This witch mechanical tally first appeared in Dennison's 1928 Price List pamphlet. Dennison produced three designs of what they marketed as "novelty tallies." This one is more intricate than the other two designs, a cat head and a JOL. All are hard-to-find in working condition. You can see all three designs on page 258. These also had a dual purpose of being a place card.
12/07 Update: This sold for $240.50, a wholly unsustainable price.
This is not an old piece. Blumchen and Company is a firm that imports many newly made holiday items from Germany. They do not sell truly vintage Halloween items. Established in 1985, they at one time sold a smattering of truly old Halloween items, but that hasn't been the case for many years. The good news is that the buyer didn't waste that many dollars on this decorative object. Do your research before buying anything in our fun hobby. It has gotten too expensive overall not to educate yourself before committing dollars to a purchase.
If collectors have any one lantern in their collections it is this one. It is VERY common for a couple of reasons. This lantern was produced for many, many years. Also, a substantial quantity of true new/old store stock was discovered about 12 years ago, so finding near-mint or better examples is easy. (Generally, when a seller uses the term new/old store stock for purportedly vintage Halloween items, be suspicious.) So, with that said, this seller was lucky to get $300 for the lantern. They nearly always trade for $150, so the buyer had to be someone newer to the hobby.
Dennison produced two designs of what they called "Novelty Tallies" beginning in 1928 and continuing for only a few seasons. (The other is a startled cat with a bell. It can be seen on page 258.) These typically trade for $65, so the buyer willingly paid a meaningful premium.
