Halloween Candy Containers
Collectors Love These Vintage Paper Figures from the 1920’s
These Items are Indeed RARE and UNUSUAL!
Scroll down any list of auctions on eBay, and you’re bound to see the words rare or unusual in the titles. While this may or may not be true for most items, vintage Halloween is one of the few collecting segments that can accurately lay claim to this description. There are a few reasons for this, the first being the nature of the items themselves. While lots of Halloween items were made of tin and later plastic, the bulk of the older pieces are pressed-cardboard, paper composition, or papier-mache. Papier-mache candy containers were handed out to children at parties, where the point was the candy they held. Unlike the decorations for other holidays that were lovingly stored and brought out year after year, early Halloween décor and trinkets were made to be used and discarded. Pressed cardboard lanterns designed to be lighted were at least partially burned up by their candles. Cut paper decorations were covered with tape or torn during cleanup. Kids ate the candy and tossed the containers. In addition, many items were made in limited quantities.
German Trinkets for the American Market
Possibly the most sought after vintage Halloween collectibles are the candy holders made in Germany for the American market from 1919 until about 1935. The brainchild of American discount retailers like Frank W. Woolworth and Sebastian S. Kresge, these papier-mache creations came in a variety of styles and shapes such as jack-o’-lanterns, witches, fruit, vegetables, cats, owls, skeletons, and devils, although as the emphasis on Halloween was steered by religious and civic leaders away from the macabre and towards family fun, fewer of the skeleton and devil containers were made, and the jack-o-lanterns and witches became less menacing. Some had bobbing heads, some had open heads, and some had parts with removable bases. Because they were made by hand by artisans in very small factories or even private homes, the overall quality of the containers is remarkably high and each piece has its subtle variations. Collectors love these papier-mache curiosities and pay anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand for hard to find examples.
Tricks, not Treats
Savvy collectors have been buying vintage Halloween since the early 1980s, but the real collecting craze according to author and collector Mark B Ledenbach, started in 1995, and especially after the publication of a pair of collector books, Halloween Collectibles by Dan and Pauline Campanelli and Halloween in America by Stuart Schneider. However, as with many aspects of collecting, popularity and high prices lead to fakes and forgeries. The marketplace is full of artificially aged reproductions which tend to be smaller and not as carefully made as the originals.
Source: Vintage Halloween Collectibles An Identification and Price Guide by Mark B. Ledenbach Krause Publications 2007 PHOTOS by permission of author
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