Lavishly decorated envelopes like this one was one way that Beistle differentiated themselves from their competitors in the marketplace. Nice as these envelopes were, most end-consumers tossed them after liberating the contents, hence the rarity of finding one for sale. Even though this one survived through the decades, it wasn't like it looked like Dorian Gray after the journey. This one was, as the seller aptly described it, in poor condition and the ending price reflected that. If one in perfect condition was to surface, I have no doubt it would have brought up to 10 times what this one did.
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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.
Vintage Beistle Elves Fairies Halloween Party Hat, Honeycomb 1920’s
Beistle issued a set of four of fairy-themed hats in 1923 only, so these are hard-to-find and desirable. The condition of this particular hat appears to be superb, so it will be instructive to see what this great item fetches.
Vintage Halloween Party Honeycomb Tissue Paper Hat Cat Witch JOL by Bee Line
This honeycomb band hat was made by Beistle from 1948-1952. They issued this with at least two variations, the one shown here and one with a checkered top shown on page 240 with a somewhat different central image. Both have the Bee-Line mark that Beistle used only during this narrow window. Although the art is not as intricate or inspired as their earlier products, few manufacturers withstood the siren call of dumbing down their imagery for the child-focused holiday Halloween was at this time.
