This great noisemaker was produced by T. Cohn as late as the 1950s. The siren mechanism seldom works on these anymore. The fact that this example was not silent surely contributed to the very high ending price.
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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.
Rare Vintage Halloween Whitney Table Centerpiece
This four-sided fence centerpiece in notable because its imagery is so odd. I’ve seen it only a few times in 33 years of avidly searching out such treasures. Whitney went belly-up in 1942 - much too soon for my tastes. This seller is knowledgeable and someone I’d buy from without reservation. Be sure to check out his other Halloween listings too!
06/22 Update: This sold for $209.01.
Vintage Halloween Candles Columbia Wax Works Original Box
When I first began collecting, this box of candles would sell for $10 on a good day. It shows just how this market has gentrified over the decades. My main worry about this fine hobby is this: Is it becoming too expensive for the average collector?
ANTIQUE GERMAN CROW DIE CUT VINTAGE HALLOWEEN EMBOSSED RARE FREE SHIPPING
It’s great to see some nice items being offered by such reputable sellers. The description for this 1920s German crow diecut is spot-on. Although not as rare as its mate that looks directly out, this design is desirable and not often seen. The condition is definitely in the top quartile of those I’ve seen.
06/15 Update: This sold for $311.
VINTAGE DENNISON HALLOWEEN BOX SET 6 CUT OUTS GIRL OWL JOL HAT H-94 ANTIQUE COMP
This is a tough slide box of Dennison cut-outs to obtain. It was only within the last few years that I added this product to the collection. This is one of my favorite sellers. He has been listing a solid number of A and B level items, bravely doing so in the face of eBay’s inexplicable “improvements” to their listing categories. Be sure to add this knowledgeable seller to your list of favorites so you can stay abreast of his offerings.
My Best eBay Search...
The frustration with eBay’s needless and high-handed “improvements” continues. My top search is simple. I search for “Vintage Halloween” in all categories with the box to search descriptions checked. This yields ~17,000 listings, most of them garbage. However, with 200-500 items listed in that search daily, I am finding it manageable, although I know things are escaping my review. I have a number of more targeted searches like Vintage Halloween Dennison, Vintage Halloween Decorations, etc. that I run through, although, again, this isn’t optimal from a time perspective - at least for me. Bottom line - as a collector of vintage Halloween, eBay has made it harder to use their site. As a seller, I wouldn’t use eBay for any vintage holiday goods at the moment.
Vintage Halloween RARE Partial Set (9) of Rustcraft Place Cards in Box NICE
This partial set of place cards was produced by Rust Craft of Boston during the early 1920s. The seller is correct in claiming they rarely surface. I think the BIN price is too high. The set is incomplete and several have writing. I feel $400-475 is the appropriate price.
Vintage Halloween Party Favors in original package of Five. Marked Beistle, USA
This is an envelope variant for the smallest of the Johnny Pumpkin family I haven’t seen before. The envelope is so plain! However, it sure is in nice condition and has its original contents. With only an hour to go, it has reached $405. Each of this-sized member of the family typically brings $80-90, so any further movement would represent what the bidders feel the envelope is worth.
eBay Frustration
Hi Everyone,
Well, eBay appears to be dug in on the wisdom of their focus on moving to what they call a “product-based category structure.” I called last week before a quick trip to SoCal and Disneyland. Although very polite, the rep offered zero encouragement that the status quo ante would be seen again.
I have modified my searches for vintage Halloween enough to get down to ~18,000 items, with 200-500 being added every day. I can’t imagine too many collectors going through such an arduous process, so this may be a boon for other sites or general antiques shows. The drawback for sites like Etsy or Ruby Lane is that these have only fixed-price listings with the sellers there generally having an exalted view of the worth of their offerings. I wish there was an auction-based site alternative to the “new and improved” eBay.
I know I’ll be adding items to my For sale page over the next few weeks. Many of you have written to say they will be anticipating my annual auction like never before. Although I truly appreciate that, I just wish eBay would reinstate the categories as they existed prior to May 11th.
C.1930'S DIECUT HALLOWEEN GIRL WITCH BLACK CAT MECHANICAL STAND UP CARD
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.
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.
