Blog

Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.

SUPER RARE Dennison USA 1930's Black Cat Halloween LAMP Shade Cut Out! WOW!

Thanks to the keen eye of the Sherlock Holmes of Dennison products, Anita R,. I now know that this Dennison item isn’t a shade, but something to be used as a decorative base to a candle stick. She pointed out that it appears on page 19 of Dennison’s 1934 Halloween Parties magazine. I have updated the errata page.

Very Rare 1916 Dennison Trifold Invitation Ghost Vintage Halloween H-27 Stock

Prices for many things seem to be out of sync with where values have been even recently. Take this Dennison invitation. Is it desirable? Obviously. Is it scarce? Yes, no surprise given it is 110 years old. Is it worth $566.99? Four bidders seem to think so. Would I pay that? Certainly not for one that was used and glued into a scrapbook. Near-mint examples have recently sold in the $300s range, so this represents a substantial increase over the recent “baseline.” I have long fretted that prices have become so elevated that the lifeblood of any collecting market - new collectors - would dry right up. I had a newish collector write yesterday that she is reevaluating her desire to collect vintage Halloween. That’s too bad because it is such a great hobby populated by so many fun and interesting collectors. But do I get it? Sadly, yes I do.

Vintage Halloween Dennison U.S.A. Cardboard Candy Nut Cups lot of 4

These small late 1920s Dennison treasures don’t surface very often, especially when several identical designs comprise a single lot. I do wish the seller would have included many more photos, especially images of the other sides of the nut cups. As the listing stands now with over two days left, bidding has reached only $26.

05/26 Update: This lot sold for $240.50!

Vintage Dennison Halloween Parties Games Decoration Favors Stunts Magazine 1934

It is hard to find a copy of this 1934 Dennison publication in decent condition. Relatively few of these were printed as the Great Depression had tightened its icy grip on the nation at that time. (In fact, Dennison ceased printing this last of the Bogie Book cousins after the next year.) This copy may be one of the best I’ve seen. But, the price is stultifying. I feel $125 is the right price for this great item.

Vintage Halloween Dennison Leaf Face Gummed Seals Complete Box W 6 Seals 1920's

Dennison produced an amazing variety of seals, illuminated silhouettes, cut-outs, etc. housed within slide boxes. Designs range from the forgettable to the disquieting to the beguiling. (Give me all the disquieting ones!) Wouldn’t you agree this fits the disquieting bill? One of my favorite designs, this seller is offering this 1924 box complete with the correct complement of seals - two designs, three each. Yes, the box is tattered but can be restored. Dennison slide box products have been on a nice tear of late, so it will be informative to see what this lot brings.

05/22 Update: This sold for $465, a strong result.

Vintage Dennison Halloween Die Cut Cardboard "Hallo' Inn" Door Hanger Decoration

Although this actually sold with a BIN of $375, given the condition I was surprised it sold at that price point. Dennison, like pretty much every business during the Great Depression, had to scramble to survive. They released this design in 1930 on thin-stock yellow paper, and probably restricted the print run to ensure they sold everything they produced at full retail through their stores. It is a great, eye-catching design, rivaling the other door hanger design released that same year. (See the top of page 143.) Dennison played their cards well as they survived the Great Depression unlike so many of their smaller competitors.

Antique Vintage Halloween Dennison The Spook Meet Hallowe'en Party for Grown-ups

Dennison was routinely trying new things to promote their wares, one of the reasons they are still in business today. In 1929, some employee had the idea of targeting decorating ideas for specific types of events and promoting these ideas in an eight-panel fold-out brochure. There were at least three of these publications. I own examples of the first and third in the series. (You can see the third on page 107.) These come up rarely, probably because the print run was small and few kept it. I have only seen this a handful of times and the third in the series only once. The condition is less-than-ideal, but it may be worth picking up if you feel the price is right.

02/18 Update: This fetched $106.27, more than I would have predicted.

VINTAGE HALLOWEEN DENNISON GUMMED Seals SILHOUETTES 12 PACK Owl USA Diecut

Dennison boxed goods have been on a tear of late. There was a time perhaps as recently as 2022 when the interest in these little gems of superb design flagged somewhat. (Dennison boxed goods was a market segment I avidly collected very early on. I long for those days from the early 1990s when complete boxes in near-mint or better condition would be offered for $20. I vacuumed up every one I could find.) This design, a tuxedo owl, was first offered in 1928 with a stock number of H842.

Vintage 1920's Dennison Jack O Lantern Acorn Halloween Seals - Full box of 20

It’s fun watching how the different segments comprising the entire vintage or secondary Halloween market change over time. A few seasons ago boxed Dennison items evoked some yawns. This has certainly not been the case over the last twelve months. I’ve been tracking boxed Dennison prices and to say they have strengthened would be spot on. And they should be strengthening. These boxed sets are largely ~100 years old. To find full boxes is truly something if you think about it. Seals have a tendency to clump and curl, so to find a full box of seals able to be displayed like the ones in this listing should achieve a strong result. Dennison items be they boxed, meant to be hung or meant to be displayed atop a table have long been one of my favorite segments. This particular set is compelling. The acorn faces are weirdly spooky and hard to find. They were offered for perhaps one or two seasons in the mid-1920s.

Very Rare Antique Vintage Unused Dennison Halloween Die cut Place Card

Even though I have a near-complete run of original Bogie Books and their brethren from 1909 through 1935 (I am missing the 1913 edition.), this place card being identified in a Bogie Book as being a Dennison item completely escaped my notice. It truly is a one-off from a Dennison design perspective. Who woulda thunk? Thanks so much to Anita R. for identifying it for me while she was visiting.

09/06 Update: This Dennison place card fetched a strong $224.50.