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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.

Barbara Smuts - R.I.P.

I wanted to take a moment to honor a person who was instrumental in shaping my life. Barbara Smuts was the person who started me on my journey of collecting vintage Halloween memorabilia. She ran a one-person antiques shop in Fair Oaks, California, from 1982 until 2013. It was into her shop, Blue Eagle Antiques, that I wandered one day in early October of 1988, not knowing how that innocent browsing excursion would alter my wallet and sensibilities. Barbara, the epitome of midwestern kindness, had an encyclopedic knowledge of antiques. Her specialization was in American primitive furniture but she knew a lot on a lot of subjects, including holiday memorabilia. Well, that day she asked if I’d mind moving a few boxes from a back storeroom to a spot near the large front window. I did move them and asked what was in them. She said it was the vintage Halloween items that she saved all year to put out for sale a few weeks before Halloween. Well, I opened the boxes and was instantly hooked. (Truly, instantly hooked, buying much of the contents of those boxes that very day for $300.) From that day forward, I always considered Barbara to be the godmother of my collection. I dedicated all three editions of my book to her. We remained friends until her passing at nearly 91 on November 20th. I last spoke to her this past Halloween. Barbara was a truly remarkable person. She was funny, witty and canny - all wonderful qualities. Barbara was the mother to three lucky children and the wife of a very lucky guy, Jerry.
Below is a photo I snapped of Barbara, stalwart at her shop’s counter, on Halloween of 1992. She was in the spirit. Look at her scarf and its central JOL.

RARE Vintage Halloween Moon & Cats Decoration Casting/Mold Plate

Here’s something I’ve not seen for decades - a seemingly actual pressing plate used to produce one of Beistle’s well-known diecuts. Diecuts from this set of twelve were made from 1932 through the early 1950s. Collectors can estimate when diecuts from this set were pressed based on the level of embossing present. (As the plate was used over time the level of detail from the plate would decrease.) This kind of artifact from the production process almost never surfaces. I saw a few back in the early 1990s, but none since. The price seems right as many collectors, like me, aren’t overly interested in such items.

Vintage Halloween Orange Cat Paper Mache Lantern

This is the time of the year when quality vintage Halloween listings on eBay are unusual. The number of newly produced items, mostly made offshore, populating eBay’s listings is overwhelming. I do wish they would rigorously police their categories. So, it was nice to see this great little cat head lantern. This particular pulp lantern is on the harder-to-find end of the availability spectrum. I think if this lantern would have been offered in the June-August timeframe it may have brought ~20% more. When things are offered in an auction setting make a difference.

Antique 1940s Cardboard Noisemaker Horn Halloween Durene Yarn x3 Vintage Toy

This trio of horns was produced by Bugle Toy of Providence, RI, during the 1940s. The seller notes the textile labels on the interior of what is now a horn noisemaker. The labels provide a clue as to the cost savings emphasis kept front-and-center by Bugle as well as other manufacturers. They would purchase used textile spindles in bulk to use as the basis for which to wrap the spindles in lithoed paper to mark various holidays, like Halloween. One might ask why firms like Bugle wouldn’t remove the labels. Don’t forget that these operations were not high-margin endeavors. These horns originally sold for pennies. Removing the labels would add to production costs without a real benefit, so the labels stayed.

Happy Halloween To All!

This has sure been a good season. Sellers on eBay have offered many great items over these last few months. The best lot was the complete and pristine set of NOMA JOL lights offered by hrlpjr. It sold for a tad over $5,000. I was glad to learn that it went to one of my favorite collectors who happens to live in Massachusetts. I’m always happy to see stellar items go to stellar collectors.

Thanks for being a regular reader. I’m going to allocate more time to updating the site. (This has been such a busy season that I am despairing that it is all over for 2024 in mere hours.) I want to add to my Acquisitions section. I will also be adding ~30 items to my For Sale page in the next two weeks, so stay tuned.

Have a Happy Halloween! MBL

#77 Vintage Halloween Dennison's Bogie Book Original

The seller doesn’t point it out anywhere in the listing, but this is a hardcover version of Dennison’s 1919 Bogie Book. I don’t believe I have ever seen a hardcover version of this issue. It went for a song relative to its worth. Sellers who rely on simply stating “See the photos” or words to that affect, annoy me. Take the time to describe the item fully, yet minimally. Most sellers want the most they can get for an item. This goal is at cross-purposes with stating next-to-nothing about the listing except, “See the photos.”

Vintage Halloween 1930 Beistle Black Cat Jack-o-Lantern Bat Nut Cup

It’s not every day that you see this Beistle nut cup come available. As I write on page 221, I suspect this design was issued for a single season, in either 1930 or 1931. They were sold in envelopes of four with a stock number of 760N. This seller is stellar. I have had many thoroughly positive interactions with him over the years, so I don’t understand the feedback left on a transaction involving a Kokomold item. You can deal with him with confidence.

Beistle Beistle’s Halloween Party Helps Fortune Telling Game Antique Rare HTF

Beistle enveloped items are having their well-deserved moment in the sun. Beistle was clever in that they very often used the same concept and items but wrapped everything in new packaging. They issued this game in both enveloped and boxed sets. The envelopes are more common. This listing is appealing in that there is double collateral and three extra JOLs. What’s not to like?

ULTRA RARE ANTIQUE MCLOUGHLIN HALLOWEEN HAND OF FATE FORTUNES TELLING GAME

I was visiting with good friends who happen to be collectors of vintage Halloween memorabilia when this lot ended. We all stated what we thought it would fetch. We were all wrong - all of our predictions were too high. Why did this exceedingly rare, eye-catcher of a game bring such a low price? The seller took great photos - even including a video. The lid is stunning - especially with that brilliant blue circle. Whoever the buyer was has to be quite happy they acquired such an item at a real solid value. I wish I had been a bidder!

German Miniature Jack O’ Lantern Dual Handled Vase Vintage Halloween

I’ve received many, many inquiries as to whether I concur with the seller’s conclusion this vase was produced in Germany. I do. I own the same item with slightly different and somewhat finer detailing indicative of the fact that this line of products was made at different small facilities over the long run of general production from 1908-1932. As I write on page 119, “The Japanese seem to have copied only a few items: the lidded teapot, the lidded sugar, the creamer, plain waste bowls and medium-sized cups without handles.” Then, “…none of the rarest, most unusual items were made by the Japanese. Marked or not, and most weren’t, these will always have been made in Germany.” I’ve been exceedingly busy this season, else I would have posted earlier.

10/26 Update: This sold for $2,938.88!

Very Rare Beistle Vintage Halloween Party Centerpiece -Owl, Scarecrow, Black Cat

Beistle produced only two table top centerpiece designs in 1955. Both are quite coveted and typically bring far more than this one brought. Condition certainly contributed to the ending price, but time of year may have played a part as well. As I write on page 233 about these centerpieces, “It, for me, represents the last gasp of the best of Beistle’s iconic imagery before the blandness and silliness of their later designs ran rampant.”

Rare Vintage Halloween Rosbro Black Witch Riding Rocket Read Description

This plastic item was actually produced by Kokomold. It sold for $1,175, not $1,400 as eBay inexplicably shows. Even so, that is a lot of money for something so compromised. Kokomold arguably was the firm producing the most avant-garde designs - designs today that are highly coveted. (Try getting your hands on their coach for less than $2,000!) As with anything else, buy items in the nicest condition possible. The buyer of this paid an aggressive price for an item in far less than “fine” condition.