Rare Vintage Halloween Gibson Wise Up! Owl Diecut Sign Authentic 1930s Funeral

Gibson was the little brother (or sister) to two much larger siblings, Beistle and Dennison, so it had to try harder to break through to score retail space in the many five & dime stores that represented the easiest way for wholesalers to reach the public at that time. Gibson tried to hold their own against those two better capitalized firms with a wider nationwide reach by designing items with an edginess that its rivals often eschewed. (The slanted exclamation point Gibson often used added that oomph and immediacy that certainly helped their sales.) Sadly, their economic reality at that time meant that the overall numbers of each produced design were relatively smaller, making today’s quests by collectors just that much harder. The result is that even items with significant condition issues fetch very strong dollars!!

Vintage 1920-30S Gibson "Wise Up! This is a Party!" Diecut Sign Halloween Owl

Gibson diecuts, once definite also-rans to those made by Dennison and Beistle, have been rapidly escalating in value these past 2 years. Collectors have woken up to their rich colors and designs, their eccentricity and most of all to their scarcity. This is one of my favorite of their diecuts. Few of Gibson’s diecut designs surface regularly, especially not in this condition. I’d love to know how many of each design comprised this drugstore find. Guide value is $175, but since this market segment has moved much faster than I ever expected it to do, I expect the final price to exceed that figure. This was made during the early 1930s.

08/08 Update: This sold for $372.