I love Dennison boxed goods - but not all of them. Except for the very common broomed witches in silhouette, this is my least favorite set. It doesn't evoke Halloween for me at all, but does St. Patrick's Day! Collectors mustn't be excited about this set either as it rarely inspires spirited bidding.
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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.
1940s Halloween Paper Mache Half Owl Half Black Cat Lantern (RARE!)
I sure don't get this result for what is a ratty looking, uninteresting lantern. As with so many of these head-shaking results, the bidding was driven by two bidders. The bidding was at an already generous $500, when the two escalated the price 10x. The seller must be wearing Depends after seeing the ending price.
ANTIQUE VINTAGE PAPER LANTERN HALLOWEEN ORANGE BLACK 4 PANEL
I was sorry to see that a collector wasted $199.99 on this reproduction. Blumchens began importing these reproductions from Germany in the mid-1990s. They are easily discerned from the old lanterns. With the reproductions, the paper lining is too bright and the overall embossing is either not present or is so faint that it does not resemble authentic vintage lanterns. Get your money back from the seller.
HALLOWEEN DEVIL CANDY BOX ANTIQUE COMPOSITION OR PAPER MACHE' NO RESERVE
This is a crudely made fake, possessing none of the detailing or character of the real deal. You can see an authentic example on page 64. The verbiage the seller employs is revealing: "Good condition for being as old as it is, I am not sure of that but it looks pretty old." With all of the indubitably great stuff up right now, leave this POS and its seller behind.
10/19 Update: I was glad to note that this horrifically made fake garnered only $34.01. The seller should be ashamed offering this crap.
Vintage Beistle Halloween Roly Poly Scarecrow, Diamond Mark, Orange Honeycomb
This listing presents a minor mystery. This scarecrow roly-poly was one of four designs Beistle issued in 1930. (You can see all four on pages 226-227.) Beistle's own marketing material says this: "Assorted four designs, printed on cardboard both sides, in full Halloween colors. Stands 8" high and with heavy weighted honeycomb tissue ball bottom, 5" in diameter." Beistle issued all four of the designs with the same stock number of 692. My theory is that this one-sided item was a salesman sample. The handwritten notation references the stock number, a price and a price per gross. My theory is simply that. If someone has another insight, I'd definitely love to hear it.
10/18 Update: This item only brought $105.50, much less than I would have thought.
HTF Halloween Pumpkin / jack o'lantern German Die Cut Embossed Decoration 7"
This result is absurd. The prevailing bidder, the same in all four of these examples, has been caught out by an underbidder who was equally insane. I'm sure that neither party ever expected another bidder to place such a silly and never-to-be-seen-again bid. The only winner here is the seller who has to be scratching his head at his good fortune. Seller, run out and buy a lottery ticket. You're on a roll! The prevailing bidder now has to shell out a laughably high number of dollars for a diecut that surfaces every now and then. SGV is $125. Results like these can contribute to the demise of a great hobby as potential new collectors see these incomprehensible results and decide to move on to other pursuits. I am gob-smacked.
Very HTF Halloween Owl German Die Cut Embossed Decoration 7 3/4"
This result is absurd. The prevailing bidder, the same in all four of these examples, has been caught out by an underbidder who was equally insane. I'm sure that neither party ever expected another bidder to place such a silly and never-to-be-seen-again bid. The only winner here is the seller who has to be scratching his head at his good fortune. Seller, run out and buy a lottery ticket. You're on a roll! The prevailing bidder now has to shell out a laughably high number of dollars for a diecut that surfaces every now and then. Results like these can contribute to the demise of a great hobby as potential new collectors see these incomprehensible results and decide to move on to other pursuits. I am gob-smacked.
Very nice extremely HTF Halloween Black Cat Diecut Decoration, Germany 1920s 8"
This result is absurd. The prevailing bidder, the same in all four of these examples, has been caught out by an underbidder who was equally insane. I'm sure that neither party ever expected another bidder to place such a silly and never-to-be-seen-again bid. The only winner here is the seller who has to be scratching his head at his good fortune. Seller, run out and buy a lottery ticket. You're on a roll! The prevailing bidder now has to shell out a laughably high number of dollars for a diecut that surfaces every now and then. SGV is $115. Results like these can contribute to the demise of a great hobby as potential new collectors see these incomprehensible results and decide to move on to other pursuits. I am gob-smacked.
