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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.

Vintage Halloween Lanter Pumpkin Goblin Germany

This item is a fantasy piece manufactured no earlier than the mid-1990s. As the general collecting public caught on to how hot the vintage Halloween market was, manufacturers in Europe began cranking out these kinds of items. Many collectors were fooled then, and continue to be fooled today. Don't become yet another one taken in by these abominations.  

Vintage Owl Halloween Decoration Die Cut Cellophane eyes 13"x10" Made In U.S.A.

The seller made a mistake listing this with a BIN of $28.95, a mistake probably apparent as a scant 23 minutes elapsed between the time it was listed and some informed buyer snapped it up. This is - hands down - the rarest of the large diecuts Beistle issued with transparencies. It surfaces so rarely that I finally acquired one after nearly two decades of searching only 5 years ago. I feel the true value is closer to $275 than to $29. Kudos to the buyer! 

10/09 Update: Apparently the seller was made aware of this posting and reneged on the original sale, telling the original buyer, a good friend of mine, that she had let her sister handle the listing in error. This unscrupulous seller then went on to tell the buyer that her sister had subsequently sold the diecut to another person. Can you believe this? I encouraged the buyer to lodge a complaint with Ebay, advice that was followed. I know that I'll never deal with this jerk of a seller.  

Vintage Halloween Tales book by Ethel Owen 1928 Hallowe'en Tales

I have noticed that the prices for these hard-cover books that celebrate Halloween have been increasing fairly quickly this year, qualifying as a new genre of our fine hobby. This particular item seemed particularly nice given its bright coloration, its dust jacket and the strong cover imagery as well as the pleasing end papers. Still, given that the interior verbiage is mostly pablum, I am surprised that this is a developing trend. I am sure the sellers, good friends and long on my list of those with whom I prefer doing business, were pleasantly surprised by its ending price. 

1930's Silvered Halloween Die Cut - Two Black Cats Fighting on fence Moon Homes

Although Beistle issued the set of twelve diecuts, of which this design is one, from 1932 through the early 1950s in their typical green/red renditions, it manufactured these silvered versions for perhaps a single season in the early 1930s. As with nearly all such things, I suspect this silvered version was not popular so the run was immediately stopped. The upshot: these versions are harder to find and command a small premium to the ones with the typical color palette. (I have never been a fan of these silvered diecuts.) 

Early German Embossed Halloween Stand-Up Die-Cut Skull & Crossbones

Who is azpaperlady and where is she getting such rare, wonderful paper items? Will she adopt me? The Germans manufactured these fancy hat skull and crossbones diecuts in at least two variations toward the middle thirties. As with so much of their output at that time, these diecuts primarily headed to Canada. The variant shown in my second edition on page 164 is valued at $400. Given the splendid condition of the diecut being offered for sale (Who cares about the easel?), I feel it should end right around there. 

10/01 Update: The ending price blew right past the forecasted $400 ending price settling at $967.77. This result is one I don't understand since several of these in similar condition have sold over the past year in a narrow range of $375-475. Perhaps it is the excitement engendered by the onset of the season!  

Vintage 1930s-era Halloween die cut decoration. Whoopee Witch and Skeleton

This is the very first time I have ever seen this Dennison diecut for sale since I acquired mine nearly fifteen years ago. As I write under its caption on page 127, "This item must have had a very limited distribution." In perfect condition, book value is $350. Given this one's less-than-perfect condition, who knows what it will bring. Isn't is quirky? 

10/01 Update: Once again, this blew past book value settling at $510. (Perhaps it is time for a third edition?) I do understand this result more so than the German skull diecut with hat that sold for $967.77. Several of those have sold over the last year but this is only the second time I have seen this offered for sale EVER. Kudos to the buyer. This is a great diecut. (By the way, I feel this diecut was probably made by Gibson. More research needs to be done, but I am definitely leaning this way.) 

OUTSTANDING HALLOWEEN CAT AGAINST MOON, HUGE CAT AGAINST ORANGE MOON

The seller, long one of my favorites, has done a service in disclosing that this diecut is perhaps not what it appears. When she and I discussed this matter, I mentioned that I wasn't aware of it being professionally reproduced, like Beistle is doing with many of its earlier decorations. (As an aside, I applaud Beistle for making their reproductions in such a way so as not to disturb the secondary market. They have marked each of their newly made items in such a way that they cannot be passed off as new, plus make virtually all of their new items as dual-sided items, another quick tip-off to their newness.)  However, not being professionally reproduced doesn't mean that some person toiling away privately hasn't made a poor copy of an original. There are such people out there, well-known to me. I suspect that the haze on this particular item is tantamount to the crazing seen in newly manufactured porcelain items meant to fool. The fact alone that this is on thick cardboard causes me to be very suspicious. I feel this has decorative value only.