LARGE ANTIQUE VINTAGE BEISTLE PAPER MOON AND WITCH ON BROOM HALLOWEEN DECOR

Halloween values seem to be soft at the moment with exceptions, of course. The mystery here is why this broomed witch diecut, produced by Beistle during the early 1960s, has been bid up to $104.50 with a tad less than two days remaining. The condition is quite bad with more than some rubbing and creasing at the edges. There is a tape remnant in a prominent place and the witch’s hat is missing its pointed end.

I’ve noticed a trend of some sellers over-grading the condition of their wares. Being a collector of Bronze Age DC horror comics as well, I’m sensitive to how paper items should be graded. I almost never use descriptive terms like “mint” or certainly “dead mint.” When a seller uses such terms really peruse the item being sold. If it doesn’t meet that lofty condition threshold, call them out on it. Few truly vintage Halloween items will actually meet that threshold.

RARE Vintage Antique Halloween Black Broomed Witch Diecut Decoration Germany 20s

The Germans produced quite a few broomed witch diecuts, not surprising given the iconic nature of the image. Most of these diecuts are seen often, but this is an exception. The coloration with a touch of gray by the eye is appealing. The condition is outstanding, as is the seller, although her penchant for naming diecuts isn’t something I’m fond of. I’ve heard from a number of readers that this seller’s descriptions are much too wordy. Although I definitely agree, and feel reasonable yet substantial edits can be made, one cannot deny that zizsdream typically receives strong results. I know that the hobby will be pleased with a plethora of high quality listings she’ll be offering over these next few months, so I will be mentioning many more of her listings than normal. My typical practice is not to mention a seller too often as I’ve been told that a positive mention on my site tends to goose ending prices upward, and I don’t want to have any perceived favoritism, but the reality is that eBay has largely become a “quality vintage Halloween desert,” so when good things are listed I’m going to be inclined to mention them regardless of seller.

*RARE* 1950s Vintage Halloween BEISTLE Witch Glancing Backwards Pale Green Moon

There have been a number of results that have caused me to raise my eyebrows in disbelief, this being one of them. The three Beistle diecuts that comprise a full set are arguably the result of a last creative gasp from an organization that had been running on fumes for too long by the time these were released during the late 1950s. The trio is stunning! The condition of this example is so problematic that I question why it would have brought nearly $430.

Vintage Luhrs (Beistle) Halloween Paper/Honeycomb Party Hat Witch/Moon 1940s

Beistle produced this design, as well as the additional three designs comprising a complete set, from 1946-1954. The prices for these designs have been largely moribund for years, but lately this has changed. I sold two designs in my recent auction that fetched well above the average selling prices established over the last few years. You can see all four designs on page 243.

Vintage Halloween Embossed Flying Witch Die Cut Germany 1920s/30s

This is one large diecut, measuring ~16” high by ~14.5” across. The comment I want to make is about condition. This large highly embossed decoration is in what I would consider “normal” condition. I’ve been a collector since 1988 with a penchant for condition, but sometimes it is too easy to forget that such examples in near mint or better condition are truly rare, and a pleasant surprise when you see one. I sold the example in my book on page 178 in May 2020 for $302 when I judged the condition as not being high enough for it to remain part of the collection. Was that dumb? No. Condition is key for me, perhaps more so than with many other collectors. Each of our condition thresholds differ. I try not to lose sight of the fact that vintage Halloween items were generally not viewed as things to be saved/preserved, hence the rarity of near mint or better pieces. When I first looked at this listing I thought that the condition was only “good,” but that was a reflex based on my threshold. The reality is that virtually all collectors would find this example a totally acceptable candidate for their collections - and that is the way it should be.
I spent last weekend in the greater Los Angeles region attending a toy and advertising show in Glendale, with fun forays to visit collectors in La Verne and Whittier. There was virtually no Halloween at the show except those items you’d fully expect to see at a show. That really underscored how rare items are for our fun hobby. I look around at my collection and am thankful I’ve been able to find what I’ve found. I hope you do the same for your collections.

