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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.

ULTRA RARE Vintage Halloween Horrible Witch Decoration Crepe Skirt Beistle 30-31

Although this was the first and only time I’d seen that coloration of the crepe skirt, I still fell down when I saw this result, plaintively moaning that our hobby has been captured by the well-heeled. Not many collectors can drop nearly $8,000 on something like this. (Now, the end result was warped by two uber-aggressive bidders. Remove those bids and this item would have ended in the ~$2,200 range. I wonder if either bidder ever really expected to pay that much for it? If not, the result nicely illustrates the risk in placing sky-high bids on eBay.)

This same seller has yet another one of these listed now, albeit with different crepe colors and in unrestored condition. What will it fetch?

If someone wants mine, I’d be delighted to sell it for $5,000.

NMINT Vintage Halloween Mechanical Wheel Witch Game & Fortune Card Beistle 1930s

Ah…the vagaries of eBay. This same seller sold a Wheel Witch game on August 24 for $2,025. Just a scant sixteen days later one in arguably better condition sells for just ~27% of the first listing. (What must the buyer of the first listing think?) With all the duplicates being listed this season, be sure to ask sellers if there will identical items listed. If so, just hang back for awhile.

Vintage Halloween Diecut Small Black Cat face with hat, Germany

I was surprised to see this diecut garner so many bids and dollars. Both ears should have sharp points. The ear on the left as you look at the diecut seems blunted. In any event, the Germans produced at least three versions of this diecut. The hats on each differ. One looks at you (this one…), one looks down and one looks to one side. The one looking down is exceedingly rare. I’ve only seen it once - when I purchased it.

Vintage Halloween die cut Black cats Germany

This seller states that they have been a collector for over 40 years. I wonder, then, why they have such an exalted view of value. The lot is being offered for a BIN of $575, with an option to make an offer. These are quite common. A fair offer would be in the $200 range.

Vintage Halloween Dennison's Bogie Book, 1925 Suggestions for Halloween Booklet

This post is less about this particular Bogie Book listing than about Dennison Bogie Books in general. Dennison was clever in that they tried to speak directly to end consumers by giving them decorating ideas, maximizing the utility of the crepe, seals, cut-outs, illuminated silhouettes, etc. that Dennison was so fecund in sending to market. Once a consumer’s head was filled to bursting with ways to enhance their planned event, Dennison would allow individuals to send in their own orders directly to the firm. Of course, if a consumer wished to browse a retail establishment, Dennison had stand-alone “brick and mortars” and also supplied their wares to generalized stationers.
The Bogie Books helped this strategy along AND Dennison made money on them, selling them for a nickel or dime depending on the year. Today, when Bogie Books come available, their typical condition is what you see with this listing - truly used. These nearly annual publications were a wealth of information for those long-ago consumers and for today’s collectors an invaluable source of knowledge of what Dennison made available over the years.
Dennison’s business strategy didn’t emerge fully formed. Their first Bogie Book, in 1909, seemed a tentative effort - so tentative, in fact, that they didn’t see the commercial possibilities of these publications for three years. (There seems to be only a single copy of the 1909 Bogie Book extant. You can see it on page 135.) From 1912 through 1917, a Bogie appeared each year. 1918 was a miss almost certainly due to WWI. From 1919 through 1926 the annual publications were titled Bogie Books. After that, Dennison couldn’t seem to settle on a title blithely flitting from one to another.
Not all Bogie’s are created equal. In terms of very specific information on what was being produced with what stock numbers, the best ones are from 1914-1922.
The rarest copies before the 1920 edition are, in order, 1909, 1913, 1912, 1914, 1916, 1915. (I have yet to find a 1913 edition for the collection.)
There are even masochists like myself that torment themselves with a quest to collect the envelopes in which the Bogies were mailed to consumers. I have assembled almost a complete collection after many years.

RARE Vintage Halloween Diecut Glow in the Dark Smoking Skeleton Jitterbug Jones

This example of Jitterbug Jones sold for $525. The back easel is missing, but otherwise it displays well. Some unknown manufacturer produced at least two designs with a glow-in-the-dark feature during the 1930s. Both had attached placards, which today are often missing. (The other design shows a witch falling into a flaming cauldron. It is rare enough that I’ve never been able to acquire one.)

2 Vintage Halloween Skull Skeleton Cardboard Paper Folding Lanterns Decorations

Know that when purchasing vintage lanterns, it’s quite common for the bottoms to be missing, as they are with this listing. Although new bottoms can be fashioned somewhat easily if you have the proper tools and supplies, most collectors aren’t so equipped. (I know I’m not!) If you want these old lanterns to be displayed as they were meant to be, hold out for those with their original bottoms extant.

