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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.

Vintage Dennison COME IN Halloween Sign with Jack O Lantern & Black Cats

Dennison issued at least four door hanger designs. Two are pretty common, two aren’t. This is one of the latter. I can’t recall seeing one for sale in decades. Given how thin the paper Dennison used at this time was, few of their products have traversed the decades well. The damage this piece has sustained is minimal. I am not surprised this door hanger fetched such dollars - as did its 1930 mate offered by the same lucky seller.

Vintage Haloween Tin Litho Kirchhof Metal Toy Party Horn Noisemaker

This seller, wildzombie, is far poorer than they could have been had they offered this very desirable tin litho horn produced by Kirchhof as an auction rather than the ill-advised BIN offering of $27.60. These have changed hands for upwards of $400. The colors and overall condition are exceptional with this example. Someone got a VERY good deal. I hope the seller realized their error when the listing concluded in 14 minutes.

Vintage 1930s Made in USA Light Cardboard Jack O Lantern Halloween Banner

This is a very desirable JOL garland produced by Beistle during the 1920s. Another reference cites this as being produced later but the generous use of primitive rivets or joiners throughout makes this unlikely. I have a complete, near-mint+ example in the collection, which appears on page 145. The seller is right - it originally was complete with 13 JOLs with rectangular block ends. This is only the second time I’ve seen this garland. I would encourage the seller to be more precise in her description relative to the 2 JOLs that fell off. Are they still extant? If so, making the garland whole is a small task, indeed, given how primitively the sections are joined. If complete, this garland is a must-have for serious collectors.

DEAD MINT UNused Vintage Halloween Paper Party Invitation, Dennison, circa 1920!

One of the aspects I most enjoy about this particular, well-rendered Dennison invitation is the sense of humor the designer imparted. Contrast it with the more somber, similarly-themed invitation Dennison produced in 1916. (You can see the latter on page 261.) If this seller says it is “dead-mint,” it is. She is wonderful. Given how prices for small paper have become unhinged these last 12 months, it’ll be interesting to see if this breaks the record for this piece set at my May 2017 auction when the book example sold for $311.

Rare Halloween Beistle 1930’s Party Place card Witch Black Cat JOL Antique

Beistle produced this place card with a flip-out base during the interval 1931-1932. This is one of four designs that constitute a complete set. I’ve never seen packaging for this set so they may have been sold singly. You can see all four designs on page 223. In my opinion, this is the tamest of the designs. It was rare for Beistle to produce place cards with any embossing, so this set is near-unique in that respect. Prior to this current bubble in small paper pricing, a mint complete set sold ~2007 for $900, an anomalous price at that time. God only knows what such a set would bring today. This item up for auction is in fair condition. It will be instructive to see what it fetches in this time when many collectors seem to have lost their minds in valuing small paper.

08/25 Update: This fetched $112.50.

Vintage Halloween Paper Mache Cat Candy Container

This seller must be an optimist. They are offering this relatively common pulp cat with damage at the bargain price of $250, with no chance to make an offer. Only on eBay. This late 1940s pulp cat in this condition seldom breaks $100.

Vintage German Halloween 1920's Twelve Panel Lantern Mint

The seller has to be ecstatic to have gotten this record-shattering price for one of the most common lanterns from this period. These 12-panels were printed in Germany (and are so marked) but at Beistle’s direction. These were produced in huge quantities for several seasons and then were wholesaled for many more. These typically trade in the $150-200 range.

Prices for vintage Halloween have largely gone crazy, a long-term negative for the growth of the hobby. How will newer collectors afford to enter the hobby when such common items sell for boobish prices?

RARE! ANTIQUE 1930’s Hanging PUMPKIN 62” Garland Double Sided Halloween

Beistle produced at least two versions of this garland during the early 1920s. One measured ~60” while the other measured 72”. The 10-JOL version was produced earlier than the 13-JOL version. Most of these were one-sided. In any event, this seller is the very embodiment of the word optimist. They are asking $1,450 with an option to make an offer. Even in this day of overheated prices, it is worth at best $450 given the overall condition.

Vintage Halloween Skull Candle Lantern ~ Jack O Lantern ~ Skeleton

There was a time when these surfaced far more often than they do these days. The Dolly Toy references I have indicate this design was produced from 1936 into the 1950s. I am doubting this information. I suspect the skull was produced during a narrower time frame, whereas the devil head lantern, much more often seen, was surely made from 1935 into the 1950s. This skull lantern has some discoloration due to wax residue. The bidding as I type now is at $120.50. What will it fetch?

08/16 Update: This sold for $400.

Vintage Halloween Beistle Favor Basket Witch Cat Honeycomb

This great favor basket is from the era when Beistle’s dominance of the marketplace was in full bloom. Made during the interval 1927-1931, each of the four designs is well-executed. They make great display items. The damage to this example is minimal considering the stress the item was put under each time the honeycomb base was open and closed. (I’ve opened mine once - and they stay that way.)

08/15 Update: This sold for a sum in a vicinity of normality - $250.

Vintage 1920’s Halloween Set Of 4 Tally Bridge Cards Cat Witch Owl Bat Rare

These tally cards with the four iconic images were produced by Beistle for too many years and in several packaging iterations. I also suspect they were sold singly in stationary stores. If you are going to see an example of Beistle’s small paper output, chances are very high you will see one of these four designs. They almost always have the now-pink ribbons. Frankly, the most interesting part of this listing is the envelope. I wish it was in better shape.

Vintage Halloween Party Invitation Rare Near Mint Condition Unused Witch And Elf

Results like this cause me to feel the market for small paper is significantly overheated. Although I laid out my reasoning as to why values in the small paper market segment would pop some time ago, the “pop” has outstripped scarcity for sure. Two of these invitations were offered within days of each other and brought similar results. These surface with some frequency, so those buying at such price levels will surely not see a ROI. Granted, ROI to some, especially in terms of collecting, means nothing. That said, why spend such sums on small paper when lesser amounts would buy great (and much rarer) items in different market segments? These unsustainable prices have had the predictable result of sellers rushing their small paper wares to market, all hoping to catch the wave before it crests. This is a market segment that has become much too rich for my sensibilities. In fact, the hobby overall has gotten too expensive. I worry about its overall health given such results.

RARE! ANTIQUE BEISTLE DIECUT - PUMPKIN GARLAND

This exceedingly rare garland was produced by Beistle in 1923 to augment a display that would include either a Halloween elf or the fairy clock - or both. I’ve seen a complete garland only once before - when I purchased it perhaps 20 years ago. I’ve sold individual segments here and there but have never seen a complete garland at any other time in any other collection. So, if you love Beistle, this is a must-have item.

08/10 Update: This garland sold for an astounding $2,100 - and it wasn’t even in great condition. This ending price is another red flag to new collectors to steer clear of this once-accessible hobby unless their pockets are very deep indeed.

The garland in my collection is in near-mint or better condition. If you have bought a copy of my third edition from me, I’ll sell it for $2,500 plus shipping/insurance. Step right up…