HALLOWEEN INVITATIONS/ W BOX

This seems to be a nice collection of unused Whitney invitations, with a box included. Whitney, which permanently shuttered in 1942, didn’t have a methodology for filling their boxes. It seems they would randomly fill each box with 10 invitations. Sometimes the contents were identical, sometimes there were two of each design, sometimes three of each design plus a kicker - you never knew. I’ve seen many such boxes over the years. I will see five of any of the cat designs to one of any of the witch designs, meaning the Whitney witch invitations are much harder to find than any of the cats.

01/28 Update: This sold for $145.50.

Early Vintage Witch & Bat T. Conn Inc. Wooden Ball / Tin Halloween Noisemaker

T. Cohn produced two designs of what I call putty knife clangers during the 1930s. Neither comes up for sale or auction often. (In fact, I can’t recall the last time I saw this one come available.) It looks to be in excellent condition. The tin litho market segment has been cold for many years, but there have been signs of thawing. The more unusual designs and pretty much any item in near-mint or better condition have been bringing solid dollars.

01/24 Update: This sold for $110.50, solid dollars, indeed.

Vintage Halloween Collectibles

It is exciting to see listings of this quality amongst all of the dreck currently littering the Vintage Halloween category on eBay. (This seller has three of the four designs comprising a full set up for auction right now, each listed separately.) Turn to page 118 to see all four designs of these faux stained glass diecuts. They were produced in the 1920s by an unknown manufacturer. Each is rare enough that I’ve seen only two of the four designs offered in 32+ years of collecting. Other than when I bought the complete set in the collection, this is the first time I’ve seen this cat design being offered. The witch is the other design seen only the one other time. Sadly, that is the one design not being offered. I consulted with this fine seller some months ago about the proper time and way to list these treasures. The trio she has up seemingly have retained their strong colors, except the referenced fading of the black, clearly seen in the photos. Collectors who treasure paper should want all of these. Of the three being offered, this cat is the strongest design, followed by the kid holding a JOL and the house set in a valley. It will be great fun to see what these wonderful items fetch!

01/21 Update: The three designs brought strong prices, although the best design brought the least. I find that interesting. The cat brought $811, the boy holding the JOL brought $905 and the house brought $995.

Vintage Halloween Owl on Branch Germany Embossed Cardboard 1940s - 1960s RARE

This great perched owl diecut was produced in Germany during the 1920s. The preponderance of German diecuts were produced during the 1920s. The most popular designs like the walking witch, many of the black cats - dressed and not - and the perched owls were produced for many seasons spanning most of the 1920s and into the early 1930s. There is a subset of German diecuts made for export to Canada in 1935 that tend to be the most coveted, rare and the most expensive. Then there was a handful of German diecut designs made from 1946 through 1949. These tend to bear stamps indicating “Made in USSR Zone” and the like. Once 1950 dawned and thereafter there were few, if any, heavily embossed German diecuts produced in Germany.

Very Rare 1930s MINT pack of Halloween crepe paper - Witches, bats, pumpkins

The vast number of items listed these last few months has been disheartening to scroll through. There has been so much crap. How great it was, then, to see this nice listing of a mint roll of 1930s Perkins crepe. It went for an astounding $565. There surely can’t be too many complete, MIP 10’ long crepe paper items around any more.

Blackie the Batty Beauty Bat Vintage 1940s Halloween Die Cut Crepe Paper Fall

This seller left a good deal of money on the table by offering this pair at a BIN price of $45. It lasted a scant few minutes before someone snagged it. (I missed it by mere seconds…) These clever diecuts produced by Beistle from 1953-1957 have risen dramatically in price over the last two years.

Vintage HALLOWEEN MYSTERY BANK Tin Litho NOMURA TOYS T.N TN Japan Wind Up Hand

This genre, comprised of few items (Japanese tin mechanicals), has really been hot. There was a time when even fine examples like this one would linger before someone bought it at prices far below what this one brought. How I wish I would have kept mine!

Vintage Tin Halloween Noisemaker Bugle Made USA VG condition black cat and witch

Bugle Toy’s tin litho Halloween noisemakers always have zest to them. The designs are less staid and more in-your-face than those from their much larger competitors, like Kirchhof, US Metal Toy and T. Cohn. I have long coveted their designs. This seems to be in better-than-average condition for a Bugle tin item. As I slowly type this out, the bidding is only up to $33. Smart money says it has much further to run. We’ll see.

12/31 Update: This brought $86.

