I can't believe another season is about to end. Where has the year gone?
I want to thank all of my faithful readers who make maintaining this website a fun endeavor. I hope that you find my comments useful and that they have not only steered you toward good purchases but helped you avoid the many, many stinkers being sold as old.
Have a Happy Halloween! MBL
These typically fetch $130-175 each, so the buyer got a good deal. Aside from Buy-It-Now items wherein the seller was clueless, I have seen many fewer good deals this season than in recent ones. I have had discussions with other collectors as to their thoughts on why this is so. Prices in the marquee lots were almost always driven by the same handful of determined bidders, but exclude these desirous folks and prices overall seem to have risen across the board, excluding tin and candy containers.
Here is what I wrote about this item in my 2nd edition in 2007:
"One
of the most interesting of Beistle’s many tabletop decorations is its Rustic
Fireplace. It is billed on the envelope as including an “Old Witches’ Beauty
Caldron.” It consists of a lithoed paper and honeycomb cauldron with orange
streamers attached to the bottom to simulate flames. (This was an ingenious way
to boost sales of an already popular item.) Since these cauldrons were only
made from 1926 through 1931, it stands to reason the Rustic Fireplace dates to
this time. This is further buttressed by the use of Beistle’s diamond mark on
the packaging. The detailed lithoed cardboard props and crossbar containing a
hook for the cauldron are all representative of Beistle’s high quality. These
measure 10.5" high by 15" wide. The cauldron measures 8" high by
8.5" wide. This complete set is valued at $800 to $1,000."
I think the values for these items has drifted somewhat downward in the intervening 6+ years. Collectors I speak with don't find the props and crossbar all that interesting. I also hear complaints about how much room it takes to display the set in its entirety. Most collectors seem to want the cauldron but without the crepe paper "flames" as they prevent the cauldron from sitting evenly. Given the condition of the cauldron, it will be instructive as to what this set fetches.
11/08 Update: $271.33 was the ending price for this item. I see the value for this set in near-perfect condition hovering around $450-500 these days.
Here is another result I am scratching my head over. Neither of these two smallish diecuts, made by Gibson, are all that rare. They typically bring $35 and $65 respectively. Although I trust the seller is overjoyed, the buyer will never see that money again.
Gibson, the maker of these items, intended each set of four to be a centerpiece, as shown on page 198. Sometime over the years since these were made in the 1920s, someone removed the slots and tabs.
Virtually all of the value of this lot is in the rare envelope. The skeleton is almost immaterial. As with all of the early Beistle packaging, this medium-weight cardboard envelope is hard to locate in decent condition. Although the overall graphics aren't as interesting as their later envelopes containing elves or garlands, the straight-forward imagery is endearing and absolutely captures that early era of greater innocence.
This item was reproduced beginning around 2003. This looks to be one of these reproductions. Ask a lot of questions!
I am just shaking my head in wonder at those who have enough money to throw around in driving this somewhat common German diecut up to a laughable $521.87. Newer collectors - don't despair at this madness. Once this small handful of must-have-it-at-all-costs collectors obtain an item, their absence from the market will enable items to be purchased for sustainable prices.
Someone threw away a lot of money on an item that was made in the 1990s. I have one with similar "wear" marks hanging on my Halloween tree right now that I bought at a gift shop in the mid-1990s. If anyone wants it, I'll sell it for $225!
This is only the second time I have ever seen this diecut for sale. Made for the 1929 and 1930 seasons only, this very large Dennison diecut exemplifies the radical design change that Dennison experimented with during this brief interval. It is too bad that the condition of this one is so poor in terms of coloration.
Although I can totally see why the seller would think this is a hat, this is actually an early candy basket. The crepe would form a basket and the cats on either side would form a handle. The three others to this ultra rare German set feature devils, JOLs and witches.
This is a superb box! These boxes are quite collectible for a number of reasons, not the least of which is they are rare AND serve as good references as to which diecuts were sold as sets. However, the boxed set was not assembled and exported in 1941. The Germans were two years into the Second World War at that time and were not exporting paper goods. In fact, they dramatically ramped down their exports of such items in 1935 as the leaders of the Third Reich bent the economy to begin preparing for armed conflict. If you look at the photo showing the stamped date, the way to read it is clear: Sep 24 1330, with 1330 referring to some inventory number assigned somewhere along the way. The "1" looks in size and shape to correspond to the "330," definitely not to the other two digits, "2" and "4."
Darn, I wish I would have noticed this listing. A true example of "new old stock" found at an estate sale, the lot featured 12 complete and near-mint packages of the hard-to-find Beistle enveloped product called Horrible, Wriggling Snake. Whomever the buyer was got a killer deal. Expect to see prices on this item to dip in the short term as these begin to wend their way to the marketplace. The dip will be temporary in my opinion, as these are great sets.
This 1917 Dennison Bogie Book is one hard issue to land. It took me many years to find one in acceptable condition, so I am a tad surprised it didn't crest the $300 mark. Take a look at the intricate design of the wrap-around cover. It is awesome and arguably the best cover on a Bogie Book.
This large, saw-toothed diecut made by Beistle seemingly sold for a bargain price. The story behind the story, though, is that about one inch has been trimmed from the bottom edge. This is pretty severe damage. The buyer realized that something looked a little off and contacted me for my opinion. Given the data I provided, both parties to the sale agreed to void it. The lesson here is to look carefully at auction photos and compare them to photos in reference books, especially mine! :)
