Rosbro Scarecrow

Back in my first post of the season, I mentioned I'd found a grail this year that I'd been on the hunt for for years.  I went to a sale last spring that promised vintage Halloween.  I showed up maybe an hour after the sale had opened and found the Halloween in the basement.  It had already been gone through, but there were still a few good items I picked up including some Gurley candles (stay tuned for a later post). My daughter and I were both at the sale and thought we had looked through everything before finally checking out and leaving.

I went back the next day thinking I might pick up a few other remaining items at 50% off.  I went back down in the basement where the Halloween items had been and found this guy sitting on the shelf, plain as day.

A Halloween Ink-Link

I found this company newsletter for American-Associated Insurance Companies.  It's called the "Ink-Link" and is dated October 1952.

Come to the Party

I apologize for the lapse yesterday. It's been a busy week at work.

This poor little invite never got a chance to invite someone to a Halloween party.  He looks out the window waiting for guests to arrive that never will.

It was made by Hallmark and looks to date from the 1950's to '60's.

Won't you come to his party?

Halloween Revisited -- The Devil, You Say?

I dropped the ball today, so I'm introducing a new feature for this year called "Halloween Revisited".  This isn't a "best of", it's more of a "hey, what have I already posted in past years that people may not have seen or remember?"

This one dates back to 2011 prior to my participating in the Countdown to Halloween.

It's rare to find cherubic devils, but here we are.  I found this guy at a garage sale way back when (when you could still find decent vintage items at garage sales at affordable prices)

This Mystery's For You

For those of you that have followed me lo these many years, you know of my love of vintage advertising.  It's been a while, but in those early years, I would even scan all the ads from vintage magazines and post here.

I was at an estate sale a few weekends ago and came across this original painting:

Monster Rally

I found this book over the summer. The "Chas Addams" name was enough to catch my attention, even if it didn't already have me at "Monster".

Zither Magic

I'll admit, I sometimes buy record albums simply for the cover.  Particularly if they evoke something Halloween related.  This album fits that category.

Blowing in the Wind

I found this beaten scarecrow at the same estate sale as this witch and this witch.  I really like the design of this.  The colors are still vibrant, the haystacks and pumpkins well-detailed.

Beistle Little Witch

Normally each season I try to limit the same kind of object to one per week, particularly die cuts.  But this year, I've come into a goodly number of them, many from the same sale, so I thought I'd start posting these a little more frequently.

First up is this Beistle Witch.  I'm not sure if she's supposed to be a child witch or just a short witch, but I like her and her frightened Jack O' Lantern.  It's one I've never seen before, and I found 2 at the same sale.

Not only is she small, the die cut is as well, measure 5 1/2".  If I had to hazard a guess, I would say she's from the 1950's to 1960's.

Dennison Skeleton Diecut

This Dennison Skeleton appears to have had a rough life.  Screws in his femur, a plate on his pelvis and even some string holding his humerus together.  Of course, he has nothing on Evel Knievel.

Make Some Noise

After yesterday's reflective and somber post, let's return to some light-hearted Halloween fun.

I found this U.S. Metal Toy Mfg. Co. Halloween noisemaker at an estate sale sitting in a case at checkout.  This is where estate sale companies tend to keep smalls and valuables to head off shoplifting.  While the price for Halloween collectibles has risen considerably at estate sales, it's still possible to find deals and this was one.  I think I paid $10.  The graphics are very nice on this one. It probably dates from the 1950's.

Mondays are to Die (cut) For - Beistle Scaredy Cat

Welcome to final "Mondays are to Die (cut) For".  Boy, that went fast.

This classic Beistle design is the "Scaredy Cat" and was another purchase at the Halloween collector estate sale.  This one is a large version measuring 16" x 15".  He's a little worse for wear, but a survivor, much like an old Tom cat who's been through a life of cat fights and missing a few pieces from his ear. I couldn't find this one in my reference books, but I would guess he's from the 1950's.

Witch Costume Will You Wear?

With Halloween days away, it's time to start seriously thinking about your costume.  How about a Halloween witch?

This witch's costume dates from the 1950's. It was a surprisingly cheap find at an estate sale (I think I paid $1). 

Hats Off to Halloween

These 2 hats came from the Halloween collector estate sale.  This first hat is large, standing 15" tall with an 8" diameter at the base (12" with fringe).  It dates from around 1950. Manufacturer is unknown.

Mondays are to Diecut For - Singing Cats

Welcome to the second edition of "Mondays are to Diecut For".

This singing cat diecut/honeycomb was a find at the same sale as the cat whistle. Instead of whistling, this cat sings.

Of All the Blogs in the World, You had to Walk into Mine

Did you ever have a dream and wake up thinking, "That's a great idea for a blog title!"  No? Maybe it's just me.  But that's how I came up with today's blog title.

I dreamt long-time reader and longer-time friend FrankO had sent me some items he had found and within lay some mystery to solve. All I can remember about the items were they were a gathering of paper; photos, newspaper clippings, etc.  And FrankO wanted me to research and solve something about them.  And so, I wrote a blog about solving the mystery of them and titled the blog as I've done here.  

As I said, I then woke up and thought, "Hey! That's a great idea for a blog title!"  Unfortunately, I didn't have a mystery garage sale find to go with it.  But as I lay there unable to fall back asleep because now my brain was in overdrive, I realized, I kind of DO have a garage sale mystery I recently found.

But first, let's talk about that title.  What does it have to do with mysteries?  At first I thought, well of course, it's a Humphrey Bogart line. I could hear him saying it.  Then I realized, it's a line from "Casablanca" where he is decidedly not a detective.  The actual quote is "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine."  But I swear I can visualize a femme fatale walking into a stereotypical detective's office (feet kicked up on the desk) and him uttering a line similar to this.

So where was the detective connection to Humphrey Bogart? Ah yes, "The Maltese Falcon" in which he plays "Sam Spade".  But how did this quote get intertwined with Bogart's portrayal of Dashiell Hammett's private dick? I can only guess that some parody I've seen over the years employed it. Carol Burnett? I know Steve Lawrence played a "Sam Spade" character in "Double Calamity" on her show, but I couldn't find any scene that fit my memory.  Oh well, some mysteries aren't meant to be solved, only accepted.  Now you can see why I have trouble falling back asleep.

Anyway, back to my mystery.

I found this portrait in a box of photographs at a recent sale.

Manning Bowman Bonanza

Yes, it's another toaster and percolator post. What can I say?  These things almost seem to find me rather than the other way around.

A few weeks ago, I spotted a Manning Bowman percolator in all it's glorious Art Deco roundness.

Saturday Evening Post Uncovered

 Back in 2015, I posted about a collection of coverless comic books I picked up at a garage sale.  This past year, I encountered just the obvious.  Covers without books.  In this case, they were Saturday Evening Post covers.  Obviously, the original owner liked the covers, but for space consideration, didn't keep the magazines.  They date from 1953 through 1961 and feature a variety of Saturday Evening Post artists, although Norman Rockwell is notably missing.  That could be because at the same sale were full copies of Norman Rockwell-covered Saturday Evening Posts.  I picked those up as well and may post them at some future date.

I've posted any interesting ads that appeared on the reverse side as well. Enjoy!

Thornton Utz

Silex Science

This 1951 Silex syphon coffee maker joined the collection this past weekend.  I got it for 50% off at $5, plus the estate sale cashier threw in the rest of my items (mostly ephemera) for free, so I was happy.

Play It Safe, Mister

So says this apple-headed youth. I guess we are to infer that Amoco gas is safe.