Very nice HTF Halloween Black Cat Diecut Decoration, Germany 1920s 8"
This result is absurd. The prevailing bidder, the same in all four of these examples, has been caught out by an underbidder who was equally insane. I'm sure that neither party ever expected another bidder to place such a silly and never-to-be-seen-again bid. The only winner here is the seller who has to be scratching his head at his good fortune. Seller, run out and buy a lottery ticket. You're on a roll! The prevailing bidder now has to shell out a laughably high number of dollars for a diecut that surfaces every now and then. SGV is $115. Results like these can contribute to the demise of a great hobby as potential new collectors see these incomprehensible results and decide to move on to other pursuits. I am gob-smacked.
HTF Vintage Halloween 'Spook Lamp' w/ cat, witch's hat, skull and zombie 1911
Yes, these Spook Lamps are quite rare, but given the serious condition issues that exist with these components, I don't understand the current price of $355. There are so many rare and great items up right now that I can't fathom why someone would want to bid such high dollars on these two components.
Vintage Halloween Crescent Moon with Black Cat RARE 1920 GERMANY
This identically dual-sided diecut is of recent manufacture, probably issued by Radko. The details are such that I fear newer collectors may be confused by this listing, which is notable in what is not said. The word "antique" is misleadingly used, the type of material is not mentioned, nor are the dimensions. The shipping cost of nearly $60 is, of course, laughable. The truly vintage German diecut that this faux POS is modeled after looks very different. The expression of the cat is exaggerated, the eye colors are alien to vintage diecuts, the fur is overly modeled and it is dual-sided. Newer collectors, don't be fooled. This is an item with solely decorative value.
1930's-1940's Halloween die cut Skeleton head with pirate hat
I don't believe I have seen this variant before. The seller incorrectly attributes this to Beistle. It was made in 1935 in Germany. I have seen the basic skull and crossbones diecut with three different hats before seeing this one, so there were at least 4 designs, but more likely a total of 6 designs. If the damage wasn't so obvious, it would be a candidate for acquisition.
Rare Antique Original Early 1900's Tin Halloween Parade Stick Jack-O-Lantern
The seller is the very definition of optimistic if they truly feel there is any chance that someone would actually pay $3000 for this weathered, unappealing example of what is a relatively common parade lantern made in Toledo around 1906. Fair market value would be in the vicinity of $600.
Vintage Halloween Cardboard Decoration Cat & Banjo Germany 26" long, 12" wide
The buyer offered the seller $150 as an incentive to provide a BIN option, something that wasn't part of the original listing. Therefore, this desirable store display-sized German diecut traded for $150, a pittance. The seller should not have accepted that offer. He sacrificed hundreds of dollars - at a bare minimum - from what he would have gotten by simply letting the auction run its course. (Sustainable guide value is $900.) The moral of the story for sellers: Do your research before accepting offers for items for which you know little to nothing.
HALLOWEEN GERMAN TIARA DIECUT~1920'S~RICH, RICH COLOR METALLIC GREEN, RED
I was on the road for nearly one week with two close friends, who also happen to be collectors, scouring many antiques shops in California as far south as Orange up to Modesto, attending the Alameda Point show and having the privilege to visit a number of private collections. (I also made time to attend Mickey's Halloween Party at Disneyland for the third consecutive year. If you haven't done so, make time for it. Very fun...) What I was reminded of through all of these adventures was just how hard it is to find any vintage Halloween for sale, aside from the hard plastic and common US JOLs one sees regularly. It is frustrating and perhaps helps explain why some hard-to-find items bring nose-bleed prices that are far afield from sustainable guide values. This tiara, or diadem, is an example. Yes, it is in great condition, but the buyer will surely not see this price attained again.
