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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.

1920's Fabricius Mercantile Halloween Novelty Catalog, Rare!

I love wholesaler catalogs as they can give an insight into when things were made and how widespread was the distribution of goods. Fabricius Mercantile was a small-fry outfit in St. Louis. Once the founder's son died in 1919, his two sons took over and renamed the business Fabricius Mercantile. It lasted only until 1936. Catalogs from them are quite hard to find. This catalog seems to be from about 1932 based on the Beistle goods shown on one of the pages. The page showing the candy containers and horns show goods predominantly made in Japan. All in all a great catalog bought for a good price. 

BEISTLE "HEP CAT" HALLOWEEN DECORATION - MINT IN PACKAGE

Beginning in 2003, Beistle licensed a firm called Party Partners to issue reproductions of a limited number of their classic designs. Initially, these repros caused confusion in the marketplace. Although the packaging was clearly marked denoting the item as new, the actual items were not, so collectors had to rely on their knowledge of highlight colors, paper stock types and size to differentiate new from old. This association with Party Partners didn't last long. In 2012, Beistle decided to directly sell a line of their own classic designs. When I heard about their plans, I contacted Beistle to highlight the importance of altering their re-issues of their original designs in terms of size, colors, printed sides and paper stock - as well as the need to print the original and updated copyright dates directly onto these items so as to enable the secondary market to easily tell new from old. They found value in those suggestions and adopted them. Consequently, the market for vintage Beistle items remains one of the hottest collecting genres today. 

Witch With Cat in Jack-O-Lantern Vintage Celluloid Roly Poly Halloween Toy!

Vintage Halloween celluloid is a genre I have appreciation for. It amazes me the level of detail the producers were able to achieve in such a small form factor. I've never collected celluloid mainly because of its fragility and flammability, yet understand the market. (Check out the eye-popping collection shown in my third edition owned by the famously delightful Tammy and Barry!) Given the poor condition of this offering and the amount of money it would take to restore it properly, the ending price seems high to me. 

1920's Halloween Fan Black Cats Witches Made by Beistle of Shippensburg PA.

The pickings have been slim on eBay overall, so I was pleasantly surprised to see this exceedingly rare Beistle honeycomb fan up for auction. I have seen this fan only 3-4 times in nearly 30 years. The crease seen near the bottom is a result of the fan being used, unavoidable based on how it was designed. This is an early Beistle item. They made two iterations, one with a black honeycomb interior and one in orange, like this one. Both are valued equally. It has been a long while since one of these has surfaced, so it will be exciting to see what it fetches. Guide value is $450. 

4/11 Update: I don't understand this result, as this great and rare Beistle item only fetched $128.30. 

Rare Beistle Halloween Die Cut Decoration Made In USA Green Witch w/Bats 19" 50s

This superbly designed diecut was produced by Beistle in the late 1950s as one of a set of three. Each is hard to find in collectible condition. Made from a thinner, non-embossed cardboard stock, this particular design has eluded my grasp for decades. (I tend to be sometimes too fussy about condition. I was never considering a bid on this item.) The three witches of the set are all idiosyncratic - and therefore quite interesting and memorable. This is actually my favorite design. As I write on page 159, "Get this hag a new pair of shoes!" In near-mint condition, this diecut would easily fetch $300. 

Vintage German Halloween 6 Panel Lamp Shade witch owl cats bats JOL

This diecut shade was made in Germany sometime between 1930 and 1935. Its RSIN is 2, meaning "rare." The shade is dated to this late period due to the more cartoonish nature of the art and the use of color and shading in the backing paper. It seems to be in very collectible condition, missing only its top piece enabling it to be used for its intended purpose. 

03/30 Update: This sold for a shockingly low price of $149.99. 

Lot of 10 Vintage Gummed Witch Face Stickers Halloween Reflective

The RSIN of this enveloped set of 10 gummed silhouettes is 2, meaning "rare."This set was produced in 1925 by Hall Brothers and sold for a single season. Hall Brothers changed their business name in 1928 to something much more familiar today, Hallmark. 

03/30 Update: Prices for many items have been soft on eBay. Tax season? This fetched only $60 when they routinely fetch $85. 

GERMAN TIN LITHO 1930s HALLOWEEN BLACK CAT SIREN NOISEMAKER PLUNGER WINDUP WORKS

I like the simplicity of the graphics on this sparkler made in Germany during the early 1930s. Its RSIN is 3, so it surfaces now and then. Typically, the flints on these sparklers are long gone. You used to be able to get replacements at old-time drugstores, but I haven't been able to find any for several years. If you know of where they can be purchased, drop me an email. The seller has it priced identically to guide value. The condition seems quite good. If you don't have this one yet, this would be a good time to add it to your collection.