When I saw that eBay reported these as being sold for $1200 I knew something was amiss. These two vented lanterns were produced by Beistle during the mid-1950s. They surface frequently enough that given this pair’s condition, the selling price should have been less than $100. Sure enough, they actually sold for $76.
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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.
Vintage W & F Quality Novelties Wax Party Candy Box Pumpkins 1949 Store Display
Extant boxes really add to the knowledge of when items were released and how they were marketed. W&F was the corporate precursor to the Gurley Candle Company. This seems to be from around 1949. The graphics are more lively than other W&F boxes I’ve seen. This is a box I’ve not seen before.
Dennison 1920s Nut Cup Place Card Jack O'Lanterns unfolded Black & Orange Graph
eBay has been such a wasteland of late that I’ve struggled to find anything to write about, so it refreshing to see this fun and rare Dennison nut cup. They first issued this item in 1928 with a stock number of H566. I’m happy to see such a strong result but not surprised given the paucity of quality items lately and how well respected the seller is in the collecting community.
HALLOWEEN DIE CUT PUMPKIN GAME
These are remnants from the Pick-A-Pumpkin game that was printed in both Germany and the USA around 1920. You can see the complete game on page 125. As remnants, these would have decorative value only.
03/26 Update: These remnants sold for $52.49.
Vintage Halloween Gibson Place Card “JOL Hanging From Fence Post”
Gibson produced a tally to match this well-designed place card. I wonder if they made a similarly-themed invitation, too? You can see the more ornate tally on page 270.
Vintage unused die cut 1920's Dennison halloween party favor nut cup colorful bright orange graphics of various jack o'lanterns
This hard-to-find nut cup was produced by Dennison in 1928 with a stick number of H566. It is on Etsy for a reasonable $40. Grab it now.
Old Vintage Halloween Cardstock Placecard Name Card Jack Lantern Fence Unused
This eye-catching place card was produced by Gibson sometime during the 1920s. As is often the case, this was issued as part of a set consisting of a place card, tally and invitation.
ANTIQUE VINTAGE HALLOWEEN PUMPKIN GARLAND DECORATION MADE IN US AM
This is a very rare banner, made by Beistle during the early 1920s. I've actually seen it only once - and that's when I bought it many years ago. It is a basic design with no mark, indicating it is early. It is complete with its full complement of 13 JOLs and two hanging ends. SGV is $300.
08/11 Update: This fab banner scored a very high price of $412.99. Congrats to the buyer!
09/01 Update: Another one sold from the same seller today for $474.99.
Vintage Halloween Jack O' Lantern 4 Sided Cardboard Die Cut Lampshade & Oil Lamp
This shade doesn't come up for sale as often as it used to. This shade was made in Germany, probably for Beistle. There are three different shades all made about the same time during the late 1920s. The owl and cat shades are pretty dull in that all sides are identical. The artist seems to have spent the most time designing this shade as the JOL's expressions differ on each side. Guide value is $125, but one hasn't surfaced in some time, so who knows what this will bring. The oil lamp the seller is including is immaterial.
RARE Vintage Halloween candles Skulls and JOLs
The trio of JOL candles was made by Avon in the mid-1990s, so they are not truly vintage except if you really distort the meaning of that word.
3 Vintage German, Saxony Halloween Invitations, Witches, Jack-O-Lanterns w/Pipe
These cards, marked made in Saxony, were manufactured sometime right before 1920. Although two designs are being offered, a complete set is comprised of four designs, all shown on page 286. The other two designs show a perched owl and a snarling black cat face.
5 Paper Mache Halloween Lanterns German Jack-o-Lantern Clown Devils Skeleton
With the possible exception of the leftward-most JOL, these are all fantasy items, made beginning in the middle 1990s and exported from Germany. They have deceived many collectors. Don't be one of them!
Vintage Paper Halloween Die Cut Jack-O-Lantern Swag 7 pieces-xL,Large, Med, sm
This set is exceedingly rare but, at base, pretty dull. This Jack-O-Lantern Swag Decoration set was issued by Dennison in 1935. It almost certainly wasn't a barn-burner item as Dennison didn't issue it anew after that year. As with virtually all of their diecut output from this period, the reverse sides are a bright yellow. Dennison was disciplined about marking their wares, although an unmarked item slipped through from time to time. Looking at the color of the reverse can be a useful guide when determining which firm produced a diecut.
Vintage Halloween Attic Find
I wish I would have seen this lot offered at the extremely low BIN price of $159. Kudos to the fast mover. The two shades intrigue me. They look like Whitney, but I haven't seen other shades manufactured by Whitney, so they are surely Gibson.
VINTAGE HALLOWEEN HONEYCOMB HAT BLACK OWL MOON JACK O LANTERNS WITCH ESTATE FIND
This is an odd item. The imagery sure looks to be Beistle but there is no evidence they ever designed a band hat with that imagery. (Now, records from that time, early 1920s, are not as complete as they could be, but in consulting the many sources that do exist, I've never seen one with that design.) Interestingly, Beistle at that time took pains to mark everything with at least a Made in U.S.A. mark, but this item does not appear to have even that kind of minimal marking. The grade of the cardboard and the way the honeycomb is designed look absolutely "right" for the assumed time period. I feel this is likely an example of a rogue firm simply exploiting Beistle's artwork and putting out an unlicensed item. Although I don't know that for sure, what I do know is that the design of the item is quite cool. I like how the JOLs pop against the white background.
07/23 Update: This sold for a very respectable $100.99!
