Although I am glad a container from this great set of 6 designs by the General Merchandise Company is finally getting some love on Ebay, I will say that I am surprised this fetched as much as it did considering there were repairs, unobtrusive or not, to the tabs.
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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.
ANTIQUE BEAUTIFUL WITCH COMPOSITION HALLOWEEN CANDY CONTAINER AS FOUND
This seems to be a nice 1920s German compo witch candy container. The damage to the hat that the seller points out is a fairly common condition issue for these types of containers and shouldn't greatly affect value. Bear in mind that this container was originally "holding" a broom, not a plain piece of wire. Given that it looks as if the wire has been glued to the hand, that is the more concerning condition issue to me.
vintage halloween decorations
As I point out on page 145, most of the value for this set is in the box alone. The diecuts, two of which are missing from this lot, are so common and pedestrian that they bring $2-4 each on a good day. Given that the diecuts are not shown here completely, leaving you to your imagination as to their actual condition, and that the box is in less-than-mint condition, the minimum opening bid price of $49.50 seems high. I feel the seller would have been better off taking more complete photographs and starting the listing at no more than $9.99.
Large Vintage Halloween Pumpkin Paper Mache Candy Treat Carrier Tote Bowl
The word "vintage" is a slippery one, especially on Ebay. The seller calls this glitter-encrusted space consumer a vintage piece. This item wasn't made prior to 2000-2001, so I don't think it can fairly be described as vintage unless you are a house fly.
VNTG DIE-CUT halloween decorations PIRATE CAT & SKULL w/ HAT excellent Condition
I am astounded by this result. These are, admittedly, difficult to find diecuts, especially in this pristine condition. However, paying the equivalent of nearly $150 each has to be a record of some sort. Congratulations to the seller who probably never suspected in her wildest dreams to bank such dollars for this listing.
1969 RARE VINTAGE EMPIRE LIGHTED HALLOWEEN HAUNTED HOUSE BLOW MOLD
I love the 1960s blow-molds, using them to decorate a garden window seasonally. This one is arguably the best designed light-up with its scrunched dimensionality and relatively compact size. I was glad to see it fetched a very respectable $66.
HALLOWEEN CELLULOID BLACK CAT RATTLE EARLY 19TH C
There are several things I don't like about this listing. The seller, with zero feedback even though they've been an Ebay member for over two years, claims that this celluloid item is "...Hard to find in such good condition these days..." even though the condition is demonstrably poor. Also, the seller has weirdly included a redacted photo of me with a redacted caption taken from an article some years back on vintage Halloween collecting. I guess the intended implication is that I was referring to the same item being sold. I wasn't. Turn to page 116 for a photo of a duplicate of the item to which I was referring. That one was worth the price it fetched because it was interesting, possessed great detailing and was in mint condition. This one - not so much.
1910's Vintage HALLOWEEN DIE CUT CAT Decoration - Tabletop CREPE Luhrs,Beistle
Actually, this great Beistle decoration was made only from 1951-56. As I write on page 245, "Beistle adopted the hand-lettered instructions look during this time period. Although generally not marked, most Beistle items from this era can be safely identified by this hand-lettered design element."
22 Asst. VINTAGE 1950's-60's HALLOWEEN Witch/Black Cat/Owl TRICK or TREAT Bags
This result surprises me because there has never been much of a market for these bags. When they sell at all, they typically don't bring more than a dollar or so each.
vintage Halloween early Dennison diecut Candle w/Cat face flame & spooky face
I may be exaggerating, but this has to be one of the finest single designs Dennison ever produced. The detail and the care with which this little gem was obviously endowed sets it apart from so many other things Dennison produced. As I point out on page 214, notice the cat face in the flames, the candle's expression and how the cats along the base skew to give the effect of a rounded base. These typically trade for strong dollars. Given the condition (There seems to be only two flakes of surface paper off of the flame section.), I suspect this will be also true with this particular listing.
8/23 Update: This brought very strong dollars indeed: $193.51.
Vintage 1940s Halloween Decoration Collectable Black Cats w/ Pumpkin
This listing made me laugh out loud. The seller states that it is in "...really nice condition" with "...no flaws to report." Can anyone else "see through" the mistake?
Antique German Halloween Clown Jack O Lantern
For you newer collectors, this design, along with seven other designs, suddenly began appearing for sale at shows in the middle 1990s. Although possibly made in Germany, these otherwise have no history prior to that time and are known as fantasy items. They have no collectible value. Unfortunately, lots of collectors have bought these faux items. They have percolated into many collections throughout the country.
VINTAGE DENNISON BEISTLE ? DIECUT CARDBOARD CUTOUT HALLOWEEN WITCH MINT
I don't agree with the seller that this diecut might very well have been made by Beistle. Although Beistle did produce a remarkably similar diecut in the 1960s, this one for sale has little of its predecessor's charm or detail. I suspect this diecut was made by a local manufacturer in the 1960s with little marketing or distribution muscle to widely disperse the design.
09/04 Update: As I now know from a listing now active on Ebay, this rather plain diecut was produced in the early 1960s in Japan and packaged as an offering by Favorline, a small firm out of Green Bay, Wisconsin.
UNIQUE VINTAGE HALLOWEEN CUTOUTS
Although I've seen small diecuts surface quite often over the years, I have never seen them fetch such a high price. I would have thought they should have brought no more than about $40 each on a very good day. Congratulations to the seller!
Vintage Halloween Ephemera Black Cat Place Cards Deco Lady Nut Cup Candy Holder
Note that the three black cat place cards (made by Gibson with a stock number of 1889) are all missing the small flower tassel at the end of the hat. Although this great seller most assuredly does not have a complete example to which to refer, keep these missing tassels in mind when deciding on the amount of your bid. A photo of a complete place card can be found on page 213.
