Vintage 1940s Halloween Tin Ratchet Black Cat

This exceedingly rare tin litho design was made by an unknown firm during the late 1920s. There is only one other use of this particular litho design known. The near-identical litho was used on a pair of cymbals. (One pair of these cymbals sold on eBay in September 2023 for $2,050.) Given their great rarity, I am confident the cymbals and this clanger were produced for a single season. I have only seen this clanger four times in 35+ years. One is in the collection, one was in another collection and one was sold on this site ~9 months ago for $1,650. This fourth example is in significantly lesser condition than the three others, so it will be informative to see what it brings. I’ll definitely be watching.

05/22 Update: Even though the litho was significantly compromised, this ultra-rare noisemaker brought $636.99!

Vintage Halloween Black Cat Rattle Noisemaker

Of all the many vintage Halloween market segments, the tin litho noisemaker segment has been moribund for at least two decades, with exceptions for some tambourines and the odd duck example like this listing. This inventive design with the added expense coming from the act of attaching the “ears,” is among the earliest of T. Cohn’s Halloween output. I haven’t seen it much in 35 years of collecting, so when I saw the listing and its condition I knew it would bring strong dollars. And what dollars!

Vintage Kirchhof Halloween Noise Maker Tin Litho 1940s

Kirchhof produced many, many tin litho Halloween designs. I’ve always liked this one as it seems to me that the designer was having fun doing the job. The lively borders, the central pan image and most of all, the potbellied devil frolicking in the flames add up to one eye-catching, pleasing noisemaker. This lot is in nice condition and certainly is worth no less than the opening bid.

Vintage 1930s Halloween clacker tin litho noisemaker toy knocker

Kirchhof produced this design along with a companion design that can be seen on page 204 for a season, maybe two. The typical form of the noisemaker is a ratchet, so this clanger style is unusual, perhaps accounting for why it has already been bid up to nearly $200 even though the condition is rough. If you are going to see one of the pair, this is the design that surfaces a bit more frequently.

Early Vintage Witch & Bat T. Conn Inc. Wooden Ball / Tin Halloween Noisemaker

T. Cohn produced two designs of what I call putty knife clangers during the 1930s. Neither comes up for sale or auction often. (In fact, I can’t recall the last time I saw this one come available.) It looks to be in excellent condition. The tin litho market segment has been cold for many years, but there have been signs of thawing. The more unusual designs and pretty much any item in near-mint or better condition have been bringing solid dollars.

01/24 Update: This sold for $110.50, solid dollars, indeed.

Vintage Halloween Black Cat Noisemaker Ball Pan Clapper GERMANY

This tin litho pan clanger was produced in Germany during the late 1920s. It is quite rare, so even with its missing back clapper it is worth far more than the $35 the seller asked for in by listing it as a BIN.

Vintage Metal Halloween Noisemaker Snaggletooth Witch 8"

You can confidently date this long-produced gypsy witch clanger to the 1950s. How? Earlier versions used wood balls for both sides. As with all tin litho manufacturers, T. Cohn had to find a way to compete in the cutthroat 1950s thanks to an onslaught of cheaply made Japanese products. One of their cost saving measures was to replace the wood balls with these unattractive flat-stamped pieces of tin. I prefer the earlier versions.

VNTG 1920s-50s LITHO TIN WOOD HANDLE HALLOWEEN BELL NOISEMAKER WITCH BLACK CAT +

This tin litho clanger has superb graphics and is bigger than most. This item is elusive. I looked for one in this kind of condition for nearly 30 years before acquiring one. Tin has been one of the cooler genres these last 10 years although there have been recent signs of re-invigoration. The rare tin items have routinely brought strong prices - as I expect this will do.

05/21 Update: This sold for $566.56. Naturally, two determined bidders escalated this well beyond the sustainable level of ~$350.

Vintage Halloween Witches Cat Owl Bell Tin Noise Maker w Black Wood Handle 1920s

This clanger uses the same lithography of the ever-elusive cymbals shown at the bottom of page 207. Sustainable Guide Value for the cymbals is $450. Although this noisemaker form surfaces much more often than the cymbals do, I think the opportunity to make an offer on the BIN price of $100 is good. Even with its seemingly dull patina (or is it just dirty?) I feel an offer of ~$70 is reasonable. 

Halloween Tin Litho Clapper Noisemaker Witch, Owl, Bats, Cats & Skull

Although a regular reader wrote that another one of these sold last year for around the same amount, I don't recall ever seeing this particular design before. (I must have missed the listing.) I was the prevailing bidder. I like the boldness and the cartoonish quality of the graphics. It reminds me of something Bugle would have produced. I'm looking forward to receiving it. 

VINTAGE 1930's Gotham HALLOWEEN Tin Party Noise Maker,w/ Black Cat, Skull, JOL

I've not seen this tin litho noisemaker design before. (Interestingly, a rattler with the same design as this clanger ended yesterday.) Tin noisemakers as a genre have been left for dead this past decade, but when some rare design surfaces collectors are not loath to open their pocketbooks. This was a strong result for an awesome seller. 

Antique Vtg Bugle Toy Co Halloween Tin Clanger Bell Noisemaker Ghost Wizard Rare

This seller has three pieces of Bugle lithographed tin up on eBay right now. As readers know, I love Bugle's tin output as their designs were quirky, quite a bit different from the not-so-memorable output by the major players. The mistakes this seller make are twofold: They don't adjust their asking prices for condition and their prices are simply too high anyway. By and large, tin items are plentiful. Most designs were made for many seasons and they last. My stance is always buy the best items in the best condition. This goes doubly so with tin.