One of the few remaining affordable niches of the vintage Halloween market is candles. Most were produced by the wax kings, Gurley, but some of the smaller manufacturers, like Emkay and Penn, produced great designs. Look at this almost regal skull candle produced by Penn in the early 1950s. To find original packaging for candles is unusual. That, along with the candle’s condition make this an enticing lot. It’ll be fun to see what it fetches.
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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.
MINT RARE Antique Halloween Skull Match Safe Victoria Carlsbad Austria 1891-1918
This is a superbly crafted item - one I’ve not seen before. As the great seller states, this piece was made sometime during the interval of 1891-1918 based on the mark used by the Schmidt and Company’s Victoria Porcelain Factory in Altrohlau, Bohemia. A different set, this one complete from the same factory during the same interval, can be seen on page 130.
Vintage Halloween Orange Skeleton Die Cut, Gibson Art Skull Diecut Face, 1930's
Gibson produced a solid array of diecut designs that cede little to nothing in creativity to either Dennison or Beistle. This simple yet compelling design is a great example. Produced during the 1930s, Gibson issued identical designs in white and orange. I sold the white version in March’s auction. It fetched $305. (The auction, an anticipated event by collectors, happens in March and is open only to those who have purchased a copy of my third edition from me.) This is a nice example. It’ll be fun to see what it brings.
Vintage/Antique Over-the -head Mask Halloween
These over-the-head masks were first made in Germany during the teens. This one is particularly spooky, don’t you think? These were relatively expensive when first produced and tended to be sold at the “better” stores. Today, few have survived and the current price on this mask of $760 with 1+ days to go illustrates their desirability and scarceness.
09/19 Update: This scary item fetched $1,375!
Rare Antique American Pulp Halloween Skeleton Lantern
This US lantern doesn’t surface very often. They were not made with inserts, so this fine example is complete.
Vintage Halloween Skull Candle Lantern ~ Jack O Lantern ~ Skeleton
There was a time when these surfaced far more often than they do these days. The Dolly Toy references I have indicate this design was produced from 1936 into the 1950s. I am doubting this information. I suspect the skull was produced during a narrower time frame, whereas the devil head lantern, much more often seen, was surely made from 1935 into the 1950s. This skull lantern has some discoloration due to wax residue. The bidding as I type now is at $120.50. What will it fetch?
08/16 Update: This sold for $400.
RARE! Skeleton Halloween Lantern Trick or Treat Basket Original Paper Insert
I used to see more of these than I have recently. These were reproduced in the later 1990s and after, but these reproductions are easy to identify. The truly vintage slot and tab skull lanterns will always have this tan toning to the surface whereas the new ones are very white. Please keep this in mind if you see this lantern design for sale online or in shops.
2 - Vintage Halloween Paper Diecut 5” Skulls
Even if these two were in perfect condition, I feel the ending price isn’t sustainable. Of course, the condition of these diecuts is poor overall given that one is missing a chunk and the other has significant general soiling. These skull diecuts were produced by Gibson during the early 1930s. They also made them in white. See page 169.
1930's Vintage Halloween Witch in Cauldron Die Cut - Rare Glow in Dark
This seller comes up with the most wonderful items! It’s nice to see some interesting items popping up on eBay, as there has been too much junk of late. As stated in the listing, this witch falling into a cauldron glow-in-the-dark decoration is a companion piece to the Jitterbug Jones decoration shown on page 293. I don’t know which firm produced this innovative item. I thought I had a photo of the placard that would have been attached to this originally, but I can’t find it. This is the best one (of the three) that I’ve seen for sale. I’ve never seen one in-person - they are that rare. It’ll be fun to see what this fetches. Its RSIN would definitely be a 1.
03/11 Update: Thanks to a fellow collector who may have the only compete example extant, I can relay what is printed on the placard that should be attached to this diecut: “Turn off the light And ghostly bright A grinning skull Glows thru the night.”
03/14 Update: This sold for an eye-popping $960! It wasn’t even complete. Irrational exuberance?
1930s Halloween Pressed Cardboard Skeleton Head decoration
Here is an excellent example of a rookie seller leaving quite a bit of money on the proverbial table. This exceedingly rare German diecut was offered for the pittance of $98. SGV is $525. The Germans made a common skull and crossbones diecut without a hat, and at least two variants with hats. (The other can be seen on page 178.) Both of the hatted skulls are really tough to find, especially in the decent shape this offering appears to be in. Why wouldn't the seller have simply listed this in the auction format?
Vintage Beistle Die-Cut Halloween Skull
The seller is spot-on. This small diecut was made by Beistle. During the early 1950s, Beistle issued a set of eight small diecuts with some unusual imagery. This is one of the eight. (All are shown on page 157.) Items from this set once surfaced more regularly than is the case today. The smoking JOL, the JOL witch and the hooded witch are more avidly sought than the others. Each typically fetches $50-60.
vintage old Halloween SKULL die cut cardboard decoration. 5" tall
This is merely a remnant from a German skeleton diecut and as such, doesn't justify the price paid.
Awesome - Vintage Beistle Four-Sided Skull Halloween Lantern - 1930's
This four-sided skull lantern was produced by Beistle in the early 1930s. When buying such items, always ensure that the bottom piece is intact (or as this seller writes, "in tack."). They are often missing making it problematic for the lantern to stay standing. Sustainable guide value for one with its bottom piece and with no staining is $125, so this seller is quite an optimist, if not a careful speller.
Antique Halloween Skull Die Cut Beistle USA 1930'S Human Skull in Cauldron
I can't recall seeing one of these up for sale for many, many years. This skull table decoration with a flip-out base was made by Beistle from 1930-1931. The one in the collection is unmarked, but this one has the diamond mark that was discontinued right around this time. This is a rare item with a sustainable guide value of $375. Given that one hasn't surfaced in some time and the propensity for some collectors to spend foolishly, who knows what this will fetch. I will be watching.
10/23 Update: As I suspected, this flew right by sustainable guide value, fetching $460.
Original Vintage 1920s DENNISON 9.5 inch Halloween green SKULL mask diecut
This mask was actually made by Gibson sometime during the later 1920s, and represents the company recycling a design that was used as one of their Partipuzzles. Look at the puzzle on page 22 to see what I mean.
