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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.

Rare Vintage Lucifer German Halloween Die Cut

The last two times this item was offered for auction was in March of 2015 and March of 2016. The former, bright and in near-perfect condition, sold for $3100, while the latter, in lesser condition, sold for a still-bargain price of $913.99. This current example seems to be between the prior two listings in terms of condition. As of this writing, it is already at $1,025 after being started at $50. I notice several surface paint differences from the one in the collection, underscoring that these diecuts were made at a time when hand flourishes were not discouraged. The Germans made this very late in their production of holiday items for the export market, 1935. These "last year" designs were almost exclusively exported to the population centers in eastern Canada and are among the most interesting, out-there designs the Germans made before WWII - and arguably ever. This is the smaller of two similar designs. It tends to surface slightly more often than the larger diecut. I wish the seller would post many more, much clearer photos. The only surface paper loss seems to be to one wing tip. These diecuts are amazingly intricate, so such little damage is remarkable. Sustainable guide value is between $2200 and $2400.

02/18 Update: This rare diecut brought $1970. 

Vintage Halloween Embossed Diecut Devil Bat German Germany

This is only the second time I've seen this offered for sale. A seller listed two of these some years back on Ebay and I was able to acquire the one in the collection at that time. The two that seller listed were mirror images of one another, just as this is the mirror image of the one shown on page 136. Looking carefully at it, I notice some minor surface paint differences from mine, underscoring that these diecuts were made at a time when hand flourishes were not discouraged. The Germans made this very late in their production of holiday items for the export market. These "last year" designs were almost exclusively exported to the population centers in eastern Canada and are among the most interesting, out-there designs the Germans made before WWII - and arguably ever. The seller started it at $2000 and a bid was received within the hour. It will be very fun to sit back and see what this fetches. 

03/25 Update: This fine diecut brought a record high of $3,100.