The Happiest of Halloweens to my faithful readers! I hope tomorrow is a fun-filled day.
Blog
Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.
Article in Antique Trader
The Antique Trader, a superb magazine for the general collector, has been revitalized under the stewardship of its editor, Paul Kennedy. His gently humorous column is my first stop and is worth the modest subscription price all on its own.
In its most recent issue was an article profiling my ten favorite items in the collection. I’ve been avidly and aggressively collecting since 1988 and have been very fortunate to have put together a well-curated collection that brings me much joy. It was difficult selecting just ten items, but I did it. Here is the link to the article: https://www.antiquetrader.com/collectibles/ten-greatest-halloween-collectibles
Vintage Halloween Nut/Candy Cups Set of 2
This nut cup design has long ranked as one of my favorites. It uses non-traditional colors with solid Halloween imagery to create an eye-catching and intricate item. Here’s a chance to own two at once! The seller is a gem. She was one of the earliest friends I made in the Halloween collecting community, forged over a shared love of well-crafted Halloween folk art. You can buy from her without hesitation.
Although I am not 100% sure, I think this nut cup was made by Gibson. It is stylistically similar to known Gibson items, but I can’t find it in any catalogs.
11/02 Update: Thanks to the inestimable Cindy Vogel, I can now confirm that this beautiful nut cup was, in fact, produced by Gibson. It was sold with stock number 1908. Thanks, Cindy!
VINTAGE HALLOWEEN CAT & DEVIL DIE CUT DECORATION
Original diecuts of this design were single-sided. This appears to be double-sided, so would be a modern reproduction.
Dennison Vintage Halloween Letter Seals (16) - 1960's Vintage in Box
This is a mishmash of a lot. The box once contained autumn leaf seals, not anything shown. The witches were produced by Gibson, the middle row by a manufacturer unknown to me and the bottom row are Dennison items. Everything was made during the 1920s, so the seller’s date is off by several decades.
Vintage Four Sided Halloween Paper Lantern / DieCut Cats Tear Missing Top Circle
This lantern was produced by Gibson during the 1920s. They used a grade of construction paper that is rather unforgiving - meaning that once you have assembled the lantern, woe to you if you dissemble and re-assemble it. The soft paper will often just crunch up and then split and drop off. If you obtain one, it is best to leave it unassembled. I’ve learned the hard way! :)
Vintage HALLOWEEN Black Cat Face German Die Cut w Transparency! 30's.
I have long said that selling vintage Halloween on eBay in October is risky. Most collectors have spent their budget by the time they begin decorating in early October and so wonderful items sell for much less than they might have at other times. There are notable exceptions, but this is largely true. This diecut is a great example. Two similar ones sold within the last ~15 months for $2,000+. Even though the inserts are faded on this example, I feel the seller would have done better if they had offered it sometime from March to May.
RARE Antique Vintage Halloween BEISTLE Die Cut Pumpkin Blossom Man 1920s
Yikes! Where’s the rest of me? I feel like Madame Leota in Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion!
10/26 Update: This remnant sold for $16.27.
WITCHES MYSTERY ANSWER GAME BEISTLE VINTAGE HALLOWEEN GAME 1933 MINT VINTAGE
Wow, this game is in nice condition. Because of its size, sawtooth edges and the fact that it was meant to be played with, the Witch’s Mystery Answer Game produced by Beistle is often found with bends, missing borders, extraneous writing, staining - and sometimes all of these. This beautiful example brought $330, a relative bargain for the purchaser.
Vintage Halloween Paper Plate USA
When I think of all the many market segments that comprise the universe of vintage Halloween collecting, I often forget about plates. Most plates, especially those by Reed, don’t fetch much, but one manufacturer stands well above the others - Beach & Arthur. Plates by that firm have been fetching very strong dollars for some 2-3 years now. Their designs tend to be unusual and creatively use colors not typically associated with Halloween like yellow and red. The plate listed is one of the more tame designs and has some staining. Even so, I expect the final result will escalate beyond the initial bid of $9.99.
10/17 Update: The plate sol for $38.99.
Halloween Collecting Podcast
I had the pleasure of speaking with Eric Dwinnells of Salem, Massachusetts by phone on the subject of collecting vintage Halloween for his podcast about two weeks ago. His podcast is called Spooky Times with Eric D. The conversation was wide-ranging and lasted about 90 minutes. If you care to listen, the link can be found below. Let me know what you think.
Just letting you know the interview has been posted and you can find it here:
https://spookyas.libsyn.com/205-vintage-halloween-collecting
That's also a good link to use if you want to share it yourself or post it on your website.
RARE ANTIQUE HALLOWEEN ROSEN MAGIC POT BLACK CAT CANDY CONTAINER STORE DISPLAY
Rosen produced some of the most unique ways to contain candy. Their mechanical products are extremely hard-to-find. (Look at pages 116-118.) This particular Magic Pot is sure nice, but has a number of condition issues. Even so, it brought $1,325! So, even though prices seem to have softened very recently, this is an example of a strong price.
Rare German Mini-Diecut
I attended an event last week in southern California’s California Adventure park called the Oogie Boogie Bash - A Disney Halloween Party. It replaces the significantly superior Mickey’s Halloween Party in Disneyland. As a bonus during the trip, I had the opportunity to view Jason Walcott’s collection for the first time since 2018. Jason’s collection is amazing and wide-ranging. One of the true pleasures of seeing his collection is the quality of each piece. Jason, like me, places a very high value on condition. Anyway, as I was perusing his wonderful displays, I spied the German mini-diecut shown below. I had never seen it before. It makes me wonder just how many German Halloween mini-diecuts were made. Congratulations, Jason, on having such a fantastic collection so nicely displayed. Thanks for letting me visit!
Embossed Antique German MINI Diecut Halloween black cat RARE!
I have learned to really examine these mini-diecuts for variations. This arched-back black cat mini-diecut has differences from the one I own and that is shown on page 185. Look at the positioning of the legs and the shape of the tail. I don’t have a theory as to why these variations surface so regularly with these mini-diecuts. This went for less than I would have thought.
Nice Antique Vintage Halloween Bridge Tally Card, The Unique Line
This is an exceptionally hard-to-find tally produced by Unique. I’ve seen it only 2-3 times in 33 years. There is a companion tally that was sold with this one. (It can be seen in the Acquisitions section of the blog.)
10/12 Update: This sold for much less than I would have thought - $86.
