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This blog page was created to provide a place for my comments and
insights on a selection of the multitude of items listed in the
Vintage Halloween category of Ebay. I'd like to point out that I
have no financial interest in any of the items mentioned on this
page. I am doing this for fun as well as to educate. Feel free to
check back often, as it is my intent to update this page several
times per week depending on the time of the year. If you have a question on an item I haven't
mentioned below, always feel free to send me an email. Best, MBL
Sellers Who Receive
MBL's Vintage Halloween Stamp of Approval
55audrey,
connersgrammie,
devilwoman,
djdutch48,
dragonflydesignstudio.com,
freshest1,
fritzyfinds,
goofus999,
halloween824,
holidays2you,
jazz4jols,
jawboy71,
member666734,
mmccall,
ms.dennistle,
mysweetjanene,
northcane,
nyleos,
scarlettssister,
sellmestuff,
shiverbones,
stnick22,
whirlwind27,
zizsdream
Sellers With Whom MBL Chooses Not To Do
Business
1027-97th,
1falls,
curiousimp,
dreamcatchers*,
fallsmist52,
landerstoys,
ronscollection,
shadowtown,
warbond321,
yevdokcem
SURPRISING PRICES
180551830407 1920s HALLOWEEN PARTY
GAME - BEISTLE Co. Nr. Complete
Ended 08/30 This was worth every penny of the prevailing bid!
Congratulations to boogirl1!
180545196380 Vintage Halloween
Paper Mache Cat Pumpkin JOL
Ended 08/13 As mentioned below, 1falls has adopted many Ebay
handles in trying to sell their seemingly endless pulp wares.
Unfortunately, some uninformed buyer spent $305 on this item. As
pointed out to me by a faithful reader, this seems to be the same
lantern purchased by araxi1636 (another 1falls handle) on July 1st
from a seller, lbshook:
290448367091. It has long been suspected that 1falls buys
genuine pulp items needing refurbishing, does the refurbishing, then
sells them as being from a teacher's estate, from a collector in
Santa Fe, or any one of a number of other streams of nonsense.
110567859078 Vintage Old Halloween
Fence- Table Table Decoration
Ended 08/08 Considering its poor condition, I am astonished
this brought $93. Wow!
220166033775 Vintage Halloween
Diecuts Pressed Cardboard 29 pcs.
Ended 08/07 This result, $450, is significantly out of line
with the actual contents of the lot. There were a few compelling
pieces, but the overall value is much close to $225. This may be an
example of the frenzy to avoid when bidding in an auction.
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The next update will
be in about 10 days.
Item Number Description
310247326005 1930"s Germany Embossed
Halloween decorations!Unique!
Ends 09/09 This is the second time this seller has listed this
precise item. Her original listing ended on 08/24 with a closing
price of $317.57. What is going on here? Did the buyer renege
on the deal? (I'd consider doing so too, as $317.57 is simply WAY
too much for such a damaged item.)
180556155041 ANTIQUE WOODEN
HALLOWEEN HORN NOISE MAKER GERMAN?
Ends 09/09 Actually, this was made in Czechoslovakia. Given
the condition, it isn't even worth the opening bid.
250691815259 Nice Tall Vintage
Halloween Jack O Lantern Paper Mache
Ends 09/06 (These brazen sellers are
now employing yet another Ebay handle, khatch10! Why can't Ebay kick
these jerks off of their site?) These shameless hucksters,
unfortunately hemorroidally persistent, sell under a variety of Ebay
handles, all making slightly different claims. (They sell under
these handles: 1falls, yevdokcem, 1027-97th, khatch and perhaps others and
buy under these handles: fallsmist52 and araxi1636 and perhaps
others.) Apparently, these people, who take us all for
lummoxes, buy pulp items needing repair under the name araxi1636 and
fallsmist52.