Vintage Mechanical Halloween Witch & Pumpkin Q&A Die-Cut Card

Gibson produced a line of these witch fortune place cards during the mid-1920s. There are two designs. One shows a witch standing holding a pumpkin, like this one, while the other design shows a witch stirring a cauldron. The latter is more involved and harder to find. The buyer got a bargain on this, as they typically change hands in the $65-85 range.

Vintage 1950s Merri Lei Cardboard 10.5” Witch Halloween Die Cut Wall Hanger

I was surprised to see that this sold for what it did. This non-embossed diecut produced by Merri-Lei is common. It is part of a packaged set that typically includes a black cat, a JOL and a skull. None have the design aesthetic that elicits a “wow!” (That is a polite way of saying they are uninteresting.) This particular example has water-staining and some speckling, yet it brought nearly $50. They generally trade in the $18-25 range, so the buyer paid a premium.

*1930s Halloween Party Invitation Card Tri Fold witch black cat jack-o-lantern 1

This is a tough invitation to find. Whitney produced it during the late 1920s. The seller has two of them up for a BIN of $60 each. Even though the interior is full of writing, for those for whom this isn’t a bother the price is a solid bargain, as these typically trade for $125 and up.

12/15 Update: Both were snapped up within a short time after publication of my post.

Vintage Halloween Party Favors Table decorations Tie-on Decor NOS Unopened

One of the fun challenges of curating Halloween items is to discover a specific name attached to the myriad regional producers of Halloween goods. We all know the big names, but for every big name there would be several lesser known producers, few very adept at publicizing themselves. In listings like this one another piece of the extensive mosaic falls into place. I had seen references to The K Line before (…and I’m not talking about the long-time Detroit Tigers phenom…), but never more than that. Whenever I see listings of items in original packaging I hope that there will be something worth learning. This listing delivered. The K Line was produced by the Kuepper Favor Company of Peru, Indiana. This old dog learned something new today.

Vintage Halloween Witch Cardboard Candy Container by G.M. Co.

This candy box, produced during the middle-late 1940s by G.M. Company, is in rough condition. Not only are tabs missing, as pointed out by the seller, but it is quite faded. The greens and blues have faded away to yellow.

12/13 Update: This brought $67, a good deal for the seller.

Vintage Halloween Cat Head w/ Bow Cellophane Mouth Cardboard 1940s - 1960s MINT

Someone paid dearly for what is essentially a remnant. The front looks good, but when the sold item is flipped over the back is flat because the “Toy Packs” box that should be attached is missing. (The second photo showing the back is one I took of the same item in the collection. It appears on page 56.) The candy box was produced during the 1950s by Candy Crafters Inc. of Lansdowne, PA. The price paid, coupled with the indefensible shipping charge of $15.79, makes its acquisition far from a bargain. The buyer should return it.

My Posting Break Has Concluded!

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for all your kind inquiries wondering why I haven’t posted anything for a month. I wasn’t hit by a truck, nor did I fall down a crevasse. COVID hasn’t (yet…) wrapped its scaly fingers around my lungs. I simply like to take a month away from the tyranny of the blog during a year.

However, it is now December 1st and I am eager to post. The problem is that eBay has truly been an unending cavalcade of crap for weeks. (I chose a great month to step away.) There have been few exciting lots on that forum. There was one, though. Did you see the Beistle witch table-top decoration with an exceedingly rare multi-colored skirt (see page 224 for the one in the collection with an orange skirt…) that zoomed to $1,725 in the last few moments? Both the prevailing bidder and the underbidder are collectors with discerning eyes. Although I knew the color combination existed in theory, I had never seen one surface before. Bravo to the acquirer!

Bertoia held a spectacular auction featuring many Halloween items from Bob Merck’s collection in early November. I watched the bidding, made some half-hearted bidding attempts, and marveled that collectors would actually dish out $15,000 for a German scary tree candy container or near that amount for a lettuce leaf lantern. Those figures don’t even include the steep buyer’s premium or shipping costs. Buyer’s premiums are a real brake on my acquisition urges. Seeing these prices make me even more grateful I started collecting so long ago.

I’ve been busy preparing for my next auction. I’ve already photographed 50 lots. I am pleased with the strong line-up for next year’s auction, open only to those who have purchased a copy of my third edition from me. By the way, be sure to acquire your copy of my third edition before the price hike. The price per copy will rise from $65 to $77 shortly.

Let’s hope some worthwhile lots surface on eBay soon.