This lot of masks and one rare-ish diecut was produced by Beistle, with most having long runs from 1938-1954. The witch face diecut is hard-to-find, and was produced only from 1933-1938. Given that this seller has smartly started the entire lot at a very reasonable $9.99, someone may be able to score a bargain if this lot contains items that interest you.
St. Patrick's Day update: The lot sold for a very reasonable $65.00!
Unfortunately, here is another example of a collector, almost certainly one without much experience, wasting money on an item that isn't vintage. Always be wary of buying any Halloween items listed as being vintage from Germany-based sellers. The Germans made all of their Halloween items through the 1950s for export only, nothing was left in the country to sell. This devil head has none of the characteristics associated with truly vintage German candy containers.
This isn't a vintage item. The best way to tell is its lack of indented rings on the bottom. The flat base is a dead give-away. Additionally, the bale is modern. This is merely an item made recently, probably off-shore, with zero collectible value.
Wow, the buyer got a real steal on this wonderfully detailed and rare Whitney place card. Whitney, out of business in 1942, made a broad line of these cleverly designed items, and this arguably is one of the very finest. I've only seen this a few times. Each time, save this one, it brought ~$60, so congratulations to the lucky buyer.
Ebay is such an unpredictable marketplace. This is a very common punch game that surfaces regularly and typically fetches around $15. Why it brought $51 is a mystery.
This seller has listed a number of very dubious Halloween items recently. Here is another one. This is not an old item, but one that has been recently manufactured somewhere, probably off-shore. It has none of the detailing characteristic of an truly vintage item. Unfortunately for some bidder, it has already reached a price of nearly $160 with 5+ hours to go. It has zero collectible value.
03/08 Update: This ended with some poor schmuck forking over $355.00 for what is a $10 decorative item.
I've never understood why this would be considered Halloween related.
Admittedly, this is an awesome and seemingly meticulously crafted piece of Halloween folk art. However, the seller has listed and re-listed this item (among other pieces of folk art) for many months, perhaps for over a year. It illustrates that the holiday folk art field is still developing with a very limited clientele for such high-end pieces. If the seller is serious about wanting to move this out to a new home, she'll have to drop the price, perhaps substantially.
These are not "very early" seals. Dennison's packaging became quite plain and much cheaper to produce during the 1950s. Out went the slide boxes and in came these minimally decorated envelopes with the silver back seals. This set is from the later 1950s and into the early 1960s. They have a value that in no way approaches what this seller has as a BIN price.
Whomever bought this, and the two others to the set, got bargains. These typically fetch around $150. Even with the minor condition issues the photos reveal, $57 for this, the best of the trio, was an excellent purchase. Kudos to the buyer!!
These two are from a set of eight small diecuts that Beistle issued in the early 1950s. In my view, the clown is the least interesting of all eight, but the cat with bells is a tough diecut to find. Be cognizant of condition whenever buying paper.
03/10 Update: These fetched a modest $44.12.
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.
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.
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.
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.
