Blog

Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.

Vintage 1920's Dennison Jack O Lantern Acorn Halloween Seals - Full box of 20

It’s fun watching how the different segments comprising the entire vintage or secondary Halloween market change over time. A few seasons ago boxed Dennison items evoked some yawns. This has certainly not been the case over the last twelve months. I’ve been tracking boxed Dennison prices and to say they have strengthened would be spot on. And they should be strengthening. These boxed sets are largely ~100 years old. To find full boxes is truly something if you think about it. Seals have a tendency to clump and curl, so to find a full box of seals able to be displayed like the ones in this listing should achieve a strong result. Dennison items be they boxed, meant to be hung or meant to be displayed atop a table have long been one of my favorite segments. This particular set is compelling. The acorn faces are weirdly spooky and hard to find. They were offered for perhaps one or two seasons in the mid-1920s.

Dennison Vintage Halloween Spook Ghost Seals sticker holiday H 468 box

Based on the stock number, this box of seals was probably released in 1915. It is a rare design - one that I had not seen before. I decided not to be a bidder as I have a bias against products that don’t have at least half of their stated contents. This arbitrary cut-off may be dumb, for it is possible I won’t see this again. However, other factors weighed against a bid. The seller didn’t provide many photos and puzzlingly said the box was “full and unopened.” The seller later added a needed clarification. So, the central question for me is this: Was the ending price of $405 justified for a box with 4 of 25 seals? I say no, but at least two of the bidders disagree.

Vintage Dennisons Halloween Seals Black Cat Witch Pumpkin In Box 1920s Stickers

Dennison had a very distinctive look for their output from about 1928 through 1932. I’d love to know who this/these artist/artists were. This superb box of seals is one of their best designs. Just look at how much energy is exuded in this small seal. I’ve noticed a general softening of prices across all segments so it will be fun to see what this brings. I feel it is a $400+ slide box.

Vintage Dennisons Halloween Seals Green and Red Leaves In Box 1920s

Dennison hit a few home runs in their seal designs produced from the early teens through the early 30s. (Admittedly, there were a few singles, doubles and triples - and sadly, a very few strikeouts, too!) This “triple” design first appeared in 1928. They contain an assortment of two, not necessarily evenly balanced between the two designs. (Things weren’t as precise back then.) The fact that this example has nine of one and eleven of the other is perfectly fine. I expect this listing to fetch significantly more than the current level of $146.50. If you’re a Dennison boxed set collector, you cannot let this slip away.

Vintage Dennison Halloween Acorn Face Stickers Seals H732

I haven’t seen a complete box of these really well-designed anthropomorphic acorns available for quite some time. This is one of my favorite Dennison designs. They were first sold in 1926. Even though the box looks a bit tired, the contents seem unfaded. Given the prices seen lately for small paper, this deserves to hit or exceed $200.

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.

Vintage Halloween Black Owl Seals Gibson Great Condition

I’m glad that boxes of Gibson seals are getting the market attention they deserve. (In fact, a box alone sold for $79!) Gibson was always the also-ran to Dennison in terms of seals - certainly both in artistry and quantity/distribution. Box for box, Gibson seals are much harder to find than Dennison. I began collecting them in earnest 20+ years ago and still only have maybe 30 boxes.

1920 DENNISON'S HALLOWEEN Spook w/Pumpkins Seals Stickers Box

What a wonderfully weird design. I have never seen these seals before - and certainly never a box. Given the stock number, H513, I estimate Dennison issued this design in 1919, and surely for only a single season. So, what wasn’t a big seller back then now fetches $109.16 in 2020 for an empty box - and a well-used one at that.

Vintage Halloween Labels Witch Design Original Box

The seller left a tidy sum on the proverbial table by offering this rare boxed set of Whitney seals as a BIN for $32. Surprisingly, the listing lasted ~2.5 hours before some knowledgeable soul snapped the set up. These green-boxed Whitney seal sets have become quite desirable.