This is one of the finest of these pulp devil head lanterns I've seen in a while. Made by the F.N. Burt Company of the great city of Buffalo, NY during the early 1930s, these surface with some regularity in a limited number of color variants. The "shot-from-below" color scheme is one of the most common. This is offered by a seller who rightly prides herself on customer service, fair pricing and an assortment of vintage goods being offered throughout the year. Bid with confidence.
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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.
Vintage Dennison Carrot creature cut out Boxed Set (6) 1928-30s-RARE-H409-HTF
The seller has finally decided to begin the auction at a price point well below sustainable value, typically a wise move. Collectors want to feel they have a chance at a bargain, so starting items at a fully valued price typically ends in a cycle of listing and relisting. This boxed set from Dennison first began being sold in 1928. The design lasted just a few seasons accounting for how hard it is to find this set. The fact that the cover cut-out has become dislodged is not material as it is present and can be re-attached. Sustainable guide value is $325. This seller is known to me as conscientious and wanting to convey accurate information. One should feel comfortable placing bids with them. (Go Blackhawks!)
09/11 Update: Inexplicably, this great set brought only $152.50.
1920''s Beistle Pixie Halloween Lamp Shade Cover From Vintage Die Cut Party Set
Has Washington legalized weed yet? I wonder if the seller has been smoking some as the opening price for this is pretty out there. These shades were part of Beistle's 1923 party set and are not uncommon. In perfect condition, the entire set goes for ~$425, so placing a BIN of $150 on a single shade alone did elicit a guffaw. In perfect condition, which this isn't, these shades typically fetch well south of the opening bid. Move on...
Vintge Halloween blow mold Haunted house EXCELLENT!
This is my favorite blow-mold design, hands down. The designer was very gifted as the changing perspectives of the house keep it interesting year after year. The seller, long one on my endorsed list, is right - this is a devilishly difficult one to find, especially in this stellar condition. Snap it up if you don't already own it.
Vintage Halloween American Merri-Lei Witch Diecut Decoration USA Circa 1940s-50s
I enjoyed learning more about the company that manufactured this fierce diecut. Look at the verbiage about halfway through. I wish listins would more regularly include such educational tidbits.
Antique Halloween, Black Cat Tambourine/Noisemaker
Scrap tin litho products were items made at the end of a shift so as not to waste material with whatever was left over. Typically, these not-quite-right items were sold to employees, or given away. That is what this tin litho tam is, a scrap product, far out of alignment. Some scrap products are interesting, this is jarring.
Halloween Dennison Bogie Book 1931 Vintage Decorations Costumes Menus Witch
Virtually all of these larger format Dennison Bogie Book issues were sent through the mail folded, so it is nearly impossible to find one without the center fold. Issues can be pressed, minimizing the visibility of their fold, but it can't be gotten rid of entirely.
Lot - Antique Germany Halloween Masks, Umbrella, Hat, Glasses, Noisemaker, etc.
The star of this lot, such as it is, is the umbrella, made in Germany during the 1920s. These umbrellas were made from the same thin paper the Germans used for their hats, so few have survived intact. When these surface, there are nearly always substantial condition issues. The last one in reasonably acceptable condition surfaced several years ago and sold for nearly $1000. I have not been interested in adding one to the collection as the mere act of opening and closing the umbrella causes damage. The rest of the lot isn't compelling.
Old Tin Halloween Witch Noise Maker Vintage Antique NR
As we went deeper into the 1960s, Halloween designs typically became more forgettable compared to those from the Golden Age. (This is one of the main reasons my collection is so light on items made after 1960.) Some manufacturers kept chugging along putting out solid designs. This is an example. U.S. Metal Toy issued three designs at this time that are, arguably, the best tin litho noisemaker designs from this period. The others are the full skeleton and the witch with an owl on her shoulder. All will only have plastic handles. The color of the handle is immaterial to value. See these other designs on pages 204 and 207.
Vintage Halloween Deacon Thomas Cat Mechanical Tombstone Card, Cats
This awesome mechanical card made by Whitney rarely surfaces, especially in this condition. Given how they were designed to be used, most were long ago torn and ruined. I wish that I had seen this card with its rare motif, but take comfort from the fact that the buyers are great friends! Given just how cool this is, and considering that much more common plates and napkins are bringing head-shakingly high amounts of cash, I am shocked this didn't sell for a MUCH higher price.
Vintage Halloween Beistle Party Set 1910s-1920s EXTREMELY RARE
This nice assortment is from one of the various "Complete Party Outfit" arrays that Beistle issued from 1918 through 1922. They changed things up in 1923 when introducing their fairy motif that lingered for a few years. These items with the earlier design iteration are hard to find, and are welcome to those who have much of one of these sets but are a few items short.
Antique RARE! Original DEVIL HALLOWEEN LANTERN Heavy Paper Mache Flocked
I don't know what to make of this. Admittedly, I don't spend a lot of time collecting lanterns as I much prefer other genres, but I've never seen something like this. It looks like the reverse is a typical JOL with the typical coloration, but the front is a flocked (!?) devil face. From a proportionality perspective, it looks right. The modeling of the features doesn't ring alarm bells. However, having never seen something like this after going on 30 years of collecting, and with the plethora of fakes and fantasy pieces polluting the hobby, I am deeply suspicious. I am keeping in mind that the fakers have gotten better year after year, so I can't shake the suspicion that something is wrong here. Comments?
