Rare Antique German Halloween Jack-O-lantern Candleholder Candy Container

It is so refreshing to see such a truly rare item on eBay. I feel it is the most compelling and single “must-have” piece from the relatively large set with the same JOL-based design. (Please refer to pages 58-60 to see other items from the set. The large candlestick in the collection is shown on page 132.) This candlestick candy container was produced in at least two sizes. I was very fortunate to pick up a German example in a smaller size not long ago. (I provided a photo of the two examples to Kovels Antique Trader for their October 2023 issue.) The Japanese made an example, too, which falls WELL below the artisanship of any of the German designs. The seller took a risk by starting the listing with such a high opening amount but quality sometimes dictates abandoning that old strategy of starting things at $9.99. This is an item that should easily command a minimum of ~$4,000 even with the unfortunately visible facial wrinkle.

04/28 Update: I was surprised this only brought $2,500. Perhaps the seller’s strategy of starting it so high worked against a better ending price. Sometimes, high starting prices kill the sense of adventure and a hope for a coveted steal by collectors. That’s almost certainly what happened here.

Vintage Halloween Skull Candle by Penn, 1950's, in original box

One of the few remaining affordable niches of the vintage Halloween market is candles. Most were produced by the wax kings, Gurley, but some of the smaller manufacturers, like Emkay and Penn, produced great designs. Look at this almost regal skull candle produced by Penn in the early 1950s. To find original packaging for candles is unusual. That, along with the candle’s condition make this an enticing lot. It’ll be fun to see what it fetches.

ENORMOUS Vintage Halloween Ghost & JOL Store Display Candle Decorations, Gurley!

What a wonderful item! As this top-notch seller points out, this enormous candle was almost certainly a store display. (How I wish I could turn the clock back and browse the old “five and dime” stores’ Halloween displays!) I have never seen this before, nor have I seen any other candle store displays. It will be fun to see what this fetches.

05/05 Update: This magnificent piece is headed to Georgia for $338.33. The buyer has a great eye. I’m sure it will be a real eye-catcher in his collection!

Gurley 3-D "Burn Through" Jack-O-Lantern Black Cat Vintage Halloween Candle

This is certainly one of the better of Gurley’s small form factor candles, but I’m surprised that it fetched $45. These typically change hands at sub-$20.

Vintage Halloween Candles Columbia Wax Works Original Box

When I first began collecting, this box of candles would sell for $10 on a good day. It shows just how this market has gentrified over the decades. My main worry about this fine hobby is this: Is it becoming too expensive for the average collector?

Vntg Art Deco Halloween Scorecard Bridge Tally Booklet Unused The Buzza Co.

Pickings have been slim for months on eBay, but there have been a number of lots sold even within the last week that brought far less than they should have. Then I see this lot. Great tally in great condition - but is the price sustainable at $74?
There are a few hardy souls that brave the slog through eBay Halloween garbage listings. They have been rewarded by being able to scoop up the few nuggets at decent prices, but overall the first quarter of the year is the worst time to list vintage Halloween items. There seems to be more crap now than I remember in past post-Christmas listings. I’m hoping this will change soon. There is little to write about.

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.

Vintage HALLOWEEN Greeting Card Invite Black Cat Witch & Bat Mary Lyon School

I recently posted a photo of the one in the collection that was acquired in April 2017 in the Acquisitions section of the site. Prior to that time I’d never seen this Dennison invitation design. This is a sweet, intricate invitation. Based on the day and partial date written inside, this was sent out for a party in 1930. Here is what I wrote about this in the Acquisitions section: “This is one of the gems of the small paper collection. Beginning in 1929 when this was produced, Dennison was hard hit by the Great Depression, as were so many other firms making non-essential items. They responded by making fewer holiday items in fewer numbers - and lived to tell about it. (Dennison is still in business today, albeit through mergers.) Prior to acquiring this invitation I had never seen it before. I know of one other in a collection. It is unused. When opened, there are partial pine trees at the left and the right, with a lined area where a party host would delineate the party details. It measures 4” high by 3.5” across, closed. Acquired in April 2017. RSIN: 1”

05/21 Update: This sold for $247.16, lower than I would have expected.

