Bugle Toy of Providence, RI produced some of the best tin litho designs out there. They generally ran circles around the all-too-staid Kirchhof, and were given an occasional run for the top prize by T. Cohn’s earliest designs. This shaker exemplifies my remarks. Every side shows something different with the litho being simple yet very effective at conveying the spirit of the holiday. I hope this brings strong dollars.
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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.
Antique Vtg 30s HALLOWEEN Tin LItho Clanger Noisemaker T. Cohn? Ghost Black Cat
The tin litho segment has been somnolent for many years, but lately there has been sharpened demand leading to much higher prices for many items. The tin tambourine sub-segment has largely retained its appeal over the years, but others have shown little signs of life until recently. I’m selling a large collection I acquired out of New York with a high percentage of the collection consisting of tin noisemakers and hard plastic. Basically, as fast as I can list items they quickly sell. In the tin segment, tambourines have gone for $375-475 and certain noisemakers like the Kirchhof slide whistle were snapped up for $425 within minutes of listing. If you haven’t been following my For Sale page, you may wish to do so. (I will be taking a break from listing for a short time to ensure I enjoy the season.)
This T. Cohn shaker has surged in value over the last few months with two examples bring close to $500. This one shown is in lesser condition so that should affect value.
Vintage Halloween Tambourine Rattle & Whistle Jack O Lantern - Germany
This German shaker was produced during the early 1930s. This well-made item consists of reinforced fibered paper pulled taut over a cardboard frame with encircling thin wood borders. Most of the time there would have been small bells attached to the front and back, but when the handle doubles as a whistle, as in this case, these bells were not originally included. I’ve seen a lot of these and this is in much better-than-average condition. This seller has begun with a reasonable opening price.
06/04 Update: This sold for a strong $179.50.
Rare Kirchhof Vintage Metal Halloween Noisemaker Detail Design
This noisemaker is one of the hardest Kirchhof tin items to find - and I say that even though another one sold within the month. That one seemed to be in far lesser condition and brought the still surprisingly low price of $129.12. Kirchhof sold this as one of a pair. I feel this is the more interesting of the two. Turn to page 204 to see the other design.
02/18 Update: This brought $357, much more in line with what this typically brings. The other one mentioned above was a true outlier, even given the lesser condition.
Vintage Kirchhof Halloween Witch/Bats/Black Cat/Pumpkin Drum Rattle Noisemaker
This seller has listed a large number of desirable tin litho noisemakers that are worth checking out.
KIRCHHOF HALLOWEEN NOISEMAKER WITCH BAT DRUM ORIGINAL VG COND
It is great to see a healthy selection of nicer items on eBay. This is a desirable tin litho noisemaker, made by Kirchhof during the 1930s. It is one of a set of two designs. Both can be seen on page 204. Both are exceedingly rare, with this one just a tad more commonly seen. The design is sometimes found in ratchet form, too. For some reason, the condition of the noisemakers with this lithography is typically poorer than with others. Overall, this example is in the upper third relative to condition.
09/22: Update: This sold for $283, slightly below what I would have expected at any other time of the year.
Vintage Metal Halloween Noise-Maker Featuring Black Cat, Witch and Pumpkin
The tin litho noisemaker segment has been moribund for years but has been lately showing signs of life. This was one of the first market segments I collected, so these “green shoots” are welcome. This is a desirable noisemaker. Bugle produced this sometime during a 20 year span beginning in the late 1920s. I don’t believe I’ve seen this particular form with this imagery before. I show a clicker and a rectangular shaker on page 212 with this same imagery, but this round shaker is a previously unseen form for me. As I write this it has already been bid up to $93.02 with over five days remaining, so others have keyed in on this rarity.
08/12 Update: This sold for $255.33!
VNTG 1920s-50s LITHO TIN WOOD HANDLE HALLOWEEN BELL NOISEMAKER WITCH BLACK CAT +
This tin litho clanger has superb graphics and is bigger than most. This item is elusive. I looked for one in this kind of condition for nearly 30 years before acquiring one. Tin has been one of the cooler genres these last 10 years although there have been recent signs of re-invigoration. The rare tin items have routinely brought strong prices - as I expect this will do.
05/21 Update: This sold for $566.56. Naturally, two determined bidders escalated this well beyond the sustainable level of ~$350.
Vintage Antique Halloween Tin Shaker Noisemaker 1930s Kirchhof USA Very Rare
The seller is correct - this is a hard tin litho noisemaker to find. However, the condition is poor, so the asking price seems steep. Kirchhof made two complementary designs, both of which can be seen on page 204. Of the two, this one will be seen more often, all else being equal. I’d say fair value for the one on offer is $150.
Vintage Bugle Toy Halloween Noise Maker Tin Wood Handle
Bugle made some wonderfully eccentric tin Halloween designs - so different from their "kill-me-I'm-so-bored" paper over cardboard horns. This shaker from the 1920s with a very high dome doesn't come up for sale in this condition often, so it was great to see it at this barren time of the year. It came in right at sustainable guide value of $100.
VINTAGE 1930's HALLOWEEN Tin Party Noise Maker,w/ Witch, Black Cat, Skeleton
This whimsical and energetic tin litho shaker was made by an unknown manufacturer sometime during the 1920s I think, rather than the 1930s. The same design was used in an exceedingly rare set of cymbals, a set I have yet to obtain. Looking at the blog post below, you'll find that I feel selling in October is not optimal, leading me to wonder what this great item might have brought if it was sold in August, let's say.
VTG Halloween Tin Shaker 1930's Black Cat & Cow, JOL and Scarecrow
I've long appreciated the odd imagery of this noisemaker. On the other side is a nervous cow wearing a bell by a scary tree. If you look on page 207, I have placed an image of this noisemaker next to an image of a tin bell. I believe both were made by the same, unknown manufacturer.
Vintage Halloween METAL Noisemaker - Wizard & Kids & Witch by BUGLE TOY MADE USA
Although not a prolific producer of tin litho Halloween noisemakers, Bugle Toy of Providence, Rhode Island, was an imaginative one. Virtually all of their designs pushed the envelope away from the anodyne or overly cutesy imagery so common then and toward idiosyncratic, memorable imagery. This aesthetic has made Bugle tin items highly collectible and collected. As I write on page 189, "This firm's output was much smaller relative to the others mentioned here. What their line lacked in breadth was compensated for by cleverness. (This applies to their tin items only. Their lithoed paper output is unmemorable.)" Check out page 212 for a nearly complete inventory of their tin designs.
1920's Halloween tin shaker with cow, spooky tree, cat & JOL
Matthew Kirscht, who did a bang-up job laying out my newly published third edition, feels the same unknown manufacturer responsible for this great shaker also made the four-sided bell-shaped noisemaker that brings relatively significant dollars even though it surfaces regularly. He subtly placed these two items next to each other on page 207. Check them out!