I've received some comments. Thanks for taking the time for the replies, R, J and J!
Took a look at that devil lantern on ebay. It almost looks like someone got creative with an original JOL and sculpted a devil face over it with paper clay? The flocking was used to try and even out the texture. Those horns wouldn't be part of the casting. They would create undercuts in the mold. Where the red meets the orange on the base I wish we could see the chin a bit better. Not my area of expertise but if I were going to add a face that is how I would do it. The nostrils were indented with a tool of some kind. My assumption is someone made the alteration on the lantern in the past but how long ago is the question.
I agree with you on the flocked devil head on eBay. Something is just not right with it. It almost looks like the took a JOL and added the front to it. I passed on it.
Checked in with the blog tonight and am responding to your "Comments?" question about the devil lantern. On the one hand, the combination of orange and red seems odd to me. I'd think it'd be one or the other rather than a fusion of pumpkin and devil. On the other hand, at least some of the wear on it looks reasonable. I'd prefer to see more pictures or examine the thing in person to get a better impression. The wear patterns tend to tell me a lot about antiques, but pictures don't always make it easy for me to assess them. What messes with my head about it is that in some respects it feels to me like it could be right. What goes beyond that messing with my head to a whole additional level, though, is that if it is a fantasy piece, it reflects a much higher degree of aesthetics and competence than what I'm used to seeing. Art crime and forgery is one of my general areas of interest. An early area of improvement to art forgery (going back at least a century or two for "fine art") is to intentionally damage rather than simply age pieces by staining them.
08/29: Here's another comment that I endorse. Thanks JS!
I'd like to comment about the mysterious devil head lantern. I found this object puzzling because it looks like a fantasy piece but also shows seemingly accurate signs of age and wear. After viewing the pictures in the original listing, my theory is that the devil features were added to an original vintage pumpkin lantern sometime in the past. The backside looks just like a vintage pumpkin lantern in color & sculpting. I think in the distant past someone got creative with this piece and added a chin, nose, and horns to make this pumpkin into a devil. That might explain why only the front is flocked red while the backside was left untreated, & the seams left sloppily unfinished. This theory could explain the appropriate signs of age, and the incomplete insert. I imagine a forger in current times would not leave an otherwise convincing piece unfinished in the back and at the seams if the intention was to deceive. Thanks for alerting us to this interesting listing!
08/30 Here's a contrary opinion. Thanks SA!
Just a few more comments on the flocked devil lantern, if I may: Many figural Halloween lanterns from the German composition era through the American pulp era have had humanoid or cat faces on the front and a pumpkin-type ribbed back. So, that in itself is not unusual, albeit that with this piece the transition from devil to pumpkin is more abrupt than most. No doubt the German craftspersons producing holiday goods sometimes mixed, matched, restyled, and repurposed design elements and spare parts over time, and created end-of-day pieces besides. Without benefit of close inspection, I'd say the devil face is original to the time of manufacture. The craftsperson may have with a generic compo pumpkin and grafted on the devil face, or used a generic pumpkin mold for the backside of the lantern coupled with a devil face mold for the front side.
As always, a close inspection could change my mind, but this lantern it strikes me as quite plausible. If an ordinary compo pumpkin was used as the foundation for the lantern, I think it was done when originally manufactured. Otherwise, it, it would have to be a recent fake of exceptional skill--the old flocking would be very hard to reproduce, I would think. Nobody was bothering to fake old Halloween stuff until the last couple decades--it simply wouldn't have been worth someone's time prior to the 1980s.
This questionable item sold for $515.00!
Vtg 1920s German Halloween Jointed Skeleton Die Cut Pressed Paper Embossed VG+
Given how hot German diecut skeletons have been lately, I feel this is worthy of being scooped up immediately. The photos show a skeleton in better condition than stated by the seller. For $150 and free shipping, if you don't already own this smallest of the three manufactured sizes, buy it now.
08/24 Within minutes of this post, a faithful reader scooped up this great item at a reasonable price - reasonable given how hot this sub-genre has been of late.
Rare Halloween Paper Mechanical Decoration "Sacred Be Ye Fire O Halloween"
This early mechanical was made in the United States by an unidentified firm with an interestingly distinctive design aesthetic. This witch at cauldron mechanical was one of a set of four made between 1910-1917. The seller states he/she has seen an example with an extant cat's tail. I have seen many of this design and have never seen one fully intact. The condition issues identified as pertaining to this example are precisely those most commonly seen. All in all, the buyer got a helluva bargain, scooping this up for $199.95, when the sustainable guide value is more than double that. I think placing such high opening prices deters activity, something that more sellers should take into account when deciding to sell on eBay, using an auction format. The more successful sellers of vintage Halloween items start their auctions at $9.99 or less and typically get very solid results. If you'd like to see the others comprising this set, please see page 284.
Vintage Lot of PAPER MACHE JACK-O-LANTERN PUMPKINS, CAT, OWL Halloween Decor
As of this writing, this lot has received a bid for the opening price of $75. The seller is lucky to get this considering that the lot is composed of two vintage items and two new items. The vintage items, the owl and the middle JOL, are both quite damaged. The others items comprising the lot are obvious decorative items possessing zero vintage value. Frankly, I don't feel the lot is even worth the postage the seller states is required: $31.80!
