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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.

Antique Rare 1920's German Porcelain Halloween Pumpkin Sugar Bowl Jam Pot

Here’s another market segment that has overperformed for many years. You see some pieces from this large array of items produced in Germany from 1908-1932 much more frequently than others - non-handled small and medium cups, creamer, lidded sugar - but then one of the rare pieces surface and bidding is strong. Four bidders pushed this price up past the $1,001 mark and to its ending price of $3,800. Congrats to the top bidder, a smart and enthusiastic collector who we can all learn from.
I love my German porcelain collection, carefully curated over too-many years. Back in 2007, I was offered a collection of 60 items from the niece of a collector who just wanted to be rid of them. Many of the rarer items seen on pages 119-121 came from that purchase. I also acquired a number of rare items a bit later from a discerning collector who smartly shopped for bids and gave me a chance to acquire some choice things. (Thanks, JH!) There is a concise write-up on these porcelain items on page 119. Refer to that when seeing these in the wild. Some were produced in Japan and have a considerably lesser value.

Vintage Fine A Quality October Angel Figurine with Halloween Pumpkin JOL Japan

Collectors ask me what market segments haven’t gone price bonkers yet. Admittedly, there are few that come to mind if one thinks of items produced before ~1965, but these porcelain Halloween angel figurines seem to fit the bill. They are fragile enough that surviving examples probably get fewer each year yet most can be picked up for $100 or less. They are not items that appeal to me particularly, but if I squint I can discern the charm from far away. Various Japanese manufacturers produced them during the late 1940s and through the later 1950s.

German Miniature Jack O’ Lantern Dual Handled Vase Vintage Halloween

I’ve received many, many inquiries as to whether I concur with the seller’s conclusion this vase was produced in Germany. I do. I own the same item with slightly different and somewhat finer detailing indicative of the fact that this line of products was made at different small facilities over the long run of general production from 1908-1932. As I write on page 119, “The Japanese seem to have copied only a few items: the lidded teapot, the lidded sugar, the creamer, plain waste bowls and medium-sized cups without handles.” Then, “…none of the rarest, most unusual items were made by the Japanese. Marked or not, and most weren’t, these will always have been made in Germany.” I’ve been exceedingly busy this season, else I would have posted earlier.

10/26 Update: This sold for $2,938.88!

SCARCE Vintage Halloween Porcelain Jack o' Lantern Tea Set Cup Germany 1914-32!!

This wonderful seller is right - collectors who have discovered the visual allure of the Halloween tea set line produced in Germany from 1908 through 1932 buy and hold. Pieces, especially the cups without handles, once surfaced with some regularity, but like someone without enough roughage, that regularity is now missing! When you see these, especially solid examples offered by trust-worthy sellers, both of which we have here, snap them up.

Antique Vintage Halloween Pumpkin Creamer GERMANY

Whenever an unmarked basic tea set item is offered for sale, collectors should assess whether it is of German or Japanese manufacture. The latter were derivative of the former, tend to be more goofy looking, have less finished detailing and have a clunky feel to them. Many are overly knobby. Japanese tea set pieces bring ~50% or less of those tea set items made in Germany. (Refer to page 119 for more information.) This creamer is certainly a German-made item. This market segment has been hotter than many, so I’d expect the ending price to be significantly higher than the $61 level currently bid.

07/27 Update: This sold for $270.01.

RARE Vintage Japan Halloween Porcelain Jack o Lantern JOL Covered Trinket Box

The vintage Halloween market is certainly not a static one. Market segments fall in and out of favor. Candles used to be as cold as the Arctic, now they are warm. Small paper used to be an affordable niche. There is little affordable about that segment now. These Japanese porcelain items used to be so cold you could more profitably use them for skeet practice. Now look at what even examples in less-than-perfect condition bring. Collect what you love and hope those segments increase in value, but don’t count on it.