Blog

Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.

Vintage Halloween Black Cat Rattle Noisemaker

Of all the many vintage Halloween market segments, the tin litho noisemaker segment has been moribund for at least two decades, with exceptions for some tambourines and the odd duck example like this listing. This inventive design with the added expense coming from the act of attaching the “ears,” is among the earliest of T. Cohn’s Halloween output. I haven’t seen it much in 35 years of collecting, so when I saw the listing and its condition I knew it would bring strong dollars. And what dollars!

Vintage Halloween Paper Lampshade- 1930's Witch Flying On Broom

This shade, which sold for $70, is actually part of the 1916 Peggy’s Halloween Party Box set issued for a single season by Barse and Hopkins Publishers of NYC. The complete boxed set is HIGHLY desirable, meaning it is much sought after. I know of only two sets that are truly correct and complete with the directions/advertising sheet. One of these two are in the collection. You can see it displayed on page 127. (One set sold several years ago that had the numerically correct number of pieces but an incorrect assortment of items.) If you ever see one for sale, check its contents against the enumerated contents found on page 127.

RARE Vintage DENNISON Halloween Party Invitation Pop UP Witch Card

This pop-up invitation first appeared in Dennison’s 1917 Bogie Book with a stock number of H30. Given the date of the event, the party-thrower was an early adopter, shopping for the newest Dennison products. These weren’t cheap at the time compared to other products, so it is fair to assume the party-thrower may have been well-to-do. It’ll be fun to see what this fetches.

Antique Vintage Halloween Waving Skeleton Standup Diecut Decoration Mystery Item

As this seller now knows, the mystery of this item was simply solved. It is one component of a set made by the Pan Candy Company of Chicago for one year only - 1926. The set was given to confectionery retailers if they purchased Pan’s case assortment for that year. Although pieces from this set surface once in a great while, a complete set is a true rarity. I was blessed to acquire what I feel is the sole complete set in existence in September 2020. It was offered on eBay in a confusing listing that failed to attract interest, allowing me to acquire the set for $911, including shipping. It is now valued at many multiples of the purchase price. Not shown from the set in the second photo below is a broomed witch diecut, the pictorial packing sheet and mailing envelope. (I have them all.) This was one of my best acquisitions in many years.

04/11 Update: This sold for $152.50.

Vintage Halloween Skull Candle by Penn, 1950's, in original box

One of the few remaining affordable niches of the vintage Halloween market is candles. Most were produced by the wax kings, Gurley, but some of the smaller manufacturers, like Emkay and Penn, produced great designs. Look at this almost regal skull candle produced by Penn in the early 1950s. To find original packaging for candles is unusual. That, along with the candle’s condition make this an enticing lot. It’ll be fun to see what it fetches.

VTG LOT 12 Beistle Halloween Die Cut Out Decorations Cat Witch Pumpkin Skeleton

This interesting Beistle lot brought a good sum. The most interesting items are the four with the JOL bottoms. The complete set is comprised of six designs. (You can see others to this set on page 218.) Beistle produced them in an enveloped set during the early 1920s. These have been reproduced on a glossy stock, so be cautious when contemplating a purchase. The three rockers shown were part of a set of six designs produced in 1930-31.

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.