Vintage Halloween Collectibles Research (1900-1979)

Sane Halloween Observer This entry is dedicated to arguably one of the most ignored Halloween noisemakers of vintage collectibles - the Flex-a-tone ( wikipedia ). Its minimal graphics (opposed to artwork that lifts others into triple digits) may forever hold the value of this particular item down (as of this writing) to about $10-$25, and yet for audiophiles it could in fact be the most desirable of any in this genre. Contrary to other noisemakers with their monotonous racket, the musical sound of a Flex-a-tone  was used in the recording studios of classic cartoons and vintage jazz for its glissando effect - a warbling that changes tone - something like a ghost crawling up and down your spine. You probably recognized that sound instantly and can likely name a few tunes or shows where you've heard it? (For example, one person identified it used in the film Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977) whenever the evil sorceress Zenobia made her appearance). Well, it'...

Sane Halloween Observer A cool black cat from Gibson (circa 1930s) that follows the character design of many of their table decoration sets. In this instance the large diecut is an articulated hanging paper decoration --- a string would attach to slots (not visible) in the rear of the limbs and create motion when the "tail-end" string was repeatedly pulled downward and released. This particular example fortunately escaped any damage from excessive teasing... though i do wonder if the visibly missing tail was simply the string or a representational tail missing from the diecut? 

Sane Halloween Observer Originally used mostly in novelty items and commonly called "flicker pictures" or "wiggle pictures"  lenticular printing is a technology in which lenticular lenses (a technology that is also used for 3D displays) are used to produce printed images with an illusion of depth, or the ability to change or move as the image is viewed from different angles. (source:  wikipedia ) The image below is a quickly animated gif that I created from a recent listing appearing on ebay for a 1950's child's novelty ring. A quick google search for lenticular imagery (or the wikipedia link above) will direct you to tons of interesting new and vintage uses of this technique. Here is one link to a gallery of vintage imagery on pinterest:  https://www.pinterest.com/ohbyjingo/action-vintage-lenticular-pictures/

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...