1940’s Halloween Place Card Scary Black Cat With Owl Face In Flame HTF

It sure is nice to see a quality item amidst all of the post-holiday dreck that is dominating eBay now. This exquisitely designed Dennison place card was actually issued in 1928.

01/31 Update: This sold for a strong $167.50.

1940’s Halloween Place Card Scary Black With Owl Face In Flame HTF

Here is another relative bargain, although not as pronounced as the item directly below. This has to be one of Dennison's most inspired designs. The artist packed a lot of detail in such a small item, meant to be used as a place card. This first appeared in 1928. As I point out on page 257, "Notice the cat's face in the flame and the candle's expression. Although not particularly scarce, this iconic, diminutive Dennison masterpiece consistently sells at or above the cited value. It was sold with stock number H565." These have routinely changed hands in a range of $135-200 during the last 18 months, so the prevailing bidder did well.

Vintage 20s Halloween Cellowax JACK-O-LANTERN Candle Original Box Nice Graphics

The true "get" here is the Cellowax box with its fantastic graphics. The image of the JOL-headed skeletons dancing around a witch at her cauldron evokes a smile and a shudder! Made in the late 1940s, you see the candle often but rarely the box. Note that the candle is missing its rather star-shaped black paper bottom. (See it on page 94.) 

vintage GURLEY O-PEE-CHEE Halloween Candles FULL CASE Lot of 12 NOS New

Candles are an excellent genre for those starting out in our fun hobby as they were typically nicely molded and remain affordable. The buyer of this lot got a solid deal as they were able to acquire a dozen nice candles and its unusual box for only $150. I say the box is unusual primarily because it represents goods sold in Canada. I am not sure if I've seen this particular iteration before. There were a good number of holiday candle manufacturers. Gurley was arguably the most skilled purveyor of these now-vintage candles as their designs were numerous and often inventive. 

Gurley Candle, 4" Cat on Fence, Creasent Moon, Exc Cond..

Candles are a genre that hasn't caught fire (bad pun...I know...) over these many years, lagging the overall market like common tin litho noisemakers. This sale price for arguably one of the better Gurley designs is surprising. These typically bring $18-20, so to have one bring in more than double is unusual. I feel that candles, tin litho noisemakers and the more common pulp JOLs are great entry points for new collectors. They are plentiful, cheap and low-risk relative to getting stuck with a fake. (As I point out on page 87, the Gurley name was resurrected in 2006 and the new firm began producing candles using new molds.) Look to pay guide values for items within this genre. This result was great for the seller, but the buyer could have waited and gotten it at half the cost. 

Vintage Emkay Witch O Lantern Halloween Candle in Box #268

Candle boxes weren't often kept so the manufacturing and/or marketing details for such ephemeral items have largely been lost, making this listing exciting - if for no other reason. I haven't seen this particular candle design often, but I love the name the manufacturer dreamed up, Witch-O-Lantern. The asking price with a BIN option seems reasonable. 

06/17 Update: It sold for a "bargainish" price of $25. 

VINTAGE HALLOWEEN MECHANICAL DIECUT TALLY~1920's~PROBABLY WHITNEY

This mechanical tally is such a cool item! The kinds of things produced in those long-past decades really had ingenuity. The maker is harder to pin down. Whitney seldom marked anything beyond their postcards, so the tip of the hat goes to that firm, out of business in the early 1940s, to be the maker. However, it could be from another manufacturer like Volland, Henderson Line, Rustcraft, etc. Both Beistle and Dennison can be eliminated, as can be Gibson. However, bottom line is that this is a great item that will strengthen any collection of tallies. I've never been able to locate one for the collection, evidenced by the one in my third edition coming from the inestimable Bobbie Lasky collection. (Bobbie is one of a handful of top-tier Halloween collectors in the United States.)