Vintage Halloween Jack-O-Lantern Target Game Box Only

Parker Brothers issued this Jack-O-Lantern Target game sometime during the interval of 1929-1932. It almost never is available to purchase. Sadly, this listing is only for a box in poor condition , but the top graphics are compelling nonetheless. To see an example with complete contents, turn to page 26. Finding one with the original cork bullets and rifle extant is especially rare.

10-04 Update: This sold for an unbelievable $431.99.

166 Item eBay Auction by stnick22

Last night, stnick22, a long-time and knowledgeable collecting couple, unveiled 166 auction listings with items spanning the gamut from many entry-level items to those that even the most advanced collectors would spill saliva over. It was fun and educational reading their well crafted descriptions that were devoid of the frivolousness that too many sellers think readers find entertaining. (I’m a just-the-facts type of collector.) Several personal highlights are the “cat and witch hugging” candy container, the Beistle fairy hat and the very large German diecut lantern. It’ll be fun to see what this fine assemblage fetches in a calendar year wherein a stunning quantity of higher-quality items have been offered.

10/10 Update: The devil lantern that was bid up to $7,100 was through error. Tom will be relisting the lantern at some point. Bottom line - the ending bid was unintentional on the part of the prevailing bidder.

10/04 Update: Tom and Deb did very well with a significant number of lots overperforming.
I’ve received a lot of email relating to the devil lantern selling for $7,100, all basically saying WTH? in different ways. I suspect the prevailing bidder was caught flat-footed by the underbidder setting a floor of $7,000, neither surely thinking the bidding would ever reach beyond the already incomprehensible ~$2,000.
Other surprisingly high results include the large German lantern selling for $2,356.91 and the pulp pumpkin dog with a replaced insert selling for $2,247.22. The Gilbert dexterity game sold for $202.50, probably a world record for that cool, common item.
Paper items didn’t seem that strong overall. The tiara seemed low at $401. The Beistle fairy hat was definitely low at $227.50. The mechanical owl, bat and envelope together brought only $647.25.
One of the many good things about stnick22’s auctions is their range of goods. There’s something for every level of collector. I enjoy reading their informative descriptions, browsing through the many quality photographs then sitting back and watching what everything brings.

More generally, I do wonder from where all the money sloshing around in the hobby comes. 2022 has been a year with many fine and rare items being made available, yet the money keeps being spent. I have long feared that collecting vintage Halloween may become the province of the well-heeled. Many of the results I’ve been seeing this year support this fear. I collect a range of different things and those other hobbies, even leaded shade lamps made by Duffner & Kimberly, Gorham and some lamps produced by Tiffany seem cheap in comparison. Prices for vintage Halloween items always seem to be going up, up, up. I wonder if that trend is truly sustainable.

EXCEEDINGLY RARE Vintage Halloween Skeleton with Sign Diecut Decoration Gibson!!

Amidst the too-many listings of new items on eBay since they took away the ability to differentiate vintage from new, it is a joy to view an exceedingly rare diecut. Paper is my province - I love small paper like invitations, tallies and place cards; I love larger paper like table decorations, games and diecuts. Although I collect many other market segments like lanterns and candy containers, what gets my Grinch-like heart to expand is good paper. This is good paper. Gibson’s design aesthetic was eccentric. They used a color palette significantly larger than their competitors like Beistle and to a lesser degree, Dennison. Their designs were more unusual - especially in that their diecuts were often a way to convey party messages. Gibson’s output overall, including for diecuts, was much smaller than their main competitors, which means that finding examples in collectible condition is tough. This same great seller had a Gibson “Cold Facts” diecut end this very morning. It was only the second time I had seen it available - and both times it was the actually the exact same diecut offered. (I was the prevailing bidder.) This “Right This Way” diecut with the green skeleton face and arm bone is a treasure. I’ve only seen it a few times and every time save for this listing, the hand was completely detached. Gibson wasn’t perfect - they should have a sturdier design. It’ll be fun to see what this brings. Gibson items have escalated sharply over these last few years, a market recognition of desirability and scarcity.

10-04 Update: I feel this somewhat underperformed at $1,009.

No New Pulp Novelties Lantern in 2022

I’ve received a number of emails asking if that pulp artist extraordinaire, Tim Ramzyk, would be releasing a new lantern for 2022. Alas, this is a year we’ll all have to do without one of Tim’s fantastic creations.

Tim moved from Wisconsin to Minnesota to take care of an ailing parent and into a home that requires much refurbishing. Those challenges plus the supply line distortions we’ve all experienced conspired to result in a Halloween season coming without the joy of having a new Pulp Novelties lantern.

Won’t this make receiving one of Tim’s lanterns in 2023 all the sweeter?