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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.

RARE Vintage Halloween Beistle Green Witch Diecut USA 1950s, Large, Hard-to-Find

Beistle issued some quirky diecuts in the later 1950s - sort of a last gasp of creativity before they largely folded up their tent and yielded to the wave of forgettable, cutesy designs prevalent at that time and continuing deep into the 1990s. This is one of those diecuts. The set of three are puzzlingly difficult to find in mint condition. The defects in this piece shouldn't be held too much against it in terms of acquisition, but would certainly affect the price. 

08/08 Update: I changed the sentence immediately above to better express my feelings on condition. There is no doubt that this is a piece to covet, but with nearly all such things, condition greatly impacts price. In this example, the notable defects caused it to fetch $136.16, still a strong price, but nowhere near what it would have fetched had the condition been better. 

Vintage HALLOWEEN Sucker Holder E. Rosen Black Cat on Fence

I am surprised to see this seller offering this remnant without making clear in his listing that this is merely the upper half of a Rosen Trix or Treats sucker holder card. Describing it as unused with light wear doesn't make sense. Look at the photo of an entire card on page 90. You can see where some person clipped along the rise of the Trix or Treats boxed logo. 

This is merely a remnant and therefore has zero collectible value. I am hoping ddavidd will cancel the bids on this and his similarly damaged cards and pull the auctions. (Shaking my head...)

Halloween Bobble head. Paper Mache. Vintage

Although well-crafted, this is not a vintage item. It was made by Stamm House sometime within the last few years and has no vintage value. (Notice the mark on the bottom of the base. Without that mark, other clues to its recent manufacture are the smoothness of the finish, the soft colors and the granular nature of the base.) 

Antique Vintage Halloween Witch Pirate Roly Poly Celluloid Figures Dimestore

These are certainly two rare celluloid items. I especially like the corn pirate. Very cool. The seller doesn't point out two things that affect condition: The nose of the pirate and one of the shoes on the witch are pushed in. Both may be repairable, but be cognizant of these issues when formulating your maximum bid. 

08/01 Update: These sold for the bell weather price of $1,005. See many, many more high-end celluloid pieces on pages 110-115. 

RARE Boogie house for Ghosts and spooks box Halloween 1950's

This fantastic item looks complete to me. It wasn't designed to have a bottom as I feel it was made to fit over a box of candy, probably made by Brach's. David is wise not to fold it up, since these were not designed to be done and undone. I bought mine flat, folded it once, and now it serenely sits in one of my many display cases. 

Thanks for the shout-out about my new edition!

07/30 Update: This neat, fragile item brought $81, slightly below guide. 

1920's Halloween tin shaker with cow, spooky tree, cat & JOL

Matthew Kirscht, who did a bang-up job laying out my newly published third edition, feels the same unknown manufacturer responsible for this great shaker also made the four-sided bell-shaped noisemaker that brings relatively significant dollars even though it surfaces regularly. He subtly placed these two items next to each other on page 207. Check them out!

SUPER RARE Vintage Halloween Black Face Jack o Lantern Diecut Standup, Germany

This is a difficult German diecut to score in this near-mint condition. The Germans made several iterations of this general design in two sizes. This differs from the one shown on page 171 of my newly published reference not by the solid eyes and mouth, but because of the teeth. (Look at the same-sized example at the upper right [second photo] and compare that one's teeth to the one ziz is offering for sale.) The German diecuts have a surprising number of such subtle variations. In any event, this is a wonderful example, proven by the lofty price level this has already attained with over one week yet to go. 

08/03 Update: This wonderful item brought an astounding $576, well, well, well higher than guide. 

OLD VINTAGE ANTIQUE HALLOWEEN SCREECH OWL SIREN HORN TOY

Here's a noisemaker you don't see often. These Screech Owl Siren Horns were made by an unknown manufacturer in the 1930s. The mouthpiece is different than all others I've seen so there is a good chance it is not original to the item. The condition of this horn is dodgy, but this certainly doesn't surface frequently. 

07/24 Update: Even with the condition issues, this horn brought a strong $59. 

Vintage Halloween Skeleton Cardboard Candy Container Marked

Good to see these finally getting the market recognition they deserve. The General Merchandise Company made this set of slot and tab containers. This is one from the complete set of six. (All can be seen on page 54.) G.M. also issued other Halloween-themed slot and tab containers that are far less common yet possess the same sense of odd whimsy seen in their most widely sold set. I have become a fan of their output, so routinely search for their harder-to-find items. (Examples of some of these can be seen on pages 53 and 296.)

Antique Vintage 1920's USA Dennison Halloween Cat Face in Flames Candle Die-Cut

I have always liked this little gem made by Dennison beginning in 1927. (Its smaller companion piece can be seen on page 257.) There is so much to find compelling in its detailing. However, these are hard-to-find, but not impossible to find. Given its poor condition overall, the seller is much too aggressive with the opening price. If you have always coveted this piece, wait for a better example offered at a lower opening price. 

VINTAGE HALLOWEEN HONEYCOMB HAT BLACK OWL MOON JACK O LANTERNS WITCH ESTATE FIND

This is an odd item. The imagery sure looks to be Beistle but there is no evidence they ever designed a band hat with that imagery. (Now, records from that time, early 1920s, are not as complete as they could be, but in consulting the many sources that do exist, I've never seen one with that design.) Interestingly, Beistle at that time took pains to mark everything with at least a Made in U.S.A. mark, but this item does not appear to have even that kind of minimal marking. The grade of the cardboard and the way the honeycomb is designed look absolutely "right" for the assumed time period. I feel this is likely an example of a rogue firm simply exploiting Beistle's artwork and putting out an unlicensed item. Although I don't know that for sure, what I do know is that the design of the item is quite cool. I like how the JOLs pop against the white background. 

07/23 Update: This sold for a very respectable $100.99!