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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.

Vtg Halloween Hallmark Diecut Place card Cat Owl JOL Moon H83 - Unused, Rare!

The apogee of Hallmark’s design aesthetic was reached with the intricately colored items from this set issued in the late 1920s. There is a tally of the image with the cat and owl playing cards that is quite a bit larger than the identical image on this place card. There is an even more intricate invitation from this same set. Prior to my acquiring one recently, I had never seen this place card before. I have come to appreciate Hallmark’s output from this narrow range of years. If you appreciate the best of small paper, this card is one you must acquire.

LARGE vintage Dennison's "Singing Cat & Witch" diecut! Rare & near mint. 1928!

This fantastic diecut is in remarkable condition. In fact, it may be in the best condition I’ve seen. It seems as if Dennison printed this in 1928, a buyer came along then tucked it gently into a drawer never opening it again until it was liberated for this listing. I think the buyer is right - the songbook being held was almost certainly meant to serve another purpose. I can imagine this hung on a wall at a long-ago party with “FOOD” and an arrow contained within the perimeter of the songbook. Awesome! It will be fun to see what this brings.

Vintage Halloween Cardboard Tab & Slot Candy Container Nut Cup Witch Cat Gibson

What a magnificent item! I had never seen this Gibson nut cup design before seeing this listing. I appreciate the detailed rendering of the scene and the colors chosen by the designer. Gibson produced some of the most interesting and avant-garde products. I’ve collected their output (small paper, seals and diecuts) many years. The seller is a long-time, knowledgeable member of the Halloween collecting community. I love doing business with her!

German HALLOWEEN Dual Face JOL LANTERN - 1928- BEISTLE - FANTASTIC - 8" X 8 1/2"

Beistle had a short-lived, but apparently fruitful, relationship with German artisans. The common lantern seen on page 37 and this precursor to their iconic 1930 are two solid examples of this alliance. This lantern was produced in two sizes with this one being the smaller. It comes available less frequently than the larger version. This seems to be in quite nice condition having both the original bottom and the very-often-missing top connector.

Vintage Dennison Halloween Jol- Headed Traffic Officer Diecut Decoration

Here is one of the most elusive and coveted of Dennison diecuts. This Halloween policeman diecut first appeared in their 1930 Price List pamphlet and made an appearance on the cover of the 1931 Hallowe’en Suggestions magazine. Collectors sometimes pair this diecut with the equally elusive and coveted Hallo’ Inn diecut, which you can see on page 142. These were produced on thin yellow paper stock. They almost will always have condition issues, like this one. The seller is awesome - a long-time, knowledgeable collector with a great eye and true artistic talent. (You should see how expert he is when working with honeycomb paper!) Deal with him with confidence.

09/18 Update: This brought a strong $456!

Vintage Halloween germany windowpane owl diecut

The Germans produced four designs of these windowpane embossed diecuts. These are large and really make a statement in a display. This owl diecut seems to be in significantly better condition than what is typically seen. I know the seller, too. He is knowledgeable and honest. Bid high and bid often - but vote just once.

09/18 Update: This fetched $586.77.

Vintage Dennison HalloweenDiecut, Running Skeleton with Toothy Grin, 1929

This is a fantastic and VERY LARGE diecut first produced by Dennison for the 1929 season. Their chief artistic designer at the time had an awesome Deco-ish aesthetic that permeated their products from seals to diecuts. Some argue this is the apotheosis of that aesthetic. This is an exceedingly rare diecut to acquire - especially in complete condition. It seems to be quite faded. The seller is a long-time, very knowledgeable and eminently honest person. She and I used to ferociously compete in the early eBay days! I am eager to see what this fetches!

09/13 Update: This fetched a strong $1,035.

Antique Halloween Moon, Bat, Witch, Cat, Pumpkin Hat

Sadly, this hat seems to have its original honeycomb replaced with what looks like orange waxed paper. Beistle made these “New Moon” hats only from 1933-1937. Four designs comprise the full set. Look at page 239 to see how these hats were originally sold.

09/13: This brought a strong $637.

Fabulous Rare Halloween Celluloid Owl Rattle! VERY Detailed Must See

This is a particularly unattractive piece. Why would the factory have marked it in this way? The black markings mightily detract from the item’s eye appeal. This was almost certainly produced by the Dupont Viscoloid Company post 1925. More information can be found on page 110. This wasn’t produced in Germany.

This seller added the following to her listing:

Mr. Mark Ledenbach says that this item is actually American Viscoloid. I do appreciate the attribution. It would have been helpful had he contacted me and not posted in the blog instead. I did NOT say it was German just that I have been told that.

I have stated many times that I cannot find his books) and frankly I am not going to shell out the money to rebuy them as the information is helpful but the books are increasingly out of date and the prices were probably out of date as soon as it was printed- as is the case with most price guides.)

He also says it is not attractive. That is a personal opinion and he has a blog to which no one can refute his unpleasantness. Personally I DO think it is fabulous. Difference in opinion.

Mr Ledenbach has taken it upon himself to attack mine and other peoples listings on his blog. Perhaps people should realize that much of the commentary in the blog is based on his opinion.

The seller rendered a huge service to the hobby with her publication of “Boo News” decades ago. I subscribed and still retain every edition as I find them informative. Her comments about my book are odd. Yes, some of the pricing is not current - especially in this environment - but that doesn’t render them “out of date.” There is a wealth of information in all three editions, but the third edition is still considered the hobby’s gold standard. (The only edition of mine I would now buy is the third.) By this seller’s standard, her “Boo News” publications should be entirely worthless, but they aren’t, of course.

This owl item is a truly vintage item with an unusual color finish. I hope it does well. (As of this writing it is at a strong $202.50.) This seller, who has been a collector for decades - and dedicated enough at one time to issue her spectacular publication, “Boo News” - shouldn’t have had to rely on me to indicate the item wasn’t produced in Germany. Why she feels I should have contacted her directly rather than simply pointing out it was made by the Dupont Viscoloid Company is odd. Her comment that she didn’t state it was German but was told that it was is an example of parsing.

All or most of the observations in my blog are opinion. That shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. This seller sees my comments on her celluloid owl as an attack. Of course they aren’t. Providing information is not an attack. I rarely attack listings. I will often point out that a listed item is fake or fantasy. I offer my opinion as to a listing’s condition and appearance. I offer pricing and rarity guidance. That is why the blog is so widely read. The hobby is becoming increasingly perilous. Prices are rising too quickly across most segments. Fakes and fantasy pieces abound. Collectors need to be on their guard. Reading this blog and investing in solid reference books are ways to do this.

1920's Vintage Beistle Devil - Halloween Diecut SCARCE

What a magnificent example of this hard-to-find diecut. Produced by Beistle during the 1920s, this jointed, grim-faced devil makes a real statement. (Freud would have had a field day chatting with the artist.) Beistle made another design that surfaces a bit more often that doesn’t have a tail. The condition issues this fine seller flags are true nits. This one is in better condition than the one I own. If you are a Beistle collector, you simply can’t let this one escape your grasp.

Vintage Large Halloween GM Cat Driving Truck Candy Container

The G.M. Company produced several large heavy cardboard candy holders, all with unusual and memorable imagery. They also produced the much more common set of six smaller candy holders you can find on page 54. The larger holders almost never surface in nice condition. This one is in as nice of condition as they come. The bonus here are the sellers. They are close friends of mine who have a great (perhaps unsurpassed) eye for antiques and collectibles. You can wholly place your trust in their listings! Be sure to check out the other super items they have up for auction right now.