This same seller has two from the set up for auction. There was a set of four 3-D cards produced before 1920. Two are shown at the top of page 286. (The complete set is now part of the collection.) Postcards with this same artwork were made contemporaneously with these stand-up 3-D cards. The eight individual postcards were combined to make the four 3-D cards. These postcards were published by Bergman as series 6070 and 6071. Each of the 3-D card designs is exceedingly rare. The cat is missing its tail in the example up for auction.
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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.
Vtg Halloween Beistle Die Cut Tissue Paper Honeycomb Witch Cat Owl 1930's RARE
Someone must have jumped up and down in excitement when snagging these rare Beistle roly-poly table decorations for a pittance. The seller was short-sighted to offer them as a BIN. They left a lot of money on the table. Beistle only produced these designs in 1930 and 1931. Any one of these would have sold for more than the trio fetched.
Vintage Halloween decorations Singing Black Cats die cut out feline lucky
This is one segment of a four-sided fence centerpiece produced by Whitney during the later 1920s. Each side is identical. Please refer to page 275 to see the example in the collection.
6 VINTAGE HALLOWEEN PAPER UNUSED HATS GERMANY 1930'S CRERE PAPER HONEYCOMB TOP
Don’t you just love it when a ready-made collection surfaces? Even though my interest in such hats is low, I can appreciate the creative, if not twistedly creative, imagery dreamed up by some long-ago German artisans. I’ve not seen the high-looking witch, the dapper devil or that snarling cat face designs before so these are rare. The set has been bid up to $224.50 with over three days remaining. I think they are worth no less than $150 each - so there is a lot of room to run.
Vintage Halloween EARLY MECHANICAL BLACK CAT PLACE CARD WITH MIRROR - RARE!
Isn’t this a great graphic? Great and rare - I’ve never seen this design before. You can’t go wrong in doing business with this outstanding seller. Be sure to check out what other treasures they have listed.
05/09 Update: I’m sure this outstanding seller was as gobsmacked as I was to see this place card haul in $384.99. As Beaver Cleaver would have said: Who’d a-thunk?
RARE Vintage 1940s Halloween Black Cat Windowpane Embossed Diecut Decoration
It’s nice to see some rare diecuts listed on eBay. This is one of two German windowpane diecuts this seller has listed now. Although this one may not be the strongest design, it is the hardest to find of the quartet. (These were produced during the 1930s, not the 1940s.) This example has the usual condition issues of border wear and wear off the high points, but is still quite nice overall. Vintage Halloween prices have been on a tear these last 12-18 months, so it will be instructive to see what this fetches.
05/09 Update: The buyer got a solid deal for $432. I’m surprised it didn’t bring FAR more. eBay is a weird marketplace.
2 RARE VFINE Vintage Halloween Diecut Decorations Silver Highlights, Witch, Owl!
Hallmark produced few Halloween diecuts relative to their overall Halloween output during the pivotal ten-year period beginning in the mid-1920s. I don’t know why this is so, but my guess is that their overall diecut output was so uninspired vis-à-vis their competitors (especially the Holy Trinity of Beistle, Dennison and Gibson) that sales were scant - so the firm poured more efforts/resources into their small paper items: invitations, place cards and tallies. Hallmark small paper items from this period are generally outstanding in terms of humor, an eccentric design ethos and the use of a subtle, complicated color palette. I covet these hard-to-find items and have assembled a respectable collection.
The description of their diecuts as uninspired doesn’t apply to these two beauties. The direct gaze of the witch is arresting, and is the stronger design of the two. (This design was also sold as a gummed silhouette around 1925. These were sold in enveloped sets of ten. An example is on page 287.) I like the use of brown with the owl. There are two Hallmark diecuts shown on page 165. The date attribution of these two diecuts as being from the early 1950s is wrong and has been corrected in the Errata. They were both produced in the mid-1920s, the same as with these two diecuts sold as a lot. I feel the skull and crossbones is the best design of the four and the rarest. I think I’ve seen it only the one time I acquired it. It’s great to see these rare treasures get the secondary market respect they deserve. Congrats to the buyer for their good taste!
