A few months ago I was able to acquire one of the very few German diecuts that had eluded my grasp for decades - the four figure fence. It is a long piece, so I knew when buying it that I’d have to free up some wall space somehow. For those whom I’ve had the pleasure of hosting here, you know that I have almost zero free wall space. The task wasn’t one I was looking forward to. I decided to deaccession about two dozen German diecuts that had long been part of my personal collection. (I’ll be listing a few of them on my For Sale page in the next few weeks. The others I’ll largely save for my May 2020 auction.) Before I left on a long road trip, I took these diecuts off the wall so I’d have to complete the redesign soon after my return. Well, I was astonished at how quickly the redesigned wall came together on Thursday. What you are seeing in these two photos is one wall in my home festooned with diecuts. {There are others!) You’ll find some of the rarest of German diecuts in this photo - all in stellar condition. What do you think? (In case you’re wondering about the art, the paintings are by the supremely talented Matthew Kirscht.)
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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.
Vintage Fold Out Happy Halloween Card Boy in Bed w Black Cat Owl Full Moon JOL
The same clueless seller referenced in the post below sold these exceedingly rare 3-D cards for a song, leaving another pile of money on the table. The key learning - as I’ve pointed out MANY times - if you don’t know about the value of an object, NEVER use the BIN format.
Vintage Candy or Nut Cup Halloween JOL Man Corn Legs Arms 3 1/8" Tall 1920s
This seller left gobs of money on the table by using an ill-advised BIN for each of these listings. These sold within minutes for $25 each. I was relaxing at a lodge in Salmon, Idaho and scrolling through the listings when I saw these. Unfortunately, my fingers couldn’t fly across the keyboard fast enough. All were gone in seconds. Even though the condition of each wasn’t mint, I had NEVER seen these designs before - none of them. If sold through an auction format, I have no doubt they would have realized $250+ each or more.
Vintage Rosen Halloween Hattie Cardboard Lollipop Holder
Rosen issued two sucker holder designs they called Hallowe’en Hattie. The later one, in brighter colors and with much less detail, is inferior to this one. I’ve only seen this earlier design a few times so was surprised it brought so little. Look at Hallowe’en Harry on page 90.
Vintage Antique Die Cut Halloween Tutu Beistle Honeycomb Sunflower
This Beistle tally sold for a strong price considering the noticeable color loss to the one side. Beistle sold this design from 1930-1931. Another design comprises the set. Interestingly, that other design appears far less frequently, one of the many mysteries about the secondary marketplace for vintage Halloween. Look on page 223 for the other design.
Vintage Tindeco Halloween Tin Girl Witch Jack O Lantern Broom Holiday Candy Tin
Tindeco made this and its larger design for many seasons beginning during the 1920s and ending in 1935. They are common. What is uncommon about this particular item is its condition. Just look at that luster! It has to be one of the best ones out there. The buyer got a bargain for $85.
Vintage 1940's Halloween Paper Mache Jack O Lantern Pumpkin with original insert
The Japanese made few JOLs - or conversely few have survived. I sold two in my May 2018 auction. One of these, Lot 79, was identical or close in size to this one. Here is how that lot description read:
”The Japanese made a half-hearted attempt to penetrate the JOL market dominated by Germany in the 1920s and through the mid-1930s. They were largely unsuccessful. Consequently, JOLs produced in Japan, especially early compo-wash-over-cardboard examples are breath-takingly rare. This one measures ~4.75” high by ~5.5” across. (All measurements exclude the bale, if present.) The multi-piece inserts are original.”
That lot sold for a scant $66 - a true bargain. This one is in better condition. I feel these are rare enough that they should bring $100-150.
07/28 Update: Inexplicably, this sold for only $56.69.
Vintage German Diecut Embossed Halloween Bat Decoration Very Good Condition NR
This is a nicely designed 1920s diecut. The Germans made few bat designs and this is the largest I know of. The Germans were proud crafters - just look at the detailing of this smallish diecut. Condition is pretty high. I appreciate the seller began this treasure at a modest $29.99. As of this writing, it has been bid up to $111. Sustainable guide value is $150.
ANTIQUE HALLOWEEN PUMPKIN GUITAR CANDY CONTAINER RARE VINTAGE PAPER MACHE & TIN
This appears to be a piece of homemade junk. It has zero to next-to-nothing value.
08/04 Update: And yet some poor schmuck wasted $105 on it!
1920's Antique German Halloween Die Cut Candy Box-- Rare & Hard to Find
This is just a poorly married item. Some untalented end-user simply glued a tatty German diecut to a box. The arched-back black cat diecut doesn’t even fit on the box top properly. This seller, one of the earliest collectors on the scene, really should know better. It is disappointing to see this kind of junk listed as something worth collecting. It has decorative value only - nothing approaching the price this seller is dreaming to get.
Vintage Metal Halloween Noisemaker Snaggletooth Witch 8"
You can confidently date this long-produced gypsy witch clanger to the 1950s. How? Earlier versions used wood balls for both sides. As with all tin litho manufacturers, T. Cohn had to find a way to compete in the cutthroat 1950s thanks to an onslaught of cheaply made Japanese products. One of their cost saving measures was to replace the wood balls with these unattractive flat-stamped pieces of tin. I prefer the earlier versions.
Vintage Kirchhof Metal Slide Whistle Halloween Noisemaker
When I was a new collector I saw these fairly regularly. Times sure have changed! I haven't seen one being offered for sale for some time. It’s great that some nice items finally are being listed on eBay after a dispiriting run where virtually all listings were forgettable. The RSIN for this slider noisemaker is 2 with a sustainable guide value of $150. Kirchhof made this nicely designed slider in the early 1930s. I can't think of similarly designed tin litho noisemakers, so if you don't have this yet in your collection, this item looks to be in very nice condition.
08/04 Update: This great item sold for $156.28.
July Break
Hi Faithful Readers,
eBay has been such a crapfest these last few weeks that I’ve struggled to find anything on which to comment. I am going to take a break from blogging for the month of July. There are so many fun things to do outdoors that being cooped up tending to the blog is unappealing. Have a Happy 4th! I’ll return with some posts on August 1st.
Doily or mat, witches, bats, Great condition
The prices these individual non-embossed paper doilies have been bringing boggle my mind. Produced during the 1920s - probably by Whitney - they were sold in glassine envelopes in quantities of 10 per envelope. I have a complete set of these in the envelope. You can see it on page 282. I’d be happy to sell the package for $800 plus shipping. (I’d also sell the green set for $800 plus shipping.)
Vintage 1920’s Dennison Halloween Die Cut Reference Bogie Book NICE
The seller is offering this 1926 Dennison Bogie Book as a BIN for $125 and is willing to entertain offers. This edition is typically found in bad shape due to the low quality of paper stock Dennison inexplicably used for this particular edition. This looks to be in nice shape, so the asking price is reasonable. If you can snag this for $100-125, it is a bargain.