They then try to flog perfect pulp items under a panoply of
different names, referenced above. God help you if you question them
in any way as they are quick - too quick - to spew invective, a sure
sign something is woefully amiss. (Send them an email asking if
anything has been repainted or restored in any way and then enjoy
the fireworks!) They have various and sundry claims as to the
provenance of their stock, from their oldest - selling the hoarded
collection of a long-retired school teacher whose holdings were
supposedly so vast that they keep discovering rooms full of the
same, few pulp designs - to a more recent claim of selling the
collection of a long-time collector in Santa Fe. I note now in a
recent auction yet another claim. Let me reprint their precise
verbiage:
"WE HAVE BEEN DEALING
HALLOWEEN FOR OVER 30 YEARS NOW IN SEVERAL, LOCATIONS LOCALLY AND
WEBSITES TO A DESCRIMINATING CUSTOMER. WE ONLY SELL THAT WHICH IS
PRESENTABLE. WE DO NOT PURCHASE TO SELL SOME OF THE SEVERELY
DISTRAUGHT WHICH YOU COMMONLY SEE AVAILABLE."
Naturally, this is all hooey, except their oh-so-tenuous grasp of
spelling and grammar. Readers, if you
want authentic, unrestored and unretouched USA pulp items, the supply is
quite large as these kinds of decorations were made by the tens of
thousands for many seasons. Buy from a source you consider
completely credible. Does this seller (1falls aka fallsmist52 aka
1027-97th aka yevdokcem aka araxi1636 aka khatch10) meet that test?
A faithful reader pointed out to me today that these hucksters sell
on etsy.com under the name GaryKMeharian. They have quite a little
business going...
350388365380 Vintage Halloween
U.S.Metal Toy Pumpkin Lantern Witch
Ends 09/05 These U.S. Metal Toy tin items have never garnered
the respect they deserve in terms of pricing. They seldom bring much
- and this has always baffled me. The example up for auction seems
to be exceptionally clean. It will be instructive to see what it
fetches.
260656316630 Dennison Halloween
Cut-Outs (6) in Box
Ends 09/02 This rather freaky boxed set of Dennison cut-outs
was made for only one season, 1926. The design is totally cool, but
pretty far out there for Dennison at that time. Singles from this
set are offered with some frequency, but it has been a long while
since I've seen a complete set in decent shape being offered. Guide
value is $250, and this is worth every penny. This same seller sold
an identical set on 08/18 for $320. I doubt this set will reach that
level. (I was correct. Final bid was $191.41.)
140445554254 3 VTG HALLOWEEN NOISE
MAKER TAMBOURINES GERMANY
Ends 09/02 Let me help this seller out - these are not vintage
pieces, but items imported by Blumchens beginning in the 1990s. They
have modest decorative value only.
250688364149 Vintage Paper Mache
Jack O Lantern Pumpkin & Black Cat
Ends 09/02 This is not a vintage piece. Look at the cat. There
is none of the fine detailing present with true, vintage pieces. The
bottom of the container looks to be lumpen with an irregular base
hole. These are all characteristic of an item being made in China -
probably, sad to say, by pre-teens.
310245032501 VINTAGE HALLOWEEN
WISE UP OWL FUNERAL DIECUT DECORATION
Ends 09/02 Gibson diecuts haven't received the regard they
deserve in the marketplace. Many of their designs were quite clever
and well executed. This is a great example of why I have warmed up
to Gibson diecuts in the last 3-4 years. This example looks to be in
very nice condition and is being sold by a reputable seller.
130424431417 TIN LITHO MEAN WITCH
& OWL Ratchet noisemaker - U.S.A.
Ends 08/31 I agree with the seller - this noisemaker is hard
to find in nice condition. This is one of the trio of irregular
designs made in the 1960s by US Metal Toy. Guide value for this
great noisemaker is $85.
260655041335 Old Germany Halloween
Devil Bobble Head Candy Container
Ends 08/30 This item is a fantasy piece, made to appeal to
newer collectors who may not realize that this was made as recently
as least week, then roughed up some to give it some age to the
untrained eye. This was probably made off-shore, meaning China.
170531094902 Vintage Halloween
Flapper Girl diecut decoration eyes
Ends 08/29 This is not old and has little, if any, value.
