EXCEEDINGLY RARE Vintage Halloween Skeleton Accordion Band Member Diecut Germany

Welcome Fellow Vintage and Antique Hallowe'en and Paper Ephemera Enthusiasts!

The black cats nap, the skeletons rest.

Ghouls and goblins – they don’t care.

But as our friends know quite well,

All year long we love to SCARE!

Many of you know us as longtime collectors and sellers of vintage and antique Hallowe'en memorabilia, antique dolls, and old toys. For your all-year-long Hallowe'en loving pleasure, we are HAUNTINGly happy to present an exceedingly rare die cut decoration that was made in Germany in the 1930s for ONE SEASON ONLY, and was ONLY sold in Canada! OK, Friends...HERE WE GO!!!

Please meet the musically-talented Mr. Bones and his three FRIGHTfully favorite flying friends. This is an “Inner Sanctum” piece and one like him can be seen on page 116 of Mark B. Ledenbach’s outstanding book “Vintage Halloween Collectibles; An Identification & Price Guide (Second Edition)”. This diecut falls into the category of items that are considered to be very special and SPOOKY-cool and therefore designated as such in the chapter entitled “The Inner Sanctum”.

This diecut retains its original cardboard easel making this piece a stand-up and very easy to display.

As far as we know, this diecut and the other three pieces comprising the four-member band, are unusual because a blue background was used. We know of no other German diecuts where blue was used. Our example features a smiling skeleton proudly playing his accordion in an eerie graveyard in celebration of All Hallows' Eve. Notice the extremely fine detail and the crow or raven, flying bat, and owl who accompany Mr. Bones. The design includes a rare tombstone motif as well. Stars are present that decorate the blue background and the overall feel of this piece is incredible to say the least!

In addition to the light blue the colors are ivory white or cream and black. We particularly love the relationship between Mr. Bones and his owl friend. This piece measures 15” high x 7 ½” wide.

The exact condition for this piece is as follows: there are NO major large soft creases whatsoever. The piece stands by itself beautifully. There is some surface loss at the top of Mr. Bones’ skull, to one eyebrow, and some areas of surface loss to the accordion, to one hip bone and the tips of both feet. There are several pinholes throughout. There is a light surface crease to Mr. Bones’ neck, visible on the reverse only – but the cardboard is without give and maintains its integrity. There is a little surface crackling to the base of the accordion, to Mr. Bones’ arms and some to his legs – but this is entirely commensurate with his elderly age and quite frankly only adds to his charm!

This stand-up is stamped in purple Made in Germany on the reverse and there is also a little bit of pencil writing on the reverse as well. Also on the reverse there is surface paper loss to Mr. Bones’ head and one foot.

In all of our years of collecting and sharing vintage Hallowe'en memorabilia, this is the only example of this diecut we have ever seen in person. We do know of a couple of others that are in the hands of seasoned, well-respected collectors whom we have the privilege to know. This is a very, very hard-to-find item and we are hoping this piece ends up in the hands of someone who will treasure him as we have. Mr. Bones and his three best friends would love to spend this Hallowe'en with you!

Please remember Ziz’s motto: Eat, Drink and Be Scary!

No BONES about it, we have SCARED up a great deal for true Halloween DIE-hards! There is no reserve on this item and a DEVILishly low starting bid so everyone