This small figural on a candy box exhibits a problem common to a high percentage of vintage composition pieces painted black - flaking. I have seen it so often for so many years now that it must be a quality inherent in the black paint used in the 1920s and early 1930s. In my view, such flaking underscores the age of the piece, so I typically don't find it too off-putting.
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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.