Vintage Halloween Beistle Die Cut 1920’s Witch Over Moon

Beistle sold this non-embossed diecut, a smaller otherwise identical diecut and both small and large non-embossed diecuts of an electrified cat in large envelopes during the early 1920s. Characteristic of so much of Beistle’s early output, the envelope is nearly as good as the contents. It is this kind of rigorous attention to detail that causes so many of us to avidly collect anything Beistle produced prior to 1935.
Given the condition of this diecut, so fully described by the seller, I wouldn’t have expected the price to have exceeded $90-100.

Vintage 1950s Merri Lei Cardboard 10.5” Witch Halloween Die Cut Wall Hanger

I was surprised to see that this sold for what it did. This non-embossed diecut produced by Merri-Lei is common. It is part of a packaged set that typically includes a black cat, a JOL and a skull. None have the design aesthetic that elicits a “wow!” (That is a polite way of saying they are uninteresting.) This particular example has water-staining and some speckling, yet it brought nearly $50. They generally trade in the $18-25 range, so the buyer paid a premium.

Box of 40 Vintage HALLOWEEN WITCH Dennison Gummed Seals - Very Cool!

Dennison rarely strayed from packaging their awesome wares in boxes and envelopes that have become familiar to collectors. For reasons I don’t know, they sometimes switched things up with their packaging. I’ve had this same set in the collection for many years. It is one of two seal designs packaged in a non-traditional manner. (The other is a tiny box of simple JOLs.) These seals and the box rarely surface. Collectors may have been confused by the packaging, accounting for what I consider a low ending result.

Rare Embossed Die Cut Halloween Witch Skittle Game Piece Germany - Excellent

Irrational exuberance! This item surfaces regularly. The seller must be rapturous.

Rust Craft Art Deco Halloween Bridge Tally Witch Broom Full Moon Black Bow 3HT7

I’m having trouble making sense of this result.

RARE Vintage 1913 DENNISON'S Halloween FLYING WITCH Gummed Seals Stickers in BOX

Wow, this seems like a high price to pay for these seals, mainly because the box is in such bad shape. This design first appeared in Dennison’s 1914 Bogie Book so it is an early set.

Doily or mat, witches, bats, Great condition

The prices these individual non-embossed paper doilies have been bringing boggle my mind. Produced during the 1920s - probably by Whitney - they were sold in glassine envelopes in quantities of 10 per envelope. I have a complete set of these in the envelope. You can see it on page 282. I’d be happy to sell the package for $800 plus shipping. (I’d also sell the green set for $800 plus shipping.)

1930's PRINTED PAPER-FACED TAMBORINE w/TIN RIM-7" in Diameter

The version shown on page 213 has a decorated rim whereas this one has a plain rim. I’m surprised there would be two versions of such an economically made design. I would love to know for sure which firm produced this tambourine. Several collectors have mentioned that they’ve found this tambourine design as part of a Collegeville “gypsy” costume from the 1930s, but I’ve never been able to independently verify that Collegeville included such items with their costumes.

Very rare antique witch die Cut

Beistle issued a trio of broomed witches diecuts during the late 1950s. This is arguably the best design of the three. (You can see the others on page 159.) This trio is almost impossible to find in collectible condition for some reason. They are large on thinner paper stock. I don’t think Beistle produced many of these in the grand scheme of things. A good paper restorer could probably work wonders on this damaged example.

02/21 Update: I almost keeled over when I saw that this damaged diecut sold for $510. I agree that a competent paper restorer should be able to make this look near-new, but that would cost ~$200, making the total investment over $700, significantly over what this diecut has sold for in near-mint, unrestored condition.

03/07 Update: This same diecut in better condition sold yesterday for the shockingly low price of $103.51. I have to chalk it up to the vagaries of eBay.

Vtg Halloween Dennison Witch On Broom Moon Owl Black Cat Die Cut 1950s

Here’s another mystery. This 1960-1970s diecut is in poor condition with far from memorable imagery and yet someone actually bid $125.50 on it. I know eBay has been a wasteland of late, but this result boggles the mind.

02/14 Update: This same seller has listed three more of these as of today.

02/21 Update: As expected, two of the three sold for less than $30 each. The third sold for $50. The person who spent $125.50 must be wondering what possessed them.