The condition of the paint on this common tin litho candy container is quite good! I've seen many, many examples of these over the 25 years I've been collecting, but the condition of this one seems to be near the top of all of them. This was made in or prior to 1935, as the Tin Decorating Company of Baltimore, MD (TINDECO) was purchased in that year by the Illinois Glass Company, which discontinued that mark right away. All of this is explained on page 58 of the book.
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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.
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, slightly better than the one sold earlier this month by the same seller. That one fetched $586.50. It seems logical that this one will end around the same price. This lantern in perfect condition typically brings between $700-800.
02/27 Update: This second of two lanterns brought $860.00 for reasons that I'll have to attribute to the vagaries of Ebay!
Vintage Halloween Diecut set of 5, Made in Germany
The star of this lot is the one at the bottom. Although the four crescent moon diecuts are part of a great, yet relatively common set of six, the mini-diecut at the bottom is quite hard-to-find, as are all five of its brethren. (The complete set of these mini-diecuts is shown on page 166.) This mini-diecut set was first made immediately after WWII. Items from this preliminary run are marked "USSR Occupied." Interestingly, the one being sold here is simply marked "Germany," so I suspect it was made as late as the early 1950s. I wouldn't think this later marking should have any impact on the value, which is in the neighborhood of $175.
Vintage Halloween Paper Mache Witch Sitting on Pumpkin Germany
The buyer greatly overpaid for this item. Given how common it is and this particular item's condition, the ending price is hard to understand. This was made in the US, not in Germany as the seller speculated. Additionally, this form was reproduced by Stamm House in the 1990s. The reproductions are easy to differentiate from the original as the latter are pulp and the former aren't. I believe the sustainable price on this item in this condition is less than $60.
RARE VINTAGE HALLOWEEN DUMBBELL NOISEMAKER DBL.SIDED T. COHN WITCH MOON PUMPKINS
Although I am very glad for the seller, I've never understood the attraction of this form of noisemaker. Awkward looking and difficult to display, it is too reminiscent of a gym to comfortable fit into my collection. I have seen three of these sell in the last year on Ebay and all of them fetched about the same dollars.
RARE 20s VINTAGE HALLOWEEN WOOD NOISEMAKER HORN BAT FACE CZECHOSLOVAKIA *MINT!!*
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?
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.
