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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.

Old Vintage Halloween Cardboard Diecut Die Cut Out Table Decoration Beistle 1955

I have concerns about this item being a poorly done reproduction. I’ve asked the seller, who is a regular seller of vintage Halloween items, to include photos of the interior so that potential buyers can see how the sides are connected.

Update: The seller quickly added additional photos. After reviewing everything, this is what I wrote to the seller just now: “Hello, Thanks so much for adding the photos so quickly. Although the interior construction is consistent with a known vintage item in my collection, I feel this is a somewhat less sloppy reproduction than what another eBay seller offered recently. My primary concern is the lack of white in the piece. Truly vintage such items have a pleasing three-color presentation. The one you are offering has a two-color presentation. My feeling is that this was made to fool the newer collector. I feel it is a reproduction, not a truly vintage item. Best, MBL”

Another Update: The seller changed the listing after my input, offering it for a BIN for $59.99, with private offers to those having it on their Watch List at $49.99. Given that I feel it is a poor reproduction, the BIN price is much too high.

Yet Another Update: Some person acquired this reproduction for $47 plus ~$7 shipping. The listing shows it sold for $59.99, but that is just an artifact of eBay’s studied lack of transparency.

VINTAGE BEISTLE’S ‘HALLOWEEN PARTY HELPS’ - UNUSED SET TALLY CARDS W/ENVELOPE!

It’s nice to see a quality listing amidst all of the out-of-season listings of items produced only in the last few years. (There has been some great small paper offered by netantiques!) Beistle made these tallies for many seasons. The original strings are always pink, so what would have been the original color? Orange? The tallies typically don’t fetch much as they are common, but to have a complete set with its original thin-paper envelope elevates this listing. The fact that the sellers are A-1 people with deep knowledge of our fun hobby absolutely should spur collectors to bid. Don’t let this great item escape your grasp!

BEAUTIFUL VINTAGE HALLOWEEN DIE CUT CENTERPIECE PARTY FAVOR W/WAX BAG AS STORAGE

This is not a vintage, authentic Beistle centerpiece. I’ve handled several of these and this one is wrong on several matters. The colors are not the rich ones you’d find with an authentic Beistle product from the 1950s. The colors seem to be more consistent with a copy. The paper gauge seems to be wrong, too, although that is hard to tell with the poor photographs this seller has provided. Lastly, and most problematic, the pieces seem to be glued together. The seller cryptically writes that, “The item is hooked to itself by each panel”. Again, the poor photos don’t really lend themselves to close inspection. A truly authentic example is all one piece, easy to do if you are Beistle, hard to do if you are offering something that happens to be fake.

This same seller has another listing of four “stained glass” diecuts. These also contain irregularities that cause me to question their age.

01/05 Update: I’m glad to see this sold for a pittance as I feel it has decorative, not collectible, value only.

Happy Holidays!

Hello There,

Thanks for following my blog during 2022!
I haven’t been posting much over these last few weeks as there isn’t much to comment on. This is typically a fallow time for listings of vintage Halloween goods.

I’ve been busily preparing for my March 2023 auction. There will be over 100 lots of great stuff. The auction will kick-off in later February of 2023 and end on Sunday, March 5, 2023. Stay tuned for more details.

In the meantime, have a great holiday season!

MBL

Vintage Halloween Cat Paper Decoration Black/Silver/Orange Wow!!! Rare!!!

This small cat decoration was produced by Hallmark during the later 1920s and into the early 1930s. Their output using the semi-glossy paper stock will have a red reverse.
Hallmark small paper, especially the designs with a yellow reverse, have been mighty movers in terms of valuation over these 18 months.
Two manufacturers that had a significant output of Halloween small paper that may be undervalued relative to where I feel the market is headed are Hallmark and Rust Craft.

Vintage Halloween Paper Covered Gift/Candy Boxes 1950s? Pumpkin

I’ve wondered about these boxes over the years. One sees the same pleasing design again and again, so how many years were these distributed? When were they distributed? I speculate that locally-owned candy shops throughout regions of the US could order these generic seasonal boxes from some industry-specific wholesaler for their customers - customizing them upon purchase of a filled box with stickers or inserts containing the name of the shop selling the candy. Readers, what do you think? By the way, this listing ended with the seller accepting an offer of $70.

Vintage Halloween crepe paper DECOUPAGED on canvas panel

I appreciate how clever this fine seller is to find ways to preserve the under-rated artwork found in so many crepe paper designs. It seems the Golden Age of crepe bolts was during the later teens and into the twenties. I recently acquired a large collection of vintage paper, including much crepe paper. Being a market segment I’ve not previously spent too much time learning about, it is fun seeing some of the clever designs printed back then.

Happy Halloween 2022!

Hello Faithful Readers,

The season is barreling to a close for 2022. I’m sure most would agree that it simply flew by.

I’m beginning to gear up for my March 2023 auction of vintage Halloween items. I’m really happy with the line-up. Stay tuned for more details.

Happy Halloween! Mark

VINTAGE Halloween Winking Pumpkin Candy Container. Bottom slideds off.

This isn’t a vintage item unless you define vintage as being less than ~25 years old. The candy container in the collection on which this item is based measures 4.5” high by 3” across. (The felt tip on the nose of the actual winking JOL candy container is even reproduced here, testifying to the lack of artistry by whomever produced this.) This item has only modest decorative value - no true vintage value.