Blog

Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.

Vintage German Halloween Die Cut Paper 3 Owls Pirate Tiara

It’s great to see a few nice things amongst all the off-season garbage strewn along eBay’s alleys. I’ve said it often, but why can’t eBay offer more defined holiday categories so that lookers don’t have to wade hip-deep in garbage? There are work-arounds, but why should we be put in a position to devise work-arounds when the solution is simply that eBay should better respect their users? Stepping off the soapbox, these German tiaras have had quite a run these last 2-3 years. For a short time they were bringing very strong dollars - primarily due to one determined buyer who simply didn’t care what she paid. Knowing that the tiara market was being driven skyward by one person, and more importantly, that market values would plummet once she was sated, I hurried to sell a few for $2,000 each to finance the acquisition of two truly rare German porcelain pieces. Since then, values have been reasonable - in the $400-750 range. Although there have been blips up with a few listings, I wonder if those heady days when any tiara in decent shape would fetch $2,000 aren’t permanently behind us.

12/25 Update: This tiara sold for $639.

1910-1914 ANTIQUE Vintage Halloween TREAT SATCHEL Devils Bonfire Bat GERMANY

OK, this result blew my mind. (Another from this set of at least six, with broomed witches, sold a day earlier for a hair over $1,700.) These are very cool and rare items, but c’mon. If any one buyer wishes to own four of the six satchels, shown on page 137 from my personal collection, they can be yours for $7,000.

A long-time collector kindly shared a previously unknown design from his private collection, folded to be used as a hat rather than a satchel - expanding the known designs from four to five. You’ll find this below.

Another collector kindly shared a previously unknown design from her private collection, folded to be used as a hat rather than a satchel - expanding the known designs from five to six. You’ll find this below.

1930s Vintage Paper Halloween Light Lamp Lantern Owl Unusual

I wish I had remembered to place a bid on this rare shade. It is quite nice - one that I've not seen before. Gibson wasn't diligent about marking their goods, so it is possible this shade was made by them. I haven't seen it in their catalogs I have on file, so cannot be sure. I do think the ending price was in the right neighborhood. 

Complete Set 6 Dennison Owl Cut-Out Vintage Halloween Decorations with Box, 1923

Dennison is rightly best known for the myriad of superbly designed boxed sets of seals, cut-outs, illuminated silhouettes and the like they produced from about 1913 through the 1960s. (The best of their production happened from about 1916 through 1930.) Some of their slide boxes are difficult to find while others more steadily become available. As this fine seller states, complete near-mint or better boxed sets are becoming harder to find. This particular set tends to be seen more than others and the guide value reflects this. These typically trade for $95.