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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.

EXCEEDINGLY RARE Vintage Halloween Owl Pick-A-Feather Fortune Game 1930s, Framed

This Gibson fortune game is mammoth relative to virtually all other games. (Gibson had a penchant for size. Their Whoo’s Whoo? and Remember I’ve 9 Lives drawing games, which you can see on page 22, are huge, too.) I appreciate the fun-factor of this game as well as Gibson’s cleverness in finding ways to re-use previously made artwork. (I feel the Wise Up! diecut shown on page 168 was an adaptation of the fortune game.) As I wrote in very early 2016, I’ve seen this game precious few times. I was lucky to acquire a complete example in near-perfect condition in February 2016. Any others I have seen were in problematic condition. The condition of this example is the best I’ve seen save for the one now in the collection. Although this one is far from perfect as detailed by the great seller, it may be the best that someone could acquire for years. A significant drawback is the fact that this is framed. I recommended that the framing be dispensed with but the consignor resisted that suggestion. If I were a prospective buyer, I would want to examine the reverse and be assured that it could be removed from the framing without further damage. The seller sagely helped lessen the framing issue by offering free shipping, a not inconsiderable concession. It will be fun and interesting to see what this fetches!

04/07 Update: I was surprised this sold for a relative song - $469. The buyer, a long-time, discerning collector, got a rare bargain in these times of typically over-heated results. I feel the fact it was framed really crimped the bidding.

Vintage Halloween Advertisement Owl Pick a feather out of my wing!

This is an exceptionally rare fortune game made by Gibson in the later 1920s. I have only seen it offered for sale one other time in 28 years, and that one was in poor condition, missing several of its feather fortunes. Gibson didn't venture too often into the games category, and when they did they typically made drawing and tongue twister varieties. (This may be the sole Halloween fortune game this venerable firm made.) This is a large, eye-catching game, measuring ~14" h x ~14" w. Gibson items are much more rare than equivalent items made by Dennison or Beistle. The market has been slowly waking up to this fact. I project that prices for Gibson items in near-perfect condition will escalate more rapidly than other manufacturers over the next few years.