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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.

Vintage Kirchhof Halloween Noise Maker Tin Litho 1940s

Kirchhof produced many, many tin litho Halloween designs. I’ve always liked this one as it seems to me that the designer was having fun doing the job. The lively borders, the central pan image and most of all, the potbellied devil frolicking in the flames add up to one eye-catching, pleasing noisemaker. This lot is in nice condition and certainly is worth no less than the opening bid.

RARE! VINTAGE BEISTLE HALLOWEEN MECHANICAL NUT CUP - BLACK CAT!

It is so nice to finally see some quality items appearing on eBay. With their lack of differentiation of holiday categories and time periods, one has to wade through so much garbage. This mechanical fold-up nut cup was produced by Beistle for a single season in 1938. Four comprise a full set. I was lucky enough to buy multiples of each design in 2015, so this may have once been part of that collection out of Massachusetts. The seller is stellar, so bid with great confidence.

Antique Halloween, Circa 1920's Mechanical Dancing JOL Automaton

Wow! What a nice item. I’ve seen a lot of problematic mechanicals offered on this and other forums, but feel confident even without a personal examination that this is the real deal and not either a Frankensteined piece or a full-on reproduction. I like the autumn vest. Very snazzy! It is nice to see some nice items appearing on eBay after a long drought.

Rare Antique German Halloween Diecut Vintage Decoration

This exceedingly rare German diecut fence was produced in 1935. There is a remarkable consistency when these are seen that the leftmost figure, the mate to the plump JOL figure, is missing. I chalk it up to more than coincidence. I believe the full four-figure fence was made for a very short period of time before a decision was made to eliminate the leftmost figure. Could it have been to save on shipping? I don’t know. I may be completely off-base in even speculating that any decision was made, but the consistency of the observation is compelling. I finally added a full four-figure example to the collection a few years ago.

Second Copy of 1909 Dennison Bogie Book Discovered!

I want to share some exciting news: A second copy of Dennison’s inaugural Bogie Book from 1909 has been discovered! Previously, the sole known copy resided in the collection. Even Dennison did not have a copy.
(This inaugural effort was far from a success. At the time, Dennison didn’t have a clear idea of what they wanted to achieve by publishing what they called The Dennison Bogie Book. With such a lack of focus, the effort yielded very little. Dennison may have printed up to 25,000 copies, but that is uncertain. I believe many were destroyed, as there are now only two copies known to exist. I speculate…They didn’t even try again until 1912, when Dennison published a Bogie Book with a sharper marketing purpose aimed at end-users. This effort was so successful that near-annual issues were produced from that year through the early 1930s with differing names and formats.)
This second copy, which I have definitively confirmed as authentic, was discovered within the last 45 days at an antiques show in New England. It was purchased by the new owner’s husband as a gift. Little did he know the rarity of that gift! An image of this new discovery appears below, so you can get a sense of the stellar overall condition.
It pays to browse antiques and collectible shows!

ANTIQUE c. 1900 DRESDEN EMBOSSED CARDBOARD CAT CHRISTMAS or HALLOWEEN ORNAMENT

It has become startling to see such a nice item listed on the junkyard that eBay has become. These Halloween-themed Dresden ornaments are really something. It’ll be fun to see what this fetches!

01/26 Update: This fine item fetched $877.77. I talked to one collector who was surprised it didn’t bring more, but considering the time of year, I felt the price realized was solid.

Antique Halloween Jack O' Lantern Germany 1920s 4" Red Lips Orig Insert Handle

I wrote as part of an update on the Gibson owl game below that I love sellers who offer concise descriptions. This seller is a stellar example of what I feel buyers need and appreciate. Just read his description of the German JOL that sold for a higher-than-expected price. I’m positive that it was due to his reputation in our hobby plus his way with words. Kudos!

Vintage Halloween Owl Get Wise Pick a Feather Rare Collectible

Although it is great to see such a rare item on eBay amongst all the garbage, I sure wish this seller would have spent more time taking photos and providing a detailed description of condition rather than the formal gobbledygook they employ. This rare game was produced by Gibson during the early 1930s. There should be twelve feather fortunes. It is unclear just how many remain. There seems to be spotting at the bottom. One ear seems bent. Are there any other condition issues? What does the reverse look like?

01/02 Update: I’m glad to see the seller added a photo of the reverse.

01/14 Update: This game fetched $559.89. I can’t help but wonder if the ending price would have been higher if the seller had better photos and a more concise description. Sellers should always remember that buyers are just interested in many clear photos with a concise description devoid of nonsense.

vintage Halloween decoration

Beistle produced a set of eight small diecuts during the early 1950s, of which this is one. It is a great set overall although there is one clinker - the maniacal clown. (You can see the full set on page 157.) The smoking JOL, the skull with the racing cap and the witches are truly super designs. Diecuts from this set have been bringing strong dollars for the last few years as collectors wake up to the set’s appeal.

T Cohn Vintage Scarecrow Halloween Tin Litho Clanger Noisemaker wood Handle

T. Cohn made a wide variety of tin litho items for the holidays, but their two putty knife designs have remained strong sellers for many years - even when the tin litho noisemaker segment was colder than a brass toilet seat in the Yukon. This was produced during the later 1930s. The other design can be seen on page 201. With over four days to go, the bids stand at almost $61. The month of December is hands-down the worst month to sell vintage Halloween items, so it’ll be interesting to see at what price this listing ends. Sending good thoughts…

01/01 Update: The time of the year really worked against this listing as the noisemaker fetched only $188.05

Vintage Halloween Owl Cat Bat Jack O Lantern Honeycomb Band Hat Beistle # 1

I’ve always liked this great Beistle band hat design. They released it as a stand-alone hat in 1933 and discontinued doing so in 1941. Beistle entered into what I call their fairy mania phase in 1923, so this hat was released well after that mania had ended. In the year this hat was released the country was ensnared in the icy grip of the Great Depression. This is a good example of how companies with a reservoir of designs to call upon used already completed work to try to make some money when the retail markets were oh-so-tight. Production was ceased as WWII began for the USA in December 1941.