I attended an event last week in southern California’s California Adventure park called the Oogie Boogie Bash - A Disney Halloween Party. It replaces the significantly superior Mickey’s Halloween Party in Disneyland. As a bonus during the trip, I had the opportunity to view Jason Walcott’s collection for the first time since 2018. Jason’s collection is amazing and wide-ranging. One of the true pleasures of seeing his collection is the quality of each piece. Jason, like me, places a very high value on condition. Anyway, as I was perusing his wonderful displays, I spied the German mini-diecut shown below. I had never seen it before. It makes me wonder just how many German Halloween mini-diecuts were made. Congratulations, Jason, on having such a fantastic collection so nicely displayed. Thanks for letting me visit!
Blog
Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.
Embossed Antique German MINI Diecut Halloween black cat RARE!
I have learned to really examine these mini-diecuts for variations. This arched-back black cat mini-diecut has differences from the one I own and that is shown on page 185. Look at the positioning of the legs and the shape of the tail. I don’t have a theory as to why these variations surface so regularly with these mini-diecuts. This went for less than I would have thought.
Nice Antique Vintage Halloween Bridge Tally Card, The Unique Line
This is an exceptionally hard-to-find tally produced by Unique. I’ve seen it only 2-3 times in 33 years. There is a companion tally that was sold with this one. (It can be seen in the Acquisitions section of the blog.)
10/12 Update: This sold for much less than I would have thought - $86.
Vintage Dennisons Halloween Seals Black Cat Witch Pumpkin In Box 1920s Stickers
Dennison had a very distinctive look for their output from about 1928 through 1932. I’d love to know who this/these artist/artists were. This superb box of seals is one of their best designs. Just look at how much energy is exuded in this small seal. I’ve noticed a general softening of prices across all segments so it will be fun to see what this brings. I feel it is a $400+ slide box.
Vintage Halloween Pom Pom w/ Cardboard holder by Beistle 1.25"W x 12"T
This is an odd Beistle item - most assuredly from their early days. The iconography supports this. Since the item has such a limited function, I understand why the production of these pom poms was short-lived. I placed a bid just out of idle curiosity of how this was constructed but was outbid. Will I see another?
Vintage 1950's Halloween TRICK OR TREAT TOY POPGUN on Original card WORKS!
What a rare thing to find this Empire Plastics popgun with its original card extant. I believe this is the first time I’ve seen this card. The seller has an opening price of $100 and is letting the auction run for only three days.
10/10 Update: This sold for $346.
Vintage Halloween Skeleton Jack o lantern Owl Cats Lot
I sure wish I could have been at that estate sale and snatched these items right up! The buyer almost surely got a tremendous bargain. Not only are the 1930-1 Beistle lanterns a key find, but the assortment of German diecuts is quite nice. Don’t let the small bat escape your notice. The lot has already been bid up to $356. It has a lot of room to run.
Vintage Halloween RARE 30s Beistle Paper Lantern Bat Witch Black Cat NICE Diecut
If you want a good laugh to kick off the weekend, look at this listing. The wildly optimistic seller has offered this for $749.99 with a “make an offer” option. (This isn’t a typo.) This common lantern isn’t even offered with a bottom. If you are inclined to make an offer, my guidance would be $40-60 isn’t unreasonable.
Vintage Halloween Noisemaker Crier RARE Witch Black Cat Meow Vo Toys
Here is a noisemaker that I’ve never seen before. Condition is problematic. The orange ribbons don’t add anything to the vintage item. Apparently the firm was based in Harrison, NJ. It doesn’t appear to be an independent entity anymore. Based on the imagery, I would guess this crier was produced in the late 1930s.
10/05 Update: This sold for $80.06.
Vintage Halloween RARE Beistle Paper Candy Basket w/ early images c. 1921 4.5"H
OK, this is one of the rarest Halloween items in the finest condition that has appeared on eBay in quite some time. Beistle produced this basket for the 1921 season. I’ve seen these from time to time but always folded and generally in tatty condition. (I mean, they’re 100 years old and weren’t designed for longevity.) This is a star listing - a true joy to stumble upon given all the crap one has to wade through on eBay since they collapsed the holiday categories. The last one sold for either right under or right over $1000 with no comparison for condition. Bidders - start your engines!
10/04 Update: This sold for a phenomenal $1,402.77!
Rare Antique German Halloween Diecut Paper Pumpkin Pirate with Cats Tiara
Of all the tiara or diadem German diecut designs, this is one of the hardest to find. As mentioned in a post some weeks ago, there was a strong blip up in prices for these tiaras for a short period of time, but that force has dissipated. These will typically now sell in the $700-1000 range. The last one sold for $597, a bargain compared to 18 months ago. I expect this one will fetch a bit more than that. We’ll see…
Vintage 1930s Halloween clacker tin litho noisemaker toy knocker
Kirchhof produced this design along with a companion design that can be seen on page 204 for a season, maybe two. The typical form of the noisemaker is a ratchet, so this clanger style is unusual, perhaps accounting for why it has already been bid up to nearly $200 even though the condition is rough. If you are going to see one of the pair, this is the design that surfaces a bit more frequently.
Vintage Antique Halloween Dennison Large Floating Specter Die Cut Diecut 1929
Given the sheer size of this spooky Dennison creation and its many protrusions and appendages, these are typically offered in poorish condition. This is in significantly better than average condition offered by a seller who knows what he is doing. This is a great item and I hope it does well. Know that about 15 years ago, well-done reproductions of this diecut appeared BUT they were very small compared to the truly vintage ones like this one. Bid with confidence!
Antique German Halloween Paper Mache Black Cat on Pumpkin Candy Container
This German composition candy container looks right to me. Beginning in the 1990s, this design was reproduced, but with at least two ways to immediately spot a reproduction: the pumpkin was not much wider than the cat’s bottom and the cat was mostly smooth with none of the detailing you’d expect to see with authentic German wares.
Vintage Halloween Decorations Witches Cats Pumpkins
These two shades are the first iterations of shades produced by Beistle as early as 1918 as part of their first party sets. The sets produced prior to 1923 were made in smaller quantities, hence pieces from these sets, especially these large shades, surface far less often than pieces from the 1923 fairy-themed sets produced in booklet, boxed and enveloped forms in near-shocking quantities.
