I have never seen this particular design before. As this great seller points out, it was made in the early 1920s in Czechoslovakia. These cute turned noisemakers have never received the collecting "love" I think they deserve. I wonder why this is the case?
Blog
Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.
SCARCE Vintage GERMANY Halloween DEVIL Heavily Embossed DIECUT German DECORATION
This is most certainly a hard-to-find German diecut. There were two design iterations for these devil face diecuts, both are shown on page 157. The one this seller has up right now is the mirror image of the one shown in the book. How a diecut was struck (mirror imaging) has no effect on the item's value. The guide price for this diecut is $175.
VINTAGE HALLOWEEN PUMPKIN MUSICIANS COMPOSITION GERMANY 1925
This seller has been trying to unload this incomplete set of veggie band members for a very long time. Catch a clue! No one wants these damaged pieces for such a high price. Offer them at a starting price of $200 and see where the bidding takes the lot. I dislike sellers who have vintage Halloween, know the market for such items has been strong for years, yet slaps a head-shakingly optimistic price on items without taking into account condition.
Halloween Tambourine Pair of Scary Cats from J. Chein & Co.
This has long been one of my favorite tambourines in that I love the apparent wickedness of the cats. This particular tam seems to be in eminently collectible condition. I only wish the seller wouldn't start the "auction" at a price that very nearly fully values it. Where's the fun in that? This tambourine was made by Chein in the 1920s and is shown on page 191.
Halloween cute kids with pumpkins jack o'lanterns 5x7 vintage repro photo
I recognized this photo as being from the 1970-71 television show called Nanny and the Professor. The kids are, from left to right, Trent Lehman, Kim Richards and David Doremus. Trent Lehman took his own life many years ago.
Vintage Beistle Two Sided Standup Halloween Pumpkin
This iconic lantern was made by Beistle in 1930-31 in two sizes: this 12" version and an 8" version. The latter is marginally harder to find. Overall, the condition on this lantern is solid, although it is definitely missing its bottom. Make sure you consider and allow for this fact when deciding on an appropriate bid. This lantern in perfect condition typically brings between $700-800.
2/16 Update: This iconic lantern ended at $586.50, a wholly expected selling price given its overall condition.
Halloween Flying Witch Noisemaker Rachet Germany German
This is a great, hard-to-find German tin ratchet from the 1930s. However, it isn't worth anywhere near the wildly optimistic Buy-It-Now price this seller has slapped on it. The value is in the neighborhood of $150-225 on a good day.
Vintage Halloween Pumpkin Man Toy c1920 Germany Key Wind Up Walking Walker
I would wager that this is a new item made to deceive. Nothing is "right" to me from the way the crepe paper outfit is made, to the metal feet, to the black hands and to the way the face looks. Given that this same seller is trying to peddle a candy container that is, in fact, a fantasy item, I'd be wary. Spend your dough on items that have no questions of doubt surrounding them.
Vintage Halloween Pumpkin Man Candy Container c1920 Germany MINT
This is not a vintage item from the 1920s. These ugly and soul-less fantasy candy containers began showing up to pollute our fine hobby in the mid-1990s. They have zero vintage value and extremely modest decorative value.
RARE 1930's T COHN HALLOWEEN SEXY WITCH in PUMPKIN METAL TAMBOURINE
There have been so few interesting Ebay listings of late that I was beginning to wonder where have all the good items gone. This is a good item! The seller is correct in writing that this tambourine is listed on page 193. The guide value is $450 for this tin litho tambourine made by T. Cohn in the 1930s. With well over 4 days to go before the auction ends, the tam has already garnered bids to a strong $406.50.
Tin litho noisemakers is one of the few genres that hasn't seen appreciable price increases over the last few years. The sub-genre of tambourines is the exception, as they typically bring very strong prices. One of the reasons for this, I think, is what great display items tambourines make. I hang the ones in my personal collection on the wall. This particular tam with its energetic Art Deco motif is one of the harder to find from the Golden Age of Halloween tin lithography.
Vintage Halloween Pumpkin Face Ring Game in box – 1927
Wow, to be the seller of this game! Even though this game is not terribly uncommon and is not in perfect condition, the seller received an astounding and unsustainable price of $355 for it! Hey, whomever the buyer was, contact me. I have some Halloween items I'd love to sell you.
Vintage HALLOWEEN WITCH FACE DIECUT Decoration GERMANY 1920s HEAVILY EMBOSSED
I really dislike Ebay's new practice of not showing what an item actually sold for when using their Buy-It-Now option. For instance, this uber-common diecut was offered at a laugh-inducing $229.99, made even more comical by its poor condition. It sold but for what price? If it was somewhere in the $50-65 range, then I would say the buyer did well. For every dollar above that range, the buyer got less and less of a deal.
SUPER RARE Vintage Halloween 1923 Beistle Co, Halloween Party Decorations – NIP!
As pointed out on page 194, there were three iterations of this 1923 party set manufactured by Beistle. The booklet form is the most common by far. The enveloped and boxed versions are much less common. (In my opinion, the boxed version is the most elusive, but it is a close call.) This lot consisted of the enveloped version. Complete and in seemingly near-perfect condition, it fetched almost precisely the book value of $375.
Vintage three panel, 20"H x 31.5"w Halloween Decoration cut-out
Wow! It is great to see such a rare and compelling German diecut being offered on Ebay when you least expect something of this quality to be listed. This is, for many collectors, the Holy Grail of German diecuts. Large, impressively detailed and commanding attention wherever it may be displayed, fireplace screens of this apparent quality surface very rarely indeed. (That said, the tape shown at several corners concerns me. However, as long as the tape isn't present to lend structural support I don't see that it matters much since its presence doesn't appear to be very obvious from the display side.) These almost always bring strong dollars. With over one day left to go, the bidding has reached over $1,000. The one in my collection, in perfect condition and shown on page 108, I value at ~$2,500. It will be instructive to see what this lot fetches.
I know the buyer of this great item so I am very happy that she obtained such an excellent deal. (As I described it, she got the "deal of 2013.") On the other hand, why did the bidding stall out at such a bargain level? Thoughts?
2 Original 1920's German Composition Veggie People Halloween Candy Containers!
This is a great lot of two German composition candy containers. As this seller rightly points out, the small boy container is rare enough that I've never seen him before. However, don't overlook the larger container. Although the form of this container is very, very common - the size of this one isn't. Typically, they are much smaller - around 2.75" high. Additionally, I want you to know that I wholly endorse this seller. I am proud to say he is a friend of mine. I have just now added him to my list of sellers with whom I enjoy doing business.
Update on 02/03: I am very glad to see this lot brought a strong result of $473.89. Both containers are desirable and were offered by a reputable seller.
