hang from the top of a glass. These same designs were issued by Beistle as early as 1918 in an enveloped set of six given stock number 584. In that earlier set, the contents distribution was three witches, two cats and one ghost. In this larger set, the contents distribution was six witches, three cats and one ghost. So, although the numbers are different the relative scarcity remains the same - the ghost being the hardest one of the trio to get. I felt the ending price was pretty high - certainly good news for the fine seller. (I’ve done business with this seller and look forward to doing more!) Looking at the prices obtained for the singles from this set that he sold in other listings, their prices, too, were dazzlingly high.
Post-Holiday Listing Doldrums
The number of listings in the “Vintage Halloween” category on eBay has plummeted by over 1,000 items since October 31st. With the exception of a handful of interesting items, virtually everything listed in the last few days has been dross. When I find something worth commenting on, I’ll do so, but plan on concentrating on adding to the Acquisitions section of the site between now and the end of the year.
Vintage Halloween Party Hat, 1920,s Made in U.S.A
Beistle issued three “domino hat mask” designs between 1926 and 1931. Most of the time they were just stand-alone masks as shown on pages 236-237, but occasionally they were stapled to a random band hat, as in this listing. The entire bottom section of the mask is missing, so this is more of a substantial remnant than anything else. Virtually all of its collectible value has been eliminated due to its poor condition.
11/13 Update: …And yet this sold, in these bubbly times, for $86!
Vintage Antique Halloween Jack-o-lantern Pumpkin cardboard Papier Mache style
This cute happy/sad 1950s slot-and-tab JOL lantern used to surface much more often than it has these last few years. I haven’t seen one with such deep green highlights as are present with this splendid example. I really like this coloration. The condition is really clean. The ending price was nearly exactly double guide, but I can see its attraction.