34" Vintage Antique Made in USA Scarecrow Halloween Die Cut Articulated Jointed
Beistle produced this item from 1960-1962. As I write on page 162, “The dopey expression and the overall goofiness of the design are sadly too common with Beistle designs from this period.”
Vintage Halloween German Pumpkin Head Man w/ Stand Pressed Board Candy Container
This result defies my belief. There was a time not that many years ago when any such-sized member of the Veggie “family” would bring - at best - $300. I think this aberrant result is explained by the fact there were two bidders who were locked in a Pyrrhic battle-to-the-death match over ownership, surely to the stupefied glee of the seller.
VINTAGE 1960S HALLOWEEN BLACK CAT HARD PLASTIC STYLIZED FIGURINE
This is actually a game piece from the much-coveted Green Ghost Game produced by Transogram in 1965. The game is quite large and is composed of many individual pieces. The secondary market for this game and most of its pieces is thriving.
1933 DENNISON WALT DISNEY HALLOWEEN W/ MICKEY & MINNIE MOUSE PARTY PACKAGE SET
I’ve had numerous opportunities to acquire this one-off boxed set collaboration between Dennison and Disney and have always passed. The colors scream Halloween but little else about this set evokes much of a Halloween association. The effort put into this set by the companies was pretty minimal. I feel both firms were reeling from the Great Depression hard-set by 1933, and figured maybe something thrown together would sell. The centerpiece referenced on the box lid is simply a sad looking JOL with pasted on eyes, nose and mouth made from plain orange crepe bunched together at the top. The rest of the contents are forgettable enough that I feel the draw for the set would mainly derive from Disney collectors rather than Halloween collectors. That said, this incomplete set in so-so condition did bring strong dollars. I’d love to know if the dollars came from the Disney or Halloween side - or was the prevailing bid from someone who loves both fields?
1920s DENNISON MIDNIGHT REVELERS HALLOWEEN DIE CUT FULL MOON OWL PICTURE PUZZLE
Three of these interesting items were offered recently. Rather than Dennison producing these “Midnight Revelers” puzzles, I think it more likely Dennison licensed several examples of their diecut artwork to what is now an unknown firm. Dennison was arguably the most diligent of paper manufacturers at this time in marking their products and packaging. Although the contents of the envelope are marked, the envelope itself is strangely silent as to the manufacturer. I think the market recognized this at least subconsciously as the ending prices for the four on auction weren’t electrifying.
Vintage Paper Mache Halloween Black Cat Candy Container
I believe the buyer got a solid deal here. This pulp black cat candy holder is harder to find than the similarly constructed orange witch - and that one is no cinch to acquire. The highlights look good and it appears to be structurally intact. I had this on my Watch List but forgot to bid.
Halloween Skeleton Jitterbug Jones Glow In Dark 1940?
There has been a pronounced frothiness to the vintage Halloween market over the last year, similar to the frothiness seen in many other collectible categories. This result is a good indicator of that frothiness. This 1930s Jitterbug Jones table decoration with an easel is not often seen - even less so complete with its placard - but given the item’s poor condition, the ending price was much higher than was expected.
RARE Vintage Halloween Jack o’ Lantern Tea Set Waste Bowl Germany 1914-1932
This super example of a waste bowl from the German porcelain set is a much-coveted item, affirmed by the impressive price the listing has already attained with ~6 days left to go. (It surely doesn’t hurt that the seller is so respected in our collecting community!) What many collectors don’t know is that there are three variants. The most common variant looks just like the one in this listing but is missing a face. The more uncommon variant looks like the one in this listing. The most uncommon variant - so rare that I’ve only seen it once - has a face and a “bubble skirt.” (Look under the Acquisitions tab and scroll down to about August of 2017 to see the one in the collection.)
03/30 Update: This sold for an astounding $735, a record. I’m not sure what drove this waste bowl to such heights, but am skeptical we’ll see such exuberance too often.
