Pumpkin Man Postcard

This jolly pumpkin man and I wish you a Happy Halloween!

Printed in Germany, 1908.

John Winsch Halloween Postcard, 1914

Photos don't really do this antique Halloween postcard justice: it's one of the best in my collection, and my very favorite. Published by John Winsch of New York in 1914, it features fantastic, tiny illustrations of a witch and ghost in a hot air balloon, fending off veggie people clinging to the anchor rope, while a bemused gnome watches the excitement from his airborne bat.

Some close-ups reveal the detail of these imaginative illustrations.

Pumpkin Man Postcard

The dapper pumpkin man on this antique Halloween postcard bears a bouquet of smiling veggies with the caption, "Hearty Hallowe'en Greetings." Printed in Saxony, early 1900s.

Antique Halloween Postcards Coming

This October I'll highlight some favorites from my antique Halloween postcard collection.

Not too long ago, Halloween postcards commanded high prices that were truly scary (heh!) But their prices, like those of many other collectibles, have fallen considerably in recent years, particularly for less than mint examples. If you thought antique Halloween postcards were beyond your reach, you might be pleasantly surprised if you browse again. Happy hunting (and haunting!)

Circa 1908

Mr. Potato Head Ride-On Toy

One of my favorite Christmas presents this year was a long-sought, hard-to-find vintage Potato Head item. From 1973, the Mr. Potato Head Ride-On toy is one of the strangest, and scarcest, items in this long running line.

Measuring 17 inches long, the mobile potato features yellow wheels, a handle, and a seat that lifts up to reveal a storage space for extra face pieces. It comes with two different sets of eyes, ears, noses and lips, along with a hat and glasses, allowing its owner to customize it before taking it for a spin.

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.

Pumpkinmobile Postcard

Halloween is fast approaching, and so is the pumpkin headed driver of the automobile on this antique Halloween postcard. Circa the early 1900s.

Note the jack o' lantern headlights, a clever touch. 

Antique Halloween Postcard: Apple Bobbing

Here's a favorite from my collection of antique Halloween postcards. Circa 1906, it features wonderfully expressive apple characters plunging themselves gleefully into a tub, ready to take part in the classic party game of bobbing for apples.

On closer inspection, the apples' expressions become clear: those waiting for their turn to jump in the water look expectantly happy, while those already in the water appear distraught, only now fully comprehending their plight. In the background, a sinister jack o' lantern urges the hapless apples on.

"Wheeee! We get to go swimming!"

"Oh no! What have we done?!"

Mr. Egg-Bodd, Mr. Potato Head's British Friend

Meet Mr. Egg-Bodd, Mr. Potato Head's friend made and sold in Great Britain in the 1960s.

Mr. Egg-Bodd is very different from other Potato Head friends of the time, because, as his name suggests, he has a very unique body. While Mr. P and his various fruit, vegetable, condiment, and other pals all shared the same humanized plastic body, Mr. E's is made from an egg cup.

He came in a colorful box along with a Mr. Potato Head. The box end features a cartoony panel of the two characters peeking over the edge. Mr. E is depicted as a brown egg on the box, although the actual egg inside this set is white.

Mr. Egg-Bodd is a stylish fellow, sporting a top hat, pince-nez glasses, a pipe, and a very dapper pencil moustache.

Mrs. Potato Head, Housespud, in the Biggest All-New Combination Pack

My latest vintage Potato Head set is one of the rarest, and also the largest, with the box measuring in at 18 inches wide by 12.5 tall. That's a pretty big box for a toy that, in the years before plastic potatoes were added, usually consisted of little more than a handful of tiny face pieces.

But the Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head Biggest All-New Combination Pack contains much more than the typical set. In fact, it has everything including the kitchen sink!

 

Produced for a brief period in the early 1960s, the Biggest All-New Combination Pack was an attempt to accessorize the Potato Heads in a way that would appeal to both boys and girls, and the large box made it appear to be especially deluxe. In reality, the set's accessories were cheaper than cheap, but the cover art really sold it.

The package included not just one vehicle for Mr. Potato Head, and not just a car, like some of his other sets. This one came with a plane, a train, and a boat.

For Mrs. Potato Head, there was a set of gleaming new kitchen appliances, and a baby in a stroller. (More about that baby in a minute...)

Inside, the accessories were tucked into cardboard backers, while fragile styrofoam display heads held the Mr. & Mrs. face pieces. Both the cardboard backers and the styrofoam heads are very easily damaged while trying to remove the pieces, which is probably one reason the set is so scarce today.

