New Lantern Design from Tim Ramzyk of Pulp Novelties!!

Tim Ramzyk is just days away from releasing his latest fantastic creation, The Devil! Just look at the craftsmanship! Having the privilege of owning six of his prior designs, it can be no secret that Tim is one of those artists that just gets better with each new item. When I unboxed this treasure today, I involuntarily exclaimed, “Wow!” It measures 7.25” high by 7.75” across by 7.5” deep. Just look at those ears! They remind me of the tailfins on the 1959 Cadillac Eldorado!

Tim is a Wisconsin-based artist who meticulously and painstakingly hand molds his own designs from a heavy, durable material. I am in awe at the workmanship and the true craft Tim brings to pulp design. I proudly have all of his treasures now on exhibit in my main display room. (For those who I've been lucky to host at my home, you know that in order for anything to be placed in that room, it has to be pretty spectacular.)

Tim is offering The Devil for $160 plus shipping, a bargain for an item of this quality! He’ll begin selling them in small batches on Etsy on October 1st. Due to past levels of demand, he may create request lists when the initial batch sells through. Make sure you get your name on that list as early as you can! The name of his Etsy shop is PulpNovelties. You can also contact him directly at pulpnovelties@aol.com.

For those who know me, you know that I rarely buy anything Halloween unless it is vintage. I've made an exception - and you should too. Snap this wonderful design up before they are ALL GONE.

AMAZING 1926 Halloween Pan Confection Co. Store Display 20 Pcs.

This listing was arguably one of the most important ones to see the light of day this year for us paper lovers. Over the many decades I’ve avidly collected vintage Halloween, I’ve seen the odd piece from what I know now is this set issued in 1926. I often wondered what they were and which firm made them. The devil with pitchfork and the owl atop rocks were the two I had seen on a handful of occasions. In fact, I had sold the former in this year’s May auction - inaccurately dating it to the 1930s. I saw this listing almost immediately. The seller had chosen a main photo that surely deterred many collectors from clicking on the listing. The seller listed it at $9.99 with an option to make an offer. I made an offer of $1900, but it was auto-declined when someone placed the minimum bid. I contacted the seller and made a private offer. He consulted with the consignor who decided to let the auction run its course, typically the smart decision. If you examine the original listing you’ll see the set is complete with the hanging witch, the illustration shown below and the original mailing envelope. This set was sent free to candy shops that ordered Pan’s 1926 Halloween case assortment. I think I am on safe ground to say that not many complete sets made it through nearly 100 years in this near-pristine condition. The pieces are quite large. The devil backdrop measures 26” across by 17”. I was the prevailing bidder at the bargain price of $832.99. My maximum bid was far higher. Considering that an incomplete box of Dennison seals sold for $900, this was a true bargain, made more true as this is a possibly one-of-a-kind set. It is now a jewel in my personal collection - one of the best acquisitions I have ever made.

Vintage Halloween 1900's Aleinmueller Paper Hat Black Cat,Witch Fab Graphic 14"H

This may be the first time I’ve seen one of these hats actually complete. The paper used was so thin that much of a hat was gone or severely ripped when I’ve seen one on offer. The fact that it has been on a conical mold for a while preserving its intended shape is a bonus. The price paid seems a relative bargain considering what many common items have been recently bringing. Congrats to the buyer!

1920's HALLOWEEN PARTY INVITATION / WHITNEY / BOY w/ JACK O LANTERN GHOSTS MOON

I love when examples surface with a firm date affixed. The (probably) Whitney invitation is shown on page 277 with a date attribution of the 1920s. While that is technically correct, we know now that this invitation was produced as early as 1920. (That’s assuming the person writing the note on the invitation wasn’t date-addled!)

09/30 Update: This brought an astounding $228.37.

Vintage Halloween Skeleton Made in Germany Embossed Jointed Paper

Even with many condition issues, this ultra-rare German jointed skeleton diecut brought $450. What makes it so rare? The size is the rarity factor. These were made in several sizes. The smallest and most common measures 27”. The largest and rarest measures 50”. I’ve only seen this size a handful of times.

Vintage Beistle Halloween Black Cat Favor Basket Nut Cup

Beistle produced four designs of what they called favor baskets between 1927 and 1931. This particular example from a stellar seller looks fresh - almost as if someone bought it, never folded it open and left it in an envelope. The colors look bright and the honeycomb perfect.

09/28 Update: This item in exceptional condition brought an exceptional price of $481.99.

Rare Antique American Pulp Halloween Skeleton Lantern

This US lantern doesn’t surface very often. They were not made with inserts, so this fine example is complete.

