These were both produced by Hallmark during the 1920s.
04/09 Update: These two great Hallmark invitations sold for quite a bit less than what they typically fetch. The invitation in front is more common than the other, yet still usually brings $50-60 alone. The other card, less often seen, usually brings $70-80. Is small paper losing a bit of its luster? Is it simply be due to the vagaries of eBay? Could it be tax time? (Probably the latter!)
Whitney was an organization that seemingly didn’t prioritize organization. They manufactured boxes for both place cards and invitations designed to hold ten items plus their envelopes. The contents of any box, though, was a crapshoot. Like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates, a buyer never knew what they were actually buying. Whitney would load each box with whatever was at hand. Sometimes all ten invitations would be identical, sometimes the box contained an assortment. The assortment would be truly that - sometimes there would be cats and sometimes witches. I’ve seen MANY complete boxes of Whitney place cards and invitations and seldom, if ever, were the contents consistent. What I have noticed is that their place cards and invitations featuring witches are far less common than the ones featuring cats. This penchant for running their business so loosely may have contributed to their demise. Whitney was toast by 1942.
I was initially excited when I saw this listing, then I realized that it is missing the mechanical piece that should be present between the front and back. This piece was meant to move both to the left and to the right sides revealing spooky imagery. (See page 124…) One complete example sold in my March auction for a record $3,600, so the missing component has a major bearing on value. Even though the remaining invitation looks great - what is missing is important.
Looking at the price progression on three identical items offered by the same fine seller in less than ninety days is interesting. The first one brought $230 on 6/28. The second one brought $157 on 9/1. The third and final example brought a mere $55 yesterday. It may be wise to routinely ask sellers if they have multiples. If so, don’t be first in line!
Anyone who wants my mint set pair (The invite is shown on page 289.) for $275 plus shipping can purchase them.
This iconic pop-up invitation was produced in great quantities and usually sold in boxed sets of six. To my knowledge there is only one other Beistle pop-up invitation with a similar design and construction. This second version can be seen at the top-right of page 223. This version, with a now-revised RISN of “1” was sold singly in the early 1930s when Beistle was in a financial bind due to the Great Depression. At this time they rarely began a new design from scratch, instead co-opting elements from previous designs in order to save money. Consequently, the scarecrow pop-up invitation was made in significantly smaller quantities. (I’ve never seen one aside from the one in the collection.) The RSIN for these two items, 1 and 3, reflect this fact. The seller of this witch pop-up is long-time collector who is actually knowledgeable about the hobby. Honest as the summer day is long, you can buy from him with great confidence.
It is great to see some quality small paper items surface on eBay. This is one of the best designed, enigmatic invitations Dennison produced. This first appeared in their 1922 Bogie Book. It was sold with stock number H83. One hasn’t surfaced in a while. What will it end up bringing? (By the way, I’m not a fan of reserves. This seller has placed a reserve on the listing that may dampen interest.)
09/19 Update: The ending price of $157.49 was surely lower than if the seller had just listed it for $9.99 with no reserve.
This cleverly designed Dennison invitation was first sold in 1928. It isn’t one that often surfaces. This listing is a good illustration of why the small paper market segment is so hot. (Although at times overheated, I feel certain items from certain producers still have a ways to run.) Most of the time what comes up for sale is just like this invitation - used and then kept as a souvenir of a memorable event by being placed in a scrapbook. The delta in value between one in usual condition and one in near-mint condition is sometimes multiples of the former. Some collectors are laser-focused on condition while others appreciate an item for the journey on which it has traveled. I appreciate this seller listing this item as a true auction with a low opening bid rather than the too-often-seen “auctions” where the opening price represents the full value (sometimes plus) of an item. Let’s hope this rare invite does well.
02/23 Update: This sold for $69, a tad lower than I would have forecast.
This is a tough invitation to find. Whitney produced it during the late 1920s. The seller has two of them up for a BIN of $60 each. Even though the interior is full of writing, for those for whom this isn’t a bother the price is a solid bargain, as these typically trade for $125 and up.
12/15 Update: Both were snapped up within a short time after publication of my post.
Here’s yet another example of a seller putting something up for sale they know little about. This rare Dennison invitation first appeared in their 1922 Bogie Book. It has been years since the last one of these was offered. Given today’s nonsensical prices for many examples of small paper, this seller left a lot of money on the table. This was grabbed up in an instant for a laughable $6 with free shipping. If this seller had been smart and let it run as an auction it would have fetched perhaps 40 times that amount and maybe more. (Shaking my head as I type…)
I love this seller and am happy that she got such a strong price!
OK, that said, this result just makes me shake my head. Who is spending such insane money on these small paper items? Granted, if it wasn’t for two determined bidders, this would have sold in the mid $200s, but c’mon. I fear these kinds of results will dampen the enthusiasm required for new collectors to join what I feel is a hobby with too many overheated segments. (Some collectors always consider ROI when making a purchase. Some collect just for the love of collecting. At this price, there won’t be any ROI. And for the latter camp, deep pockets and carefree spending are sadly, now seemingly required.)
BTW, any collector who has purchased my third edition from me can acquire my identical invitation - also in mint condition - for $615, shipping included.
One of the aspects I most enjoy about this particular, well-rendered Dennison invitation is the sense of humor the designer imparted. Contrast it with the more somber, similarly-themed invitation Dennison produced in 1916. (You can see the latter on page 261.) If this seller says it is “dead-mint,” it is. She is wonderful. Given how prices for small paper have become unhinged these last 12 months, it’ll be interesting to see if this breaks the record for this piece set at my May 2017 auction when the book example sold for $311.
Results like this cause me to feel the market for small paper is significantly overheated. Although I laid out my reasoning as to why values in the small paper market segment would pop some time ago, the “pop” has outstripped scarcity for sure. Two of these invitations were offered within days of each other and brought similar results. These surface with some frequency, so those buying at such price levels will surely not see a ROI. Granted, ROI to some, especially in terms of collecting, means nothing. That said, why spend such sums on small paper when lesser amounts would buy great (and much rarer) items in different market segments? These unsustainable prices have had the predictable result of sellers rushing their small paper wares to market, all hoping to catch the wave before it crests. This is a market segment that has become much too rich for my sensibilities. In fact, the hobby overall has gotten too expensive. I worry about its overall health given such results.
This invitation is rare but in terrible condition. Not only is the interior soiled with writing, but it was once stored in an album, with evidence of this too apparent on the reverse. If you look on page 277, you’ll find two different invitations almost certainly from the same set, all probably produced by Whitney. Prices for small paper are very high right now - unsustainably high. This is just another data point for this conclusion.
There doesn’t seem to be evidence of a recession in the prices some small paper is commanding. I better understand this result as this invitation was produced by Dennison. It is rare enough that I’d never seen it before this listing. The artwork isn’t up to Dennison’s highest standards. The mark is unusual, too. However, that said, I’d have been happy to have it become part of the collection - but not at that price.
