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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.

4 HALLOWEEN STAND UP Vintage Jack O’Lantern Pumpkin Black Cat PLACE CARDS

I feel these were an exceptional buy for $169.49. Any one of them represent the smallest of the Johnny Pumpkins family issued by Beistle in 1920. There are a number of these well-designed stand-ups, ranging in size from ~5.25" high through ~20" high. The largest of these is quite rare - I have only seen it once, offered through Bertoia's in a double lot. I bought this lot for roughly $900 each, so they were quite costly. Whereas the rest of the family was issued only in 1920, these smallest members were sold in envelopes of differing quantities for perhaps five years. They come in two different iterations: the one represented in this lot and another with an attached curved easel. These latter are otherwise identical and significantly more rare. Others in this family can be found on page 249. 

MINT MIP Vintage 1960s Halloween BLACK CAT Decoration in Package

Given Ebay's somewhat new but definitely annoying policy of not showing the final price when a Buy-It-Now offer is accepted, we'll never know ​what this jointed diecut actually fetched, but let's assume around $40. This is a Japanese reprint of an original Beistle design that could have been made during the 1970s or 1980s. This has little true value and certainly nothing approaching our assumed $40 price. As collectors, be aware of packaging. This item's packaging has Japan indicated on the lower right portion of the banner. When you see such an indication, know that by and large you are looking at a reprint that may be fun to decorate with, but doesn't belong in a vintage collection. 

Antique Celluloid Girl Holding Jack-O-Lantern Halloween Toy!

I never began collecting celluloid in earnest mainly because it is such a delicate medium that ​discourages much handling. Nonetheless, I certainly appreciate the art form. I have some good friends who live about 2 hours away who have one of the best celluloid collections I've ever seen, spanning several holidays. I don't recall seeing this one in their collection, nor have I seen this one before, so it must be rare. 

Pair Rare Bugle Tin Halloween Lithographed Frying Pan Noisemaker Witch Black Cat

I just made an offer through Ebay for these two noisemakers, sending the following message along to the deluded seller with the offer: Your pricing has elicited many laughs throughout the collecting community. On what, pray tell, are you basing these ridiculous asking prices?  My offer was for $60.00 and it received an auto-reject. I find sellers like this one annoying. This particular seller has listed quite a few lots of vintage Halloween items with the same pie-in-the-sky pricing wholly unconnected to any semblance of reality or condition. This is another example of how Ebay has devolved into more of a junk store. 

Antique Folk Art Halloween Decoration Sign Witch on Broom Flying Black Cat 25"

A good friend of mine who also happens to be a collector of vintage Halloween items wrote yesterday about this item. Mark, I can't believe that someone (or 13 someones) bid this item up to $345. Can you please post something on your blog? This is a Bethany Lowe reproduction made out of resin. It's about an $80.00 piece. Someone got taken big time! I have this piece. The one on Ebay had a part missing as well. There is a pumpkin face that goes on the hook at the bottom.​ Remember, you can't be too careful these days when collecting anything. Research, befriend other collectors, build a library of reference works, etc. Do your homework so that you don't make a bad decision as the bidders on this piece apparently did. 

HALLOWEEN RED DEVIL COMPOSITION CANDY CONTAINER--MINT

The seller's memory is probably correct as to when he purchased this - one of the best known of fantasy pieces in this genre. These devil heads began appearing around 1995, brought over initially through Atlantic City via a German-based exporter who made them from nicely detailed, yet completely new molds. If you want a quick way to catalog fantasy pieces that do not belong in any vintage collection, watch an Ebay seller with the handle robodicki. Naturally, he has one of these up right now with a modest Buy-It-Now price if it was truly vintage, quite high for something possessing only decorative value. 

Rare Vintage Halloween Empress Makers Rattler Noise Maker Cats Bat Witch Pumpkin

The lucky buyer acquired a truly rare item. I've been collecting and researching vintage Halloween for 25 years folks, and I HAVE NEVER SEEN THIS BEFORE or heard of the manufacturer. I love the graphics along the rim and ​the way the designer crammed in the word "noise" in the center of the top piece - very snazzy. The imagery looks Germanic to me. I think this went for a pittance. Kudos to whomever scooped this up! 

VINTAGE WHIRL-O HALLOWEEN FORTUNE AND STUNT GAME & FORTUNE VERSES

The gem of the lot is the "24 Fortune Verses" envelope. The set was made by Whitney, a company that went out of business in 1943. This is a desirable set in that the simple fortune verses were often cut up and discarded. You see the envelope now and again but to find a completely extant example is a fun challenge. ​

04/06 Update: I am not surprised that this lot brought $214.37. ​