HALLOWEEN INVITATIONS/ W BOX

This seems to be a nice collection of unused Whitney invitations, with a box included. Whitney, which permanently shuttered in 1942, didn’t have a methodology for filling their boxes. It seems they would randomly fill each box with 10 invitations. Sometimes the contents were identical, sometimes there were two of each design, sometimes three of each design plus a kicker - you never knew. I’ve seen many such boxes over the years. I will see five of any of the cat designs to one of any of the witch designs, meaning the Whitney witch invitations are much harder to find than any of the cats.

01/28 Update: This sold for $145.50.

Vintage Halloween BEISTLE Witch Mechanical Invitation with Envelope

This primitive set of mechanical invitations is arguably among the earliest Halloween items Beistle offered on a retail basis. If you look at the last photo this seller includes, you’ll see what I wrote about the set in my third edition. Every example I’ve seen of this envelope - and I have seen ~30 examples - has the same handwritten strikeout over the printed quantity with the same number, 5, handwritten on the envelope. I don’t know why this was done, although my theory is that the quality of these early offerings caused Beistle senior management to get rid of excess inventory as quickly as possible without the added expense of reprinting the envelopes. I speculate…

07/23 Update: Surprisingly, this didn’t bring strong dollars - $72.

Six Different Fabulous 1930/40s Vintage Halloween Place Cards USA

The star of the lot was the one at the middle right. These intricate cards are hard to locate in any condition. I gave given them an attribution of "probably Whitney" in the 3rd edition. (Two are shown on page 277.) No data has surfaced that prompts a change to that attribution, but I am remain optimistic that some marked box will surface one day. 

Vintage Halloween Invitation Box Only Jack O Lantern Pumpkin Orange Black

This is a really great box. I've not seen it before. The JOLs along the edges and the use of the fat font are reminiscent of Dennison. However, Dennison was disciplined about marking their goods, so I tend to think it wasn't produced by them. (By the way, Dennison wasn't perfect about marking their items. A few, like the "Whoopee" diecut on page 144, escaped the factory unmarked.) This box has super graphics and would have made a splendid addition to my collection. I wish I had seen it in time! 

Early Beistle Vintage Halloween Invitations with Owl Envelope Witch/Cat/Owl

The seller left considerable money on the table listing this with a BIN of $150. This is perhaps the earliest Beistle packaging I've seen and probably dates to 1918. (Beistle didn't even have their name on the envelope, or a stock number or even a witty description of the contents.) If I had seen this I would have excitedly added this to the collection. I would think that owlcreek15 could have gotten at least double, and perhaps more, than the $150 BIN price assigned!

3 Vintage German, Saxony Halloween Invitations, Witches, Jack-O-Lanterns w/Pipe

These cards, marked made in Saxony, were manufactured sometime right before 1920. Although two designs are being offered, a complete set is comprised of four designs, all shown on page 286. The other two designs show a perched owl and a snarling black cat face. 

Four Vintage Halloween Party Invitations, Possibly Gibson

These great invitations were actually made by Whitney. This firm, out of business by 1943, rarely marked any of their Halloween goods except for postcards. I doubt the envelopes are original to the invitations since the fit usually isn't as snug as the seller's description indicates.