It’s Time For: Halloween Antiques
Come October, it’s hard not to fall under the spell of such bewitching antiques as vintage jack-o’-lantern masks, cat-shaped candy containers, and felt pumpkin dolls.

We spoke with Connecticut collector Bob Merck, a longtime Christmas and Halloween aficianado, on the eve of the sale of some of his vintage Halloween items at Morphy Auctions (www.morphyauctions.com). Merck, who has been collecting for 25 years, says Halloween items are more difficult to find than Christmas ones because, he suspects, people thought of the Halloween items as more disposable. “People tended to keep the Christmas stuff either because of sentiment or because it was more expensive to begin with,” says Merck. “The Halloween things were dime-store items.”

Made of papier-mâché, or plaster of paris, Halloween lanterns and candy containers date from the late 1800s to the 1950s. Many items were made in Germany for export.

Merck likes to scour for Halloween antiques at such big shows as Atlantique City (www.atlantiquecity.com), or at toy auctions. “You can still find Halloween items from the 1940s and 1950s made of egg carton-type material,” says Merck.

Merck advises beginning collectors to be aware of the many reproduction Halloween items out there. “You get a sense of whether it’s real after looking at lots of old things,” says Merck, who also finds the “smell test” useful. “Lots of these items were made of cardboard, which retains odors from basements and attics, so the old objects often smell musty. A new-paint odor can be a giveaway, also.”

At Morphy’s Fall Auction, Halloween items sold for a wide range of prices, from $200 for a 1920s cardboard jack-o’-lantern to $2,250 for a ceramic Halloween tea set, and $7,500 for a felt pumpkin-man doll. Candy containers, celluloid nodders, and even a mask that Martha Stewart (an avid fan of Halloween) wore on her television show were sold. Looking through the auction results (www.liveauctioneers.com/catalog/10152) helps to give an immediate understanding of the charm—and market value—of these Halloween objects.

To learn more about Halloween collecting, we recommend the book “Vintage Halloween Collectibles: Identification & Price Guide,” by Mark B. Ledenbach (2003, Krause Publications).