120612314783 1920's Halloween
Vintage Jack-O-Lantern Fortune Game
Ends 08/29 This is the second item I am referencing from this
seller, whomever he/she is. This is a hard-to-find game, especially
in this condition. This iteration, with the flip-out base, is quite
desirable. The seller needs to invest in my second edition, as the
value for this game has risen dramatically to $275. Given how clean
this game is, I wouldn't be surprised if the ending price exceeds
guide. (As I suspected, this superb example
fetched nearly $75 more than guide.)
120612032420 1930's German Diecut
Skeleton Halloween Decoration
Ends 08/28 This is an exceedingly rare diecut, probably sold
only for one season and only in to the Canadian market. I have only
seen a handful of diecuts from this small set, and they all have
condition issues. This particular item, up for auction now, is the
very best one I've seen. It is in significantly better condition
than the one in my personal collection. (Wow,
nearly $900, not surprising given the excellent condition. Congrats
to the buyer - seller too!)
260651426463 BLACK CAT MOTHER
candy container halloween 1920s german
Ends 08/22 One of least favorite Ebay sellers, landerstoys, is
now doing business under this handle, apepaper. Sean has long sold
items he claims are vintage and I reckon aren't. This is yet another
example. Nothing about this container looks right, from the
detailing to the colors. He claims it was made in the 1920s. I think
it was made as recently as last week. (Glad to
see no one fell for this POS.)
380259732261 CAT & JACK O LANTERN
PAPER MACHE CANDY CONTAINER OLD
Ends 08/22 Wow, this is a superb candy container. This is
similar to the "Vampire Kitty" candy container I enthuse about on my
DVD Supplement to my book's second edition. I think the seller's
camera color register is off, as this cat is green and red, not
yellow and red. (One of his photos shows it as green.) This example
is missing its spring tail, but otherwise looks pretty good. It will
be fun to see what this A-1 container fetches!
(I had a discussion with a close friend about what this would bring.
He said around $200. I thought that was too low, so was happy to see
this rare treat bring ~$400.)
190431651680 CAST IRON VINTAGE
HALLOWEEN GHOST PUMPKIN COIN BANK
Ends 08/22
This seller has been flogging these virtually non-stop since about
2005 when they first started to appear. Made to deceive, these banks
were roughly modeled on a cast iron doorstop that was sold for
~$37,500 at a Morphy auction. Several months ago, I sent an email to
the seller asking him how old these were. (Notice how careful he is
in the auction verbiage not to address the age of this POS
squarely.) His verbatim answer to me was this:
"My wife bought this cast iron bank in
1984 in memphis mo. at an estate sale." (capitalization error
his...) Frankly, this seller is, in the most charitable of
interpretations, mistaken. These were not made until at least 11
years later, and he has been selling buttloads of them for years.
His wife must have very strong arms. The seller must have a very
soft head. Interestingly, I sent him an email a few days ago
relative to this specific listing asking where he got this one. Here
is his verbatim reply: "It
came from Memphis Mo. 30 years ago. Garland Carter had a stroke and
died and my brother lived next door to him and they had a sale to
settle his estate. He was a big cast iron collector in the midwest
before he died." I applaud this boob's imagination.
150480436873 4-Panel Heavy
Embossed Halloween Lantern* Owl,Cat, Bats
Ends 08/21 This is definitely a reproduction. The real deal is
very hard-to-find. I've only seen one perhaps three times in 22
years of collecting.
160470160109 Vintage Moon Holding
Black Cats Halloween Decoration
Ends 08/21 This is a surprisingly difficult to land diecut. As
mentioned in my book, this was made by Beistle in the early 1950s.
It has a guide value of $125.
140440197649 JOL with Tongue Out
Germany 1920's Diecut
Ends 08/20 Diecuts from this four-piece "windowpane" set have
been bringing strong prices, independent of condition. I'll be
following what this example fetches.
110572843190 Kirscht Halloween
shiverbones EHAG Hellfire Lantern
Ends 08/19 This lantern, made with great care by one of the
country's finest artists in the Halloween genre, simply blows me
away. Why doesn't Beistle revitalize their art department, hire
Matthew Kirscht, and then re-establish their dominance in the
Halloween decorations business by marketing the hell out of his
dazzlingly creative wares? I am proud to say that I have known
Matthew since the mid-1990s and have seen him grow into the great
artist he has become. I am quite picky about buying new art, but
have been a long-time collector of Matthew's creative output across
many genres now for a long time. Buy this lantern!