Here is Mr. Potato Head's garage. The vehicles are made of a brittle plastic, and the wheels had a tendency to snap off. These are now rarely found intact.

 

  

This is Mrs. Potato Head's kitchen set. The items are each molded from a single piece of flimsy plastic. They don't have any moving parts, so, for instance, the doors can't open. They are identical to the items found furnishing the metal dollhouses so common in this time period.

 

 

And here is the much advertised new baby, in his stroller. He must have been adopted, as he is clearly a human baby, and not a potato. Or perhaps Hasbro didn't want to go to the expense of designing and molding a new potato character, and they just tossed in these cheap dollhouse babies, apparently thinking kids wouldn't notice.

 

 

 

The set comes with instruction booklets for both Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head (and look: there's the human baby right on the cover!) The inside of Mrs. P's gives us a telling glimpse into societal expectations for women at this time:

 

 

Yep, that's right: Mr. Potato Head gets to go gallivanting about in his boat, train, or airplane, but Mrs. P. is expected to stay home with her non-functioning kitchen appliances and the freaky baby.

 

 

 

Victorian Scrap Snowmen

We got our first big snow of the season here on Christmas night, with a little more falling this morning. The drifts are up to my knees now. Seemed like a good time to post some of my stocking stuffers: these Victorian scrap snowmen, circa the 1880s-90s. The larger snowman is 6 inches tall, while his little friends are a wee 2.5.

 

Unlike the snowmen currently outside in the yard, these embossed paper varieties won't melt away, and have lasted for the past 130 years.

 

Antique Schoenhut Alphies Blocks

One of my most longed-for antique toys arrived under the Christmas tree this year: a beautiful set of lithographed wooden Alphies blocks made by the Schoenhut Company.

 

Schoenhut was an American toy company based in Philadelphia which began production in 1872. They are famed for their toy pianos, Humpty Dumpty Circus playset and figures, and many other fine toys.

The Alphies, first patented in 1916, are five inch tall wooden blocks with lithographed paper characters on both sides. One side depicts "Alphie Dollies," the other an "Alphie Zoo." Each character bears a letter of the alphabet on its front.

The Alphies were intended as multi-purpose playthings, as depicted in the possibilities shown on the box cover. They could be used to practice the alphabet and spelling; for stacking and building; and could even be set up as a bowling game, using the included wooden balls.

The lithography on the character blocks is gorgeous; here are some of my favorite pieces.

A tiger sipping soda.
 

"O" ogles "P."




A frantic looking frog.



"D" is for dolly.
 

An alligator in an apron.

 

I Know Halloween Is Over, But....

I found these two fabulous jack o' lanterns at an antique show yesterday, and I just couldn't wait all the way until next October to post them.

The one on the left is German, made in the 1920s from a pressed and folded cardboard similar to thin papier mache. His yellow face (meant to represent glowing candlelight?) is unusual, and adds a creepy quality. His jollier friend on the right was made in the United States in the 1950s of a pulp material. They both have their original paper faces and wire handles, and the taller lantern is just under 6 inches tall.

Gourd Guys Halloween Postcards, 1908

My very favorite antique Halloween postcards feature these little gourd guys, printed by Raphael Tuck and mailed between 1908 and 1909.


 

First, the gourd guys run from a witch and her cat. 

Look at all the detail in the tiny image

of the moon & witch!



 

Here, the gourd guys have reached relative safety atop a large squash.

 

 

Finally, they make it home where a Halloween party cake awaits.

 

 

Pumpkin Candy Container

Here's a jolly looking jack o' lantern, a candy container made in West Germany around the late 1950s. Just 4 1/2 inches tall, he's made of molded cardboard and opens at the center, providing a space for small candies.



The candies are long gone, but here's where they were.

Candy containers of this type were exported from Germany for over 100 years, and they were made for many holidays, including Christmas and Easter. There are collectors who specialize in candy containers, and entire guidebooks are devoted to them. They're a fun collectible, although their fragile and disposable nature makes them a challenge to find today.



Vintage Halloween Jack o' Lantern

Here's another vintage Halloween jack o' lantern from my collection. This one was made in the United States in the early 1940s, and is of a pulp/composition material. 6 inches tall, it still has its original paper face insert, and was clearly used: there is melted candle wax and sooty residue inside. Its amazing that these fragile lanterns still survive to enchant us today!