Vintage Halloween Collectibles Research (1900-1979)

Sane Halloween Observer As stated in entry one - this blog will not be overly concerned about vintage collectible pricing, however, some recent auction results may be of interest, and just may balance a few perspectives... Halloween's seasonal nature seems key (especially for the non-obsessed public-at-large) in determining the collectible demand of vintage items. While at times powerful, there is a historical mix of poor auction results that would seem to make the genre a rather bad "investment" --- (if you choose to think of the ghosts of holiday past in those terms). While much is made of some items reaping impressive returns, one would wonder if the genre may ever reach the skyrocketing prices seen by other collectibles --- (simply scan a pamphlet by any of the big auction houses and compare the results of other collectible genres).  It's a real trick or treat (depending on what side of the transaction you stand) to resell vintage holiday. Seasonal peak i...

Sane Halloween Observer Here's a bit of fun for both newbie and seasoned collectors? Look at this selection of lanterns, candy packages, toys, and more. Can you name which of these is a diecut ? Now that you've looked them over, do you have your answer? Well, before you read onward for the solution, can you say for certain what a diecut is exactly? While not technically incorrect, the terminology "diecut" seems to be used without much understanding by many folks in the Halloween community as a word generalizing a certain range of flat 2-D hanging decorations. It is interesting to see how many mis-understand what diecut really means. This is most obvious when a remnant shows up at auction and is called a diecut. Or a long-time seller lists an item with sloppy hand-cut edges claiming it must have been a bad day at the factory. While the first instance is still a diecut (just referenced incorrectly), a ragged hand-cut edge on anything is not .  Die-cutting...