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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.

Vintage Halloween Dennison Hallowe'en Suggestions Magazine, 1931 New Bogey Book

I’m glad to see this Dennison publication get some love. The publications after 1926 are devilishly difficult to find in collectible condition, none more so than those published in 1931 and 1933-35. I’ve often wondered why this is the case. The weight of the paper used doesn’t seem to differ from Dennison’s earlier publications. Perhaps the booklets were used more rigorously and for a longer time since the Great Depression was causing serious economic havoc then. I don’t really know, but this one that fetched solid dollars seemed to be in better condition than many I’ve seen.

RARE Vintage Halloween Jack o Lantern Diecut Decoration Flipout Base Beistle 30s

It’s hard to know what went wrong here. (You know the market is seriously overheated when an ending price of $705 for a paper Halloween decoration is considered insufficient.) Whether it was the not-insignificant condition issues, the corrected error on size or vintage Halloween fatigue from simply too many solid items being listed too often as too closely spaced intervals, this item should have brought much more. This is one of the items from my reference that is most often inquired about as to my intention to sell it. Another hasn’t come to market in many, many years. I suspect fatigue is the most impactful cause, although the case for fatigue is not airtight. Check out what the same seller realized in auctioning one of the trio of eccentrically-designed 1950s Beistle witches - $1,325.99.
Prices have become such a turn-off that I have actively explored other forums where price sanity is more of the norm. I encourage people to attend the larger antiques shows where there are more chances at finding things reasonably priced. Trading with other collectors is another activity I find to be much more fun than trolling through the eBay detritus to find a few jewels that then typically spiral to too-lofty levels.

Vintage Halloween Lantern 4 Panel Paper Lantern Decoration Made In Germany 1

This is a 1990s or later reproduction of an authentic vintage German design first produced during the 1920s. The reproductions were imported into the USA by Blumchens. The black borders on truly vintage lanterns will be heavily embossed. This has only modest decorative value.

08/17 Update: The seller is listing several of these, being opaque about the fact that these lanterns are not vintage.

Exceedingly Rare Vintage Halloween Tango Cat

Some really great paper items have been surfacing with such regularity that purses and wallets all across the USA and Canada have been made thinner by the bounteous harvest. Add this exceedingly rare Tango Cat produced by Beistle to the list. It has been a long time since I’ve seen a truly vintage example surface, especially in this fantastic condition. The seller, a deeply knowledgeable collector, is a wizard with paper restoration. As he honestly points out, the tip of the cat’s hat has been replaced. I’ve seen his restoration work myself. It is so good that this minor matter shouldn’t act as any sort of brake on a desire for acquisition. Beistle produced only two Tango figures from this era - the other is a witch and is also being offered by this fine seller. Both designs are notoriously difficult to find without some problems to the lower extremities. This looks to be a real keeper for collectors.

08/17 Update: This item fetched $772.

NMINT SCARCE Vintage Halloween Cat & Candle Placecard Decoration, Dennison 1920s

Although I feel there is too much high-end Halloween hitting the market too often with too much regularity hampering what truly stellar items are fetching, there are anomalies like this sale. You all realize this price is insane, right? This Dennison place card is beautifully designed and is a visual treat but it surfaces with great regularity. The price is typically $260-300 in NM+ condition. The result reminds me of something Whitney Houston once blurted out - “Crack is whack.”

Vintage Halloween Jilnelso5

When I saw this listing I thought - WTH? However, the seller was apparently familiar with the vintage Halloween market simply to the extent they felt anything Halloween was worth a fortune, hence the laughable BIN price of $2,000. The lot sold for $100, still a huge premium to what these are worth. The seller did not score a bargain.

DEAD MINT Complete Set Vintage Halloween Table Decorations Favors Germany 1920s!

It is great seeing so many of these German table decorations, especially in such nice condition. A common error is to think ten comprise a full set. There are actually eleven designs comprising the full set. The standing arched-back cat has two variations: the one included in this offering with eyes looking away from the viewer and one with the cat looking directly at the viewer with a slightly different face and stance. (The latter is much harder to find.) There are also stand variations. Later in the run the wood red stands were deeper and slotted making the table decoration more functional as a place card holder.

08/17 Update: The result was surely a disappointment as these regularly bring over $100 (sometimes well over…) when listed individually.

1940s Vintage Halloween BEISTLE Diecut Two CATS w/ Anthropomorphic Moon EMBOSSED

This design belongs to a set of twelve that Beistle produced for a long time beginning in 1932. All are common enough that you’ll see each design multiple times every year. The trick in collecting diecuts from this set is to get the earliest pressing you can. (Admittedly, many collectors couldn’t care less about this distinction. I get this. However, for those kindred spirits, read on.) I arbitrarily divide the pressing history for these diecuts into three phases. The three embossing levels can be generally described as heavy, moderate and light with the production dates roughly corresponding to 1932-1941, 1946-1949 and 1950-1954 respectively. When the stamping plates were new, the embossing was deep and rich. As they became worn, the embossing became shallower. The example this fine seller is offering is from the third embossing phase. The value delta between phase one and phase three is about 20%.

ULTRA RARE Vintage Halloween Pumpkin Pops Mechanical Countertop Display 1930s!

If I had to name my top 5 vintage Halloween market segments, Rosen “Pops” boxes and their related output would make the cut. If you look on pages 116-118 you’ll see examples of these mechanical and non-mechanical gems. I bought three from a 1997 Dunbar Gallery auction: Spook Pops, Owl Pops and Pumpkin Pops. Since then, I’ve never seen complete examples of the first two and only two other complete examples of the third - and that would include this listing. (The last one, offered in October 2015, had noticeable damage. The clueless seller offered it then for a BIN of $79.99.) This listing has a lot going for it: the condition seems to be nearly as good as the one I purchased in 1997; the seller is tops and the opening price of $9.99 invites bidding. (In fact, within hours of debut the bidding was $350.) Given that an envelope for a Flaming Fortune game brought nearly $2,000 recently, this should command a significant premium to that result. If this market segment appeals to you, get a HELOC and bid! :)

08/07 Update: The result surely didn’t meet the seller’s expectations but should be cause for relief if not delirium to the prevailing bidder, having sold for $1511.99. This underperformed the what-it-should-have-been case. I wonder if there are simply too many high-end items being offered in too short of a time frame and in too steady of a cadence.