This is an exceedingly rare and desirable invitation produced by Dennison around 1930. The bonus is that is is unused. (Finding near-mint, unused small paper items like this one doesn’t happen as often as finding them ragged and written upon.) I like how the colors and the energy of the fighting cats contrast with the mellowness of the interior. This deserves to bring meaningful dollars.
05/23 Update: This sold for a shocking $549.
This sub-genre, Whitney fences, is a particular favorite of mine. This was made in the later 1920s out of light-weight cardboard delicate enough that you assemble then disassemble at your peril. Bottom line: Put it together the way you want it and never touch it again except to gently move it to dust underneath. (That is assuming you dust at all!) Different from so many Whitney designs, each of the four sides is completely different. Somewhat later they got lazy and either had 2 and 2 designs or four identical sides. The last thing to look for when buying these fences is that all the tabs are present. This example meets the test.
Even though this postcard's artist doesn't appear to be credited, I feel it must be by H.B. Griggs. Compare it to the rare and splendid place cards shown on page 293 and let me know if you agree.
This set of three fold-out small cat decorations was made by Whitney. This Massachusetts firm, which closed in 1943, was diffident about marking their many wares. Nearly the sole way to identify a Whitney item is to train your eye to recognize their art. The way I did it was to closely examine Whitney postcards, all or nearly all of which are marked. Imagery appearing in their postcards often become table decorations. Whitney also used a very open, unadorned font that is easy to identify. (Jason Walcott, a famed font designer and fellow Halloween collector, may be able to shed light on the precise name of the Whitney font.)
These items were all produced by Whitney of Worcester, Massachusetts. Four singing black cat sections comprise a full set. These would link together to form a rectangular shaped table centerpiece. You can see this and other four-sided table centerpieces by Whitney on pages 274-275 of my newly published reference.
10/10 Update: The buyer did not make a good buy, paying $239.50 for an incomplete singing cat fence centerpiece.
This seller has been trying to unload this severely damaged diecut for at least 18 months, listing and relisting it at $128. Now she has dropped the price to $90. That certainly isn't good enough. The best thing this persistent seller could do is just roll it up and use it for kindling on the sure-to-come nippy fall nights when a fire in the hearth is so appealing.
This is actually one of four sides that linked together would create a table centerpiece. This was made by Whitney in the late 1920s. This is a different iteration from the ones I've seen in the past wherein the orange borders were previously unknown to me. The complete centerpiece can be seen on page 275 of my new edition.
