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!

Vintage Halloween Scarce German Porcelain JOL Face Pumpkin Children’s Tea Set

From the many excellent photos this seller has included, I’m confident that each of these porcelain items was produced in Germany.

ANTIQUE PUMPKIN FACE MINIATURE WASTE BOWL Germany Jack-O-Lantern 1"

Although unmarked, I agree that this rarely seen waste bowl is a product of Germany rather than of Japan.

Vintage Halloween Jack O' Lantern Pumpkin Tea Set 4 Cups w/o Handles Germany

The photos provided are grainy enough to make it difficult to assess whether there is damage to these cups or whether they are merely filthy. The seller unhelpfully describes them as having “some wear.” To my eye, they look strangely matte with none of the sheen typically seen on these porcelain cups. Is this due to wear or dirt?

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.

Vintage Halloween Decorations

The star of the lot is the German porcelain teacup, grouped with three items FAR below in caliber and desirability. The buyer got a true bargain!

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.

Antique Vintage German JOL Pumpkin Halloween Childs Tea Set Rare

The stars of this superb lot were the saucers and the handled cups. You just don’t see such an assortment offered as a single lot often. The buyer, whomever it was, must be delighted.

Halloween Handled Small Tea Cups & Sugar Bowl Germany JOL Face vintage

This seems a steep price to pay for this trio of items with such damage. I would have forecast this would have fetched in the $450 range, so the buyer paid a premium.

Halloween Vintage Toy Pumpkin (Germany?) Children's tea set sugar

The seller contacted me for my opinion on this assemblage. I said that although I couldn’t be sure of the teapot, all the other pieces were produced in Japan not Germany.

Vintage Halloween German Minature Tea Set Cup Saucer Early 1900s

Given the condition, especially the very prominent chip, this German porcelain saucer should never have ended at this lofty valuation.

Vintage Halloween German Minature Tea Set Saucer Early 1900’s

Here’s a great item worth having. The Germans made a line of porcelain Halloween-themed tea set pieces in three sizes from 1908-1932. This green leaf saucer should measure 3.25” in diameter, and would have been made for their smallest tea set size. An otherwise identical pattern in orange was also made. Please refer to pages 119-121 for other items from these desirable sets.

10/15/Update: This sold for $392.77, quite strong considering a cup and saucer set sold the same day from the same seller for $421.

Halloween Handled Small Tea Cup with Saucer Germany 1908-1932 JOL Face

Over the three decades I’ve been collecting vintage Halloween, various market segments have waxed and waned. Prices for tin have decreased with occasional signs of life. Germany candy containers still bring strong dollars but nothing like they used to bring. ( I suspect this downtrend for such items will continue.) Lanterns by and large have also lost luster. On the other side of the ledger, early Beistle, Dennison and Gibson products have sizzled. Small paper (invitations, place cards and tally cards) has had a phenomenal rise as have German porcelain items. This cup and saucer result is the latest indicator of the health of this market segment. The realized price is near 100% more than it would have been 2-3 years ago. I suspect these same segments will continue to weaken and strengthen as the first generation of collectors, who specialized in what are now the weaker segments, ride off into the sunset.

Vintage Halloween German Childrens Tea Pot Jol

I suspect this is a teapot made not in Germany but in Japan. Some of the reasons are its knobby surface to both the pot and its lid, the dark-hued orange, the overly large eyes, the uncolored/unglazed lid bottom and the clumsy, hurried paint to the end of the spout.

09/15 Update: Given that I feel confident this is a teapot made in Japan, not Germany, the buyer overpaid by forking over $515.05.