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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.

1930s Vintage Paper Halloween Light Lamp Lantern Owl Unusual

I wish I had remembered to place a bid on this rare shade. It is quite nice - one that I've not seen before. Gibson wasn't diligent about marking their goods, so it is possible this shade was made by them. I haven't seen it in their catalogs I have on file, so cannot be sure. I do think the ending price was in the right neighborhood. 

Vintage HALLOWEEN 4 STACKED PUMPKIN JOL w/ CREPE PAPER HONEYCOMB HAYSTACK - USA

Beistle produced at least two table decoration designs that incorporated their signature honeycomb onto a diecut backdrop. They produced these only during the 1957-58 seasons. I don't feel they were big sellers. Not only did Beistle cut off production rather abruptly but you simply never see them. This is only the second time I've seen this in nearly 30 years of avid collecting. A friend of mine snagged this by floating a BIN offer to the seller. Although the offer was a generous one in that it exceeded SGV, I have to wonder what this item would have brought if the auction would have proceeded from the original starting price of $19.99. Refer to page 228 for the other Beistle design from 1957-1958. 

Beistle Vintage Halloween Fortune Crystal Game Early 40's VERY Nice!

I don't understand why some collectors feel this has a connection to Halloween. Although it is a fortune game, that fact doesn't connect it to Halloween any more than a fortune cookie at your favorite Chinese food restaurant connects to Halloween. Because this game has no graphical connection to Halloween, I've never included it in any edition of Vintage Halloween Collectibles.

Flea Market Decor Article

The latest issue (Nov/Dec 2017) of Flea Market Decor hit the shelves today. It contains a profusely illustrated six page article on vintage Halloween collectibles. A portion from the fun interview I did with the writer is also included. Make sure you pick up a copy. 

Fantastic vintage 1935 Beistle 57"" "Dangling Skeleton" with original envelope!!

This is a tough item to find in collectible condition. The seller is correct - this is a large, impressive item. The asking price is too high. SGV is $175. He has placed a "Make Offer" option to the listing, so he knows the asking price is aggressive. If you want this great item, I feel the outer edge of the pricing atmosphere is $225. 

09/06 Update: Someone with a deep pocket actually paid $345 for this, surely a new record. 

Halloween Two-sided Black Cat Face Lantern 1940's Old Original

I had an opportunity to chat via email with the last surviving son of the founder of Alberts Display and Novelty Company. He told me that his father, Philip Alberts, shut down the firm's operations in 1948. Their Halloween output was restricted to a period from ~1941-1946. Therefore, the dates attributed in the book to all items made by the Alberts Display and Novelty Company are slightly off. The correct date range would be ~1941-1946. Please see pages 29 and 58 where collectively three items made by the firm can be found. 

The above verbiage was taken directly from my errata page. Please print a copy of this errata page and keep it with your book to ensure the information available to you while you shop or peruse is as up-to-date as can be. 

VINTAGE 1920'S GERMAN HALLOWEEN SKITTLE GAME PIECES - PUMPKIN HEADED LADY

I'm glad to see these items selling so well even though they come up for sale often. I recently had an exchange with a long-time collector as to whether these items are really skittle game pieces or are simply decorative elements for a table. When I first began exploring the fun world of vintage Halloween collecting in 1988, I took my cues from dealers and collectors active in the hobby for many years preceding my involvement. Two of these folks, Paul Schofield and Mary Lou Holt, described these items the same way - as skittles. (No one ever described them differently.) Over the years, I've seen a few boxes surface for these items. These boxes do not describe them as anything other than Hallowe'en Figures. So, what is the real answer? 

09/01 Update: I've received a number of meaty replies. Here is the one I like best: "The pumpkin head skittle you commented on presents another clue. The base on all three that are for sale on eBay currently have a bigger base than the usual. It has a double slot which would be for a place or name card in front I believe. That would lend credence to the table favor use. However I think this base is rather rare as I've usually seen only the narrow base with slanted sides. The narrow ones would be usable in a bowling type game. Skittles was a very popular game during this time so you can't totally discard that idea. Perhaps multiple sales ideas for the same product? Crazy how variations keep being unearthed in many of the German products. THANKS so much for your work!! It's means a lot to dealers and collectors to get this information."

Vintage RARE GERMAN WindowFrame diecut,Cat with crow on the fence,1 of 4 produc

$399.99 as the opening bid for this heavily damaged German diecut is the very definition of optimism. The seller, whose grasp on grammar, punctuation and spelling is tenuous at best, really should tamp down the optimism and simply list this remnant at $9.99 without a reserve. 

09/03 Update: The seller, after no interest at her too-high opening bid price, lowered it to $39.99. That action has attracted some interest, with the price now at $79. 

09/04 Update: This remnant sold for $152.50. 

Vintage RARE GERMAN 3-Part Embossed Die Cut FIREPLACE SCREEN Crepe Paper Back

A small cache of these 1920s fireplace screens must recently have been unearthed, as a number have been offered for sale over the last ~6 weeks. Unfortunately, as in all such cases, the market has had some trouble absorbing them at their typical valuation of ~$2600. My advice: If you like this very large and ornate diecut, buy one today at what I consider to be bargain prices. Once these have been absorbed, the price will stabilize upward, although almost surely not at a ~$2600 level. 

09/01 Update: Another one of these sold from the same seller today for $1599.99. This level seems to be the "new normal" given the number that have come on the market in the last few weeks. 

Vintage Beistle Die-Cut Halloween Skull

The seller is spot-on. This small diecut was made by Beistle. During the early 1950s, Beistle issued a set of eight small diecuts with some unusual imagery. This is one of the eight. (All are shown on page 157.) Items from this set once surfaced more regularly than is the case today. The smoking JOL, the JOL witch and the hooded witch are more avidly sought than the others. Each typically fetches $50-60.