This is a shade made by the Gibson Art Company of Cincinnati, Ohio in 1929. It isn't complete. It is missing its perforated black construction paper disk that would slip over the three hat points to provide the shade with needed structural support. This is a hard-to-find item that typically would fetch $150-175 if in perfect condition.
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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.
FABULOUS LG ANTIQUE GERMAN SIGNED PAPER MACHE BLACK CAT CANDY CONTAINER
This isn't old. I notice that the seller makes no claim as to its age except for listing it in the vintage category. This doesn't have the correct finish, the requisite detail one would expect from an authentic German candy container or any of the charm. This has no collectible value in my opinion.
Vintage 1924 DENNISON'S BOGIE BOOK Of Suggestions for Halloween And Thanksgi
I wish that sellers would logically allow for the all-important consideration of "condition" when they list items for sale. Let's face it - this copy is darn ragged and in overall "good condition." Yet the seller imagines they'll garner bids at the opening price of $125.95, or perhaps will even entice some yokel to cough up $168..59 for what is a very sub-standard example of something that can typically be found in collectible condition. I'd suggest the seller re-list at $9.99 with no reserve and be thankful if the bidding reaches ~$60.
RARE FIND VINTAGE HALLOWEEN JOL CANDLE FANTASTIC GRAPHICS ON BOX PUMPKIN WITCH
This very cool box appears on page 84 of my second edition. The seller is correct - the box is rarely seen. In fact, fair value on the candle is around $15, while the box in perfect condition should fetch around $100. This particular box is in lesser condition, so it will be informative to see how the market values it during this very off season.
Rare Old Antique Brass Bed Warmer w Halloween Witch on Broom Design Eng Reg Mk
This is an interesting artifact. Given the seller's statement that is was made in England in the 1880s, it would have been too early to have been made for the American Halloween market, since one wasn't truly developed at that time. Nonetheless, I can see this easily fitting into a collection even though the design is in the tradition of an English interest in supernatural beings rather than any intended connection to what we now celebrate as Halloween.
Antique Child's Hallowe'en JOL Teapot German
Even with a re-glued lid, whomever bought this German porcelain tea pot, made sometime between 1908-1932, got a true bargain. The paint has more of a matte finish than normal, but it was still a nice addition to a collection for about one-third of its typical value.
Pair of circa 1920's 30's Halloween Cloth (Felt?) hats
This is merely one of hundreds of possible examples of Ebay sellers crossing their fingers and asking for the moon for items that aren't worth much. This listing has a BIN price of $270.00 with an accompanying "Make Offer" button. I wonder how serious the seller is in considering reasonable offers. A reasonable offer for this lot of two non-descript felt hats in damaged condition is perhaps $30.
Old German Porcelain Halloween Pumpkin covered box Jack o Lantern
This is a rare jam pot from the adult-sized porcelain "tea set" made in Germany as early as about 1914. This is only the second time in 26 years of collecting that I have seen this item. (I bought the one in the collection several years ago in a private sale.) This one has a number of surface flaws but brought what I consider to be a strong price nonetheless. The Germans made three sizes of these porcelain sets. The largest, to which this jam pot belongs, was marketed to adults. Any pieces from this set are extremely desirable. Kudos to the prevailing bidder!!
1950'S BRACH'S FINE CANDIES TRICK OR TREAT UNUSED CANDY BOX
This is one of the most detailed and interesting candy boxes around. I've been trying to land one in collectible condition for years and was happy to have finally done so. The final price of $89 was quite reasonable given the richness of the graphics, its overall size and just how cool this will look in one of my display cabinets. I have concluded that the much smaller Boogie House shown on page 54 was also made by Brach's.
RARE Old Vintage Halloween Cardboard Nut Cup Candy Container Dennison 1920's
This seller, who regrettably doesn't seem to have a good camera, has listed three to the complete set of four hard-to-find Dennison nut cups from the late 1920s. These were sold by Dennison only as sets. The one missing has these same black borders on the short ends only with the imagery populated heavily with bats and new moons. Fair market value is $55 each for mint examples like this one.
02/14 Update: Two finished very strongly, at nearly $80 each. The third finished below fair market value at $41.00.
HALLOWEEN Early COMPOSITION - RED DEVIL NOISEMAKER
This poor seller must not handle many Halloween items. She gushes in the listing, "Here is the best vintage Halloween item I've handled in a long time." Unfortunately for her, or anyone who might buy this POS, this is a newly made item with no vintage counterpart - a fantasy item, made in many circumstances to deceive the new collector. It has zero collectible value. Don't be fooled!
Rare 1940s Halloween Decoration w/ Black Cat Playing a Fiddle HE Luhrs Co
The seller must be going stir-crazy in her snowed in bungalow to offer this with a BIN of $100! These typically trade between $20-55 depending on condition. This seller routinely asks, yet never seems to get, breathtakingly high prices for essentially common items.
RARE Old Vintage Halloween Cardboard Name Card Placecard Decoration Black Cat
The manufacturer of this cool place card was Whitney of Worcester, Massachusetts. This was made in the 1920s, It was sold in a set of six, all different.
RARE Old VINTAGE HALLOWEEN STRING EM OUTS DENNISON JOL GARLAND 1920'S 1930'S
Dennison issued at least two different packages of what they called String-Em-Outs. (Their marketing person at the time these were released, in the mid-1920s, was not a word wizard.) The cited value of $400 on page 250 resides almost entirely in the exceedingly rare and nicely illustrated envelope containing this mainly forgettable JOL banner.
VINTAGE RARE HALLOWEEN METAL BUGLE CAT PUMPKIN WITCH OLD TOY SHAKER NOISEMAKER
Bugle Toys of Providence, Rhode Island, made some of the more interesting tin Halloween noisemakers of all the largest manufacturers of such items. Their tin designs typically conveyed energy, rather than the stolid designs of Kirchhof, T. Cohn, U.S. Metal Toy, etc. Look at this design, for instance. The witch is trying to hide from a ferocious cat which seems to be in mid-jump. Now, unfortunately, the kinetic energy of their tin designs did not transfer to Bugle's paper litho designs. These tend to be so dull as to glaze the eyes. Too bad this noisemaker, a rare form, isn't in better condition.
02/05 Update: Condition aside, this was bought for $79.99 as a result of a BIN sale.
