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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. 

Vintage Halloween Beistle Owl Tell Your Fortune Game

This is an extraordinary result for a somewhat common fortune and stunt game in this condition. These nicely designed games were issued by Beistle from 1955-1961. In unused condition, these typically fetch around $100, so someone really wanted this well-used item. As in nearly all such instances, this result came about by just two determined bidders. If you look at the bidding history, these two ratcheted the price up between them to this level, certainly making the surprised seller ecstatic. 

Halloween Decoration Witch on Envelope w/Fortune verses USA Whitney Co 1920's

Whitney seemed to approach their Halloween merchandise outside of their many postcard designs with indifference. This is a great example. As I write on page 273, "The contents are simply four sheets with six fortunes per sheet. The value for this item is due almost solely to the envelope." Although I have assigned a RSIN of 2 to this 1920s item, and am glad to have one in the collection, it is rather dully executed. The tag line of "Just What You Are Looking For" is particularly uninspired. 

VINTAGE HALLOWEEN DIE CUT WITCH SPINNER PARTY GAME FORTUNE TELLER

I believe this is a poorly made reproduction. This seller's former Ebay handle was shadowtown. I placed this seller on my list of those with whom I choose not to do business as I felt they sold reproductions of vintage Halloween items. This game, which sold for $305, is definitely not the real deal. An authentic version has directions and 24 fortunes printed on the reverse. The reverse of the offered game is blank, even though the verbiage on the front's bottom states, "The numbers refer to fortunes on the back of card." Additionally, authentic items are not made from heavy paper stock, but are made from a light-to-medium stock. If whomever bought this abomination reads this blog, return it for a full refund right away. 

02/11 Update: Happily, the buyer read my post and wisely decided not to consummate the transaction. The seller, by way of some explanation, burbled that she herself would be seeking a refund from the person she obtained it from. Uh huh.... 

Vintage Halloween Fortune Teller Game HTF Halloween Witch and JOL Party Game

As I write on page 125, "Because of how this game was meant to be used, less than ~40 complete examples are known. (About 20 of these were discovered in an old drugstore in Kentucky and were sold at auction in Ohio several years ago. These have been filtering into the marketplace since, greatly reducing the value of this item for the short and medium terms.)" This may be a good "parts" item to pick up. 

Vintage Halloween Fortune Teller Spinner Game

It's great to see such an exceedingly rare item surface on Ebay, especially one in this condition. This Here's Your Fate game was made by Whitney in the 1920s. (Please turn to page 24 to see the game in my third edition.) Measuring 10" h x 7.75" w, this game has been assigned a "1" on my Relative Scarcity Index, which means you may never see another one of these surface for sale. Prior to purchasing the one in the collection about 18 months ago, I had never known this densely detailed game existed. Don't let this item escape your grasp!

07/28 Update: I was pleasantly surprised to see that this superb game fetched well over book value, bringing $318. Congrats! 

Rare 1925 Beistle HALLOWEEN Witch Fortune Wheel Decoration & Game Crepe Intact!

It is nice to see a quality, vintage, Beistle item pop up amongst all the dreck that has recently become Ebay. I feel that few collectors know that this Fortune Wheel for Hallowe'en Parties game manufactured by Beistle from 1928-1931 was produced in two sizes. This is the exceedingly rare smaller version that measures 9" high by 6.25" at the base. (The larger version, more commonly seen, measures 11.75" high by 8.25" at the base.) I feel the fair market value for this smaller version is $375 in near-perfect condition, whereas the fair market value for the larger version is $325 in near-perfect condition. If you are interested in having an exceedingly rare Beistle decorative item, snap this up. 

04/30 Update: Wow, this brought $465!!