Beistle was (and possibly still is) a clever company in figuring out ways to prolong the life of certain of their Halloween best sellers, like the cauldrons. I think for a season, and possibly two, between 1928 and 1932 Beistle thought to slap some streamers to the bottom of the largest of the three cauldrons and design a rather pallid structure to support the cauldron. They then dreamed up the name for this newish design and hurriedly created an envelope for it. I feel all of this was done rapidly as the Rustic Fireplace itself is uninspired. The envelope bears none of the over-the-top design elements and use of vibrant colors seen with so many of their other envelopes. That said, these original Rustic Fireplaces are hard to find. (The envelope, which you can see on page 127, almost never surfaces.) The sellers are great people with a deep love for and knowledge of vintage Halloween memorabilia. You can certainly buy from them with great confidence. It’ll be fun to what this listing brings.
06/16 Update: This brought a head-scratchingly low $159.50. The buyer got a bargain.