Auctions - 123 of them - by stnick22

Almost every year at this time, the seller stnick22 unveils a panoply of mouth-watering vintage Halloween goodies offered at auction with very low opening bids and no reserve - exactly the way it should be. The sellers are long-time holiday collectors with exquisite taste oozing from every pore. It doesn’t hurt that they are kind souls who are a credit to our fun hobby.
I’ve reviewed all of their lots and am amazed at the breadth. There are truly things for every level of collector, irrespective of their specific interests as virtually every market segment is represented. Do you want a very high-end candy container? You have many to choose from! Do you want one of the ultra-rare table-top lanterns like the parade lantern shown on page 129? You have arguably the finest one that exists today to bid on! Diecuts? Check. Noisemakers? Check. Lanterns? Check.
On top of all this, as mentioned before - T and D are nice. They are worthy of your bids, anchors of trustworthiness in this time of peril for newer collectors. I have my eye on a few lots. It’ll be fun to see what this collection brings.

09/28 Update: As expected, most of the lots almost surely surpassed the sellers’ expectations. Such enthusiasm! I know our fun hobby has been quickly growing with eager new collectors diving right in. These many lots represented so many market segments with items for everyone. I would have liked to have acquired the skeleton band member diecut, but others were more aggressive in its pursuit. Overall, it was fun watching what the listings brought. I expect a lull now as many of the more casual collectors have spent their budget. Word on the street is that Bertoia will be offering high-quality vintage Halloween consignments from Bob Merck in November. I have personally spoken with many collectors who have mentioned they are saving up for that event. Count me in!

ANTIQUE DENNISON'S 469 GUMMED SEALS BOX PUMPKIN W/ PIPE USA TOP hAT 20s vintage

I’ve received a fair amount of email on this result with the general tone best reflected by this short but sweet email: “Hey Mark, Hope you're well! I'm sure you've seen this, but if not ... WTF!?”
My sentiments, exactly!

Vintage Antique Atco Pulp Paper Mache Halloween Pumpkin Girl Candy Container

This common pulp JOL was produced by ATCO during the early 1960s. Complete examples have a cardboard cover for the hole on the bottom. This result is another surprising one this season as these typically bring $35-45.

Vtg Halloween Hallmark Diecut Place card Cat Owl JOL Moon H83 - Unused, Rare!

The apogee of Hallmark’s design aesthetic was reached with the intricately colored items from this set issued in the late 1920s. There is a tally of the image with the cat and owl playing cards that is quite a bit larger than the identical image on this place card. There is an even more intricate invitation from this same set. Prior to my acquiring one recently, I had never seen this place card before. I have come to appreciate Hallmark’s output from this narrow range of years. If you appreciate the best of small paper, this card is one you must acquire.

LARGE vintage Dennison's "Singing Cat & Witch" diecut! Rare & near mint. 1928!

This fantastic diecut is in remarkable condition. In fact, it may be in the best condition I’ve seen. It seems as if Dennison printed this in 1928, a buyer came along then tucked it gently into a drawer never opening it again until it was liberated for this listing. I think the buyer is right - the songbook being held was almost certainly meant to serve another purpose. I can imagine this hung on a wall at a long-ago party with “FOOD” and an arrow contained within the perimeter of the songbook. Awesome! It will be fun to see what this brings.

Vintage Halloween Cardboard Tab & Slot Candy Container Nut Cup Witch Cat Gibson

What a magnificent item! I had never seen this Gibson nut cup design before seeing this listing. I appreciate the detailed rendering of the scene and the colors chosen by the designer. Gibson produced some of the most interesting and avant-garde products. I’ve collected their output (small paper, seals and diecuts) many years. The seller is a long-time, knowledgeable member of the Halloween collecting community. I love doing business with her!

German HALLOWEEN Dual Face JOL LANTERN - 1928- BEISTLE - FANTASTIC - 8" X 8 1/2"

Beistle had a short-lived, but apparently fruitful, relationship with German artisans. The common lantern seen on page 37 and this precursor to their iconic 1930 are two solid examples of this alliance. This lantern was produced in two sizes with this one being the smaller. It comes available less frequently than the larger version. This seems to be in quite nice condition having both the original bottom and the very-often-missing top connector.

Vintage Dennison Halloween Jol- Headed Traffic Officer Diecut Decoration

Here is one of the most elusive and coveted of Dennison diecuts. This Halloween policeman diecut first appeared in their 1930 Price List pamphlet and made an appearance on the cover of the 1931 Hallowe’en Suggestions magazine. Collectors sometimes pair this diecut with the equally elusive and coveted Hallo’ Inn diecut, which you can see on page 142. These were produced on thin yellow paper stock. They almost will always have condition issues, like this one. The seller is awesome - a long-time, knowledgeable collector with a great eye and true artistic talent. (You should see how expert he is when working with honeycomb paper!) Deal with him with confidence.

09/18 Update: This brought a strong $456!