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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.

Vtg Antique Copies Of 3 Halloween Diecuts

Is this a new eBay low? This enterprising/desperate/pitiable seller is offering “antique copies” of these diecuts for an opening price of $22. Really? Are they antique copies or copies of antiques? What a crock.

VINTAGE GERMAN DIE-CUT EMBOSSED HALLOWEEN CAT WITH VIOLIN DECORATION Near Mint!

The Germans produced the complete set of six of these black cat band members during the 1920s. They comprise one of the most popular diecut sets collected. I’ve found that the cymbals and guitar diecuts are harder to find in acceptable condition, but this one closely follows. The newish seller does everything right - a solid number of quality photos with a no-nonsense description. The glazed diecut looks great and is worth your consideration.

Vintage Halloween Tambourine Rattle & Whistle Jack O Lantern - Germany

This German shaker was produced during the early 1930s. This well-made item consists of reinforced fibered paper pulled taut over a cardboard frame with encircling thin wood borders. Most of the time there would have been small bells attached to the front and back, but when the handle doubles as a whistle, as in this case, these bells were not originally included. I’ve seen a lot of these and this is in much better-than-average condition. This seller has begun with a reasonable opening price.

06/04 Update: This sold for a strong $179.50.

Interesting German Diadem or Tiara Variant

I was chatting with one of my favorite fellow collectors, Cindy Vogel, yesterday. She pointed out that there is a variant to one of the twelve diadem or tiara designs the Germans produced during the 1920s. I found this information startling and very interesting as I’ve seen several examples of the envelope that once contained these. It is clear from those envelopes that there were twelve designs. Why there would have been a variant is a mystery. Except for the eyes, they seem to be otherwise identical.

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beistle Johnny pumpkin head

As a long-time collector it is fun and informative to see what genres wax and wane over the years. These Johnny Pumpkin table top decorations produced by Beistle with few exceptions from 1919-1921 have been enjoying a good waxing for several years now. The most common ones are 5” tall and sell for $70-100 most days. The 8” versions, like the two in this listing, have been very strong sellers for several years. Whereas they used to fetch $100, they sometimes now bring $200+ each. (Of the two in this lot, the one staring straight forward is marginally harder to find.) The 16” designs are nearly impossible to find. The single 20” design is so rare that I’ve only seen it three times in over 30 years of very active collecting. All designs above 8” bring nearly unfathomable prices.

RARE Vintage Halloween Beistle Horrible Witch Articulated Bat Winged Witch

I feel there are at least two problems with this example of Beistle’s Horrible Witch, which were produced in some abundance during the 1920s. The seller, a long-time collector, should know that the toning on the skirt is not original to the piece but an imperfection, probably due to poor storage. Also, the one arm segment seems oddly pale compared to the others. I suspect this segment is not original to the item. Since eBay allows at least 12 photos per listing, I don’t understand why the seller includes only 4 photos.

Antique German Halloween Candy Container Box Suitcase Train Case Saxony

It is a rush to see such a high quality item on a forum that has fallen so far since its heyday. This confection was made sometime between 1910-1914. The measurements the seller has provided would indicate this is larger than others I’ve seen. The condition is nice, but nowhere near perfect. Given what the seller is asking, I would have hoped the condition would have been far better.