Sunday, October 27, 2013

Vintage Jack O' Lanterns

Collecting vintage jack o' lanterns can be very addictive. Though they were mass produced, there were many different styles, and they all have individual character due to their own particular aging and wear.

These are American, and date circa the 1940s. Made of a pulp/composition material, they have paper face inserts, and were meant to be used with real candles inside. Some still have traces of melted wax in their interiors, and it's incredible that they all didn't just go up in flames.

These range in size from about 3.5 inches to 10 inches tall.



These two small lanterns were made from the same mold, but have distinctively different appearances due to the paper inserts used and the wear to their exteriors.



This large jack o' lantern is one of my favorites. It's open nose is unusual, and it has a very expressive face.



Eyelash adorned, this jack o' lantern's paper insert is from an antique German variety, but it suits this American pumpkin well. It's common to find these jack o' lanterns missing their paper faces, or with replacements, as the originals did sometimes succumb to the candle flames.



3 comments:

  1. These are pretty cool. It's fun to see things from so long ago.

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  2. These are priceless Tracy! They are getting harder and harder to find.

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