200507421427 Vintage Dennison?
Halloween Wicked Witch Die Cut
Ends 08/16 This is a snazzy little diecut, but I don't think
it was made by Dennison, as Dennison was pretty disciplined about
marking their products. The art is a bit cartoonish for them as
well, although this is certainly an imperfect gauge. I'd wager this
was made by Hallmark or Gibson, with the tip of my hat going to
Hallmark. Love this seller!
320574145891 RARE 1925 21"
HALLOWEEN PUMPKIN MAN DIECUT DIE CUT NICE
Ends 08/15 This is one of the iconic products made by Beistle.
Except for the minor bending at the foot mentioned by the seller,
this seems to be in stellar condition. These Halloween Elves (there
were male and female versions - this is male) were made only between
1923 and 1932, so this is early, if the date on the written
inscription is authentic. Elves in this condition surface
infrequently. It will be instructive to see what this one fetches.
260648100965 OLD MACHE' SKULL-
Candy Container-Great Shape/Paper TAG
Ends 08/15 This is a pulp item that rarely surfaces. This is
actually in very nice condition, and let me explain why. This
particular design wasn't made but for one or two seasons. All had
wire bales and none had an insert. Therefore, this looks to be in
near-perfect condition, and typically trade in a range of $250-350.
150476385631 Halloween! German
made “Pickle horn” with scary face!
Ends 08/12 I really don't think this pickle has a thing to do
with Halloween.
360286995824 1920'S DENNISON'S
BOGIE BOOK HALLOWEEN DECORATIONS BOOK
Ends 08/10 A large near-mint-to-mint cache of Dennison Bogie
Books and some of their boxed goods was discovered at an auction in
Ohio about two years ago. A large number of copies of two Bogies
(1924 and 1925 editions) have made their way to antiques shows and
Ebay since that time, greatly depressing the value of copies from
these years in anything less than near-mint condition. Please bear
this in mind when weighing whether to bid or similar auctions.
120604052759 1920's Rib
Collapsible JOL faced Lantern $24.99 NR
Ends 08/10 These folded lanterns became ubiquitous around 2002
at crafts fairs and decorative trade shows. These latter
incarnations of older designs were made in precisely the same way,
making it near impossible to differentiate new from old. Hence, I
advise collectors to abandon this genre of collectibles altogether,
as it is too fraught with peril. (Just to be clear, I am not making
any judgment on this lantern specifically.)
120605045485 OLD GERMAN HALLOWEEN
PEAR OR GOURD CANDY CONTAINER
Ends 08/09 This candy container doesn't look right to me. The
paucity of facial detail and detailing mitigate against it being
German, or potentially even vintage. Be cautious!
130418151503 Vintage BLACK CAT in
VAT of 1940 Halloween Novelty Box
Ends 08/08 This is probably the sharpest design of all the
diecuts included by Hallmark in their Hallowe'en Novelty Box
set shown on page 145 of my second edition. Although the condition
of the diecuts being offered in multiple auctions by this seller is
not stellar, they don't surface often. This seller is a person whom
I trust, and I have today added him to my list of sellers getting my
stamp of approval.
270615706691 VERY RARE ANTIQUE
JACK-O-LANTERN GAME
Ends 08/05 This seller is wildly optimistic in selling this
game, claiming it "books out" at over $500. (The seller is certainly
not referring to my reference, since my valuations are actually
based on a careful and long-standing understanding of this market.)
In near-perfect condition, guide value is $275. Although it doesn't
surface too frequently, this particular example is in poor-to-fair
condition, so I would estimate its value to be slightly less than
the seller's opening price.
110565830738 VINTAGE GERMAN
HALLOWEEN VEGI TOP JACK O LANTERN
Ends 08/03 This item looks to be one of the styles heavily
reproduced beginning in the mid-1990s. Be very careful buying this
style of lantern.
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