It is good to see quality porcelain tea set pieces surfacing right now. This handled cup and saucer is from the smallest set created by the Germans, called the child's tea set. (There were both medium-sized sets and adult-sized sets made as well.) Both elements of this listing are hard to find. Many more small non-handled cups survived relative to their handled brethren. The saucer's are much more difficult to find for some reason. Together they make an eye-catching addition to any display case.
I gravitate most strongly to certain genres more than others, surely like all collectors. I like paper items like diecuts, table decorations, centerpieces and boxed Dennison and Gibson items. I also covet small-paper items like invitations, tallies and place cards, plus love these German porcelain items. I have grown lukewarm on lanterns and candy containers and have never been interested in pulp JOLs, German JOLs, costumes, treat bags and hard plastic.
I project that over the next 10 years many collections from long-time collectors will come to market. Most of these collections are heavily weighted toward candy containers and lanterns, so it stands to reason that these genres will see a medium-term dip. From all of my travels and invitations to see the collections of those who began collecting in the sixties, seventies and eighties, I can say assuredly that it was the rare such collector who collected much paper. I am projecting (and actively acting on my projections) that the market for paper and small paper will remain strong while other genres cyclically fade over the next ten years.
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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.
7 Vintage HALLOWEEN Paper Plates 8" OWL BLACK CAT PUMPKIN MAN~RETRO GRAPHICS
Wow, this is a real head-scratcher. $1,025 for seven plates? At over $146 per plate, the prevailing bidder must be wondering what possessed him or her. These plates, made by Beach & Arthur, come up regularly and typically trade for ~$35-55. Weird, huh?
1930 HALLOWEEN SPOT WITCH GAME
Beistle copyrighted this game in 1930 and released it in 1932 in both enveloped and boxed versions. (Both are valued equally.) As I write on page 18, "I have been puzzled as to why this game doesn't seem to be very coveted. Admittedly, the contents are ho-hum but the artwork on the front of the packaging is compelling." SGV for an example in better condition than this one is $110. RSIN is 3.
10/08 Update: This brought a surprisingly strong $201.50.
RARE Vintage Halloween Witch+Broomstick Candy Container Cardboard Box GERMAN USA
I don't think this box is German, but something made in the USA for candy shops, probably during the 1930s. There are several different designs, none marked. If you have information as to who made these and when, I'd love to have the information.
Vintage Halloween Clapper Germany
This seller offered several rare tin litho German noisemakers for a song - $39 each. This particular listing ended less than 8 minutes after activation. I wish I would have seen these listings. (This is a busy time of the year for me.) Another example of why one should use an auction format unless there is an excellent handle on current pricing.
Vintage HALLOWEEN Jack O'Lantern Decoration - 'Push the Cat, Make the Eyes Roll'
This is actually a remnant from one of the exceedingly rare mechanical Rosen "Pops" boxes they produced as retail counter top displays. At one time this was the top for the Rosen "Pumpkin Pops" box made in the mid-1930s. Please turn to pages 116-118 to view others in this almost impossible to find family of boxes.
Vintage Halloween 1920's-30's Boxed Set of 12 Different Fortune Cards, Unused
It would have been great if this rare set would have been marked. I'd love to know which firm produced it. I suspect it was a regional player with limited distribution. I've never seen any part of this set before. That is certainly an element of this great hobby that keeps it interesting - one never knows when a previously unknown item will surface.
Antique, Vintage Halloween Tin Litho Metal 1920's Lid, Top, Witch, Cat, Owl
The seller of this fine cymbal visited me at the A Bewitching Fete show held this past Friday evening and Saturday in Pleasanton, California. (It is the one show at which I sell during the year.) The show was crowded and my table was routinely busy, probably because I was the only seller deeply stocked with vintage items. The seller wondered what I thought the ending price would be. I said it should bring no less than ~$150, which seemed to pleasantly surprise her. She must be over the moon with this result.
Vintage Dennison? Halloween Hallowe'en Silhouettes Box Cats Bats Skull Very Old
Beistle produced this box of 14 silhouettes during the 1920s. This is not a particularly tough box to obtain. Also, silhouettes don't fetch much, so this result is hard to understand on those two counts. SGV is $75 so the prevailing bidder paid a steep premium.
Antique HALLOWEEN Cardboard PUMPKIN WAGON Toy Pair
I received an email today asking if these were reproductions. They aren't. For some reason, the bane of our hobby, those who reproduce vintage items and try to pass them off as old, haven't wrapped their repellent claws around this design yet. This slot and tab candy holder was intermittently made by the Dolly Toy Company of Dayton, Ohio from 1934 through 1953. This design is less common than the witch and the black cat carts shown on page 53. SGV is $250.
10/06 Update: This pair sold at a discount for $305.99.
Vintage 1920's German Halloween Crow Diecut ~ 7 1/2 Inches Tall
The Germans made two heavily embossed crow diecuts during the 1920s. This one, looking to the side, comes on the market more often than the other design where the crow is looking directly at you. SGV for the latter is $325. The last time the latter design sold on eBay was in July of 2015. It brought a strong $440.
Rare Large German Black Cat Pumkin Head Lantern W Ears Red Lips
This really is an eye-catcher! I don't collect German or US pulp lanterns but this one is appealing. The ears, the bright whiskers and insert and the mammoth size all contribute to making this lantern desirable. Look at the strong ending price. Most of the German lanterns with added ornamentation were made in the later 1920s and through 1935. The earlier ones typically are plain. It took a few seasons for the Germans to get in the swing of things.
Vintage Rare Halloween Beistle Sunflower Tally Card
It is great to see one of the very elusive Beistle tutu tallies being offered, especially by this fine seller. Beistle produced two tutu tally designs in 1930-1931 and sold them as a set. Oddly, this is the one that surfaces more regularly than the other. You can see both designs by turning to page 223.
Original Vintage 1950s HALLOWEEN NOVELTIES STORE DISPLAY witch POSTER 3 FEET !!!
What a grand display item to unfurl above a case crammed with vintage Halloween! I agree with this excellent seller that this was undoubtedly something that retailers would receive. Imagine the foresight that someone had to keep this large ephemeral item from being cavalierly tossed away. If I had the wall space, this would have been a wonderful addition to the collection.
OLD party hat and mask maybe from set from early 1900's Owls, cats +
This rare domino mask was produced by Beistle from 1926-1931. It is unusual to see the domino mask attached to a band hat. I am not sure if this is a marriage between two items or if Beistle sometimes produced this as one unit. There were four domino mask designs made. All have a RSIN of 2.
10/01 Update: This sold for $38.12.
