This is another surprising result. Up until about one year ago it was difficult to give these 1950s and 1960s foil decorations made by Happy Holiday away. Now, this pretty small market segment seems to have strengthened mightily. The seller has developed an excellent reputation within the collecting community for her pithy yet complete descriptions, many photos and quick shipping.
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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.
12 Pc. Vintage Halloween Gift Seals & Labels Package Samples W/ Thanksgiving!
This lot is a great example of the wares produced by regional manufacturers that may not have been in business long. Although their design aesthetic wasn’t advanced, this 12-piece assortment is pleasing enough that I was the underbidder.
NICE Vintage Foil Jointed HALLOWEEN EVIL DEVIL Skull Crossbones RARE
This was a high price to pay for this fairly common foil diecut. They surface regularly. This devil was produced by Happy Holiday of Battleboro, Massachusetts during the late 1950s and into the early 1960s. They typically change hands for $30-40. Foil items have not been a strong market segment for many years - if ever. Is that changing? More selling data points will tell the story. At this point, I feel this result is an outlier.
VINTAGE 1950's HALLOWEEN Party Embossed Foil Candleholder with Witch, Black Cat
I'm not normally keen on foil decorations as they are typically pretty dull and one-note. This, though, is an exception. Happy Holiday of Battleboro, MA produced this well-executed foil decoration during the 1950s. (A more anodyne company name I have yet to encounter...) Just look at all the design work that went into this great item. The base is intricate and the background scene to the witch busy. The witch is detailed enough that you can even see her skull pendant. These don't surface much, especially in this condition and offered by such a fine seller.
08/24 Update: This fine decoration blew away my expectations by selling for $118.38.
Vintage Halloween cardboard cat fence and moon orange black
I saw this within ~45 minutes of it being listed and was in the process of buying it for the bargain basement price of $13.50 plus shipping, but my fingers couldn't fly across the keyboard quickly enough. Whomever bought this literally beat me out by seconds. These silver variants of the somewhat common Beistle set of twelve designs are hard to find. Being made from a thinner paper stock than the "normal" ones, finding them in solid condition is tough, too. The seller should be kicking themselves, as this was something that should have brought 11 times what it did bring.
Scarce early Halloween candy box. NEVER before seen by me!
This small form factor box is quite interesting. I concur with the seller that this box is early, somewhere prior to 1930. I really enjoy this great seller's descriptions. They are no nonsense and to the point. That's why he is listed as one of my trusted sellers.
05/16 Update: I would have not expected this cool Halloween box to fetch anywhere near what it brought - $305.77. As with all such results, it was due solely to two bidders going to the mat. Look at the bidding history. If you remove the two tenacious bidders, the box would have ended at $50. Congratulations to the seller!
