The ending price for this doesn’t make sense until you look at the bidding history. This Dennison place card, first available in 1922 with a stock number of H-15, surfaces regularly and typically trades far below the value established in this listing. There were two bidders driving the action. The prevailing bidder probably thought the price would never creep as high as it did, but a determined underbidder with little feedback, and presumably little knowledge of the RSIN of this item, placed five bids, driving the price up, surely to the seller’s delight. eBay is a forum where such upside surprises can tickle and delight, but these upside surprises are seldom sustainable.
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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.
halloween decorations vintage antique Witch And Culderon 1925
Beistle made three sizes of their iconic cauldrons from 1928-1932. This appears to be the middle size, measuring ~7.5” across. Although there is wear on this item, it is noticeably absent from the arch, which alone is compelling. The seller’s unusual spelling and Hemingway-esque description may limit “watchers,” so a bargain may be in the offing. (My mention of it may obviate these seller-imposed disadvantages.)
Vintage Halloween Nut Cup Unused Condition Witch Cauldron JOL Cat
This rare, large, ornately designed nut cup would have brought far more had the seller simply listed it in an auction format at an opening price of $9.99. I didn’t find one to add to the collection until October 2015, so these don’t often surface. I feel the seller left at least $100 on the table.
Vintage 1920s Halloween Party Mechanical Fortune Placecard
What a great item. I am tantalized by the last photo the seller included showing the box from which this mechanical place card came. Wow! I would have been a bidder but was away in an area of Montana where the connectivity was spotty. Darn…
Vintage 1925 HALLOWEEN Large Die-Cut Accordion Crepe WITCH & Fiery Caldron
This cauldron decoration was produced by Beistle from 1928-1932. I believe it was originally part of their Rustic Fireplace due to the streamers at the bottom meant to simulate flames. See page 127 for more information. The seller needs to include more and higher resolution photos. It is hard to tell whether the arch has been repaired. It appears as if it has been restored in some fashion.
03/10 Update: I feel the lack of good photos hampered this item from bringing the dollars it deserved. It sold for only $162.50.
RARE Antique Witch Cauldron 1925 Beistle collapsible paper Vintage Halloween
It was great to see this listing for the iconic Beistle honeycomb cauldron. This design came in three sizes, with this one appearing to be the largest. The arch, normally the scene of the crime with these delicate objects, is intact. I suspect the seller might have gotten more for this given its size and overall condition if it had been offered through an auction format.
Halloween German Miniature Diecut, Witch Stirs Cauldron, 1930s
This is arguably the very best design of the set to which this German mini-diecut belongs. Its intricacy while maintaining such a small form-factor is appealing. Prices this season have been extraordinarily strong, which causes me to wonder where all the money is coming from. Typically, at this point in the cycle, prices start to droop due to many, many listings and the depletion of the more casual collector’s monetary resources. I haven’t seen that repeated this cycle to the extent I forecasted. One theory is that our hobby is experiencing an influx of well-heeled new collectors. (Thankfully, I started collecting in the 1980s!)
Vintage 1920s Dennison Witch In Boiling Caldron Halloween Seals Lot of 20 In Box
This is a hard-to-find Dennison box of seals. These were first sold in 1924 with a stock number of H682. It is unusual to find all the seals extant in good shape. Many times they are rolled or have clumped together. A fair price for this is in the $125-140 range.
Vintage Halloween Die-Cut Witch & Honeycomb Cauldron RARE
Beistle produced at least three table decoration designs that incorporated their signature honeycomb onto a diecut backdrop. They produced these only during the 1957-58 seasons. They were apparently not strong sellers. I don’t feel many were produced, and certainly few have survived the 60+ years since they were made. None of the three designs surface often, so this is a rare opportunity to acquire one. I’ve seen this table decoration maybe three times in 31 years of collecting. One has thus far escaped my grasp. It shows a bashful scarecrow near a honeycomb pumpkin. That can be seen on page 7 of Lasansky’s reference. The other to the set can be seen on page 228 of my third and final edition.
08/25 Update: This ended up bringing $182.49. Even though the condition of the honeycomb is problematic, I feel the buyer did well.
1930`s Die Cut Mechanical Witch in Caldron Dennison Tally Card #4
This is another example of the over-heated small paper market segment. This tally, produced by Dennison for the first time in 1928, surfaces enough that this ending price is eyebrow-raising, if nothing else.
1930's Vintage Halloween Witch in Cauldron Die Cut - Rare Glow in Dark
This seller comes up with the most wonderful items! It’s nice to see some interesting items popping up on eBay, as there has been too much junk of late. As stated in the listing, this witch falling into a cauldron glow-in-the-dark decoration is a companion piece to the Jitterbug Jones decoration shown on page 293. I don’t know which firm produced this innovative item. I thought I had a photo of the placard that would have been attached to this originally, but I can’t find it. This is the best one (of the three) that I’ve seen for sale. I’ve never seen one in-person - they are that rare. It’ll be fun to see what this fetches. Its RSIN would definitely be a 1.
03/11 Update: Thanks to a fellow collector who may have the only compete example extant, I can relay what is printed on the placard that should be attached to this diecut: “Turn off the light And ghostly bright A grinning skull Glows thru the night.”
03/14 Update: This sold for an eye-popping $960! It wasn’t even complete. Irrational exuberance?
Vintage Halloween Beistle Witch Jack O Lantern fold-out-basket Pat. 1925 ~Rare~
A fair number of these Beistle favor baskets have surfaced recently, but I think this is the first one of this design. In my judgment, it is the strongest design of the four Beistle issued from 1927-1931. This one is rough. The seller really should provide more photos.
Antique Embossed Mini Die-cut Witch & Cauldron with easel back - Made in Germany
This is one of a set of at least five designs made both during the 1930s as well as right after WWII from 1945-1949. There is just a handful of German diecuts that will routinely surface showing a mark indicating a manufacture date during the late 1940s, but the set to which this design belongs is among them. Others from the set can be seen on page 185. In my view, this is the strongest design from the set.
05/03 Update: This sold for an astounding $595. SGV is $250.
Vtg 1920s 1930s Jolly Halloween Die Cut Party PLACE CARDS Bats Cats Cauldron
I'd not seen this awesome place card design prior to this listing. There doesn't appear to be a maker's mark. I know the manufacturer isn't Beistle, Dennison or Whitney and suspect that it isn't Gibson. Maybe Volland or Henderson Line? What I do know is that I like the design very much. If the buyer is a reader, know that I'd love to buy one!
03/08 Update: Thankfully, the buyer is a reader and will offer one to me once the lot is received. Thanks!
Vintage Halloween Witch Cauldron Place Card USA Dennison
This gem of a place card design was produced by Dennison and first appeared in their 1922 Bogie Book. Typically sold in boxed sets of six, these are surprisingly hard to find. The stock number was H-15. Aside from the name written on the card (used for the purpose intended...) this card is in great shape, with only some toning on the reverse. I like this seller and feel he offers things for a fair price. If you like awesome design, snap up this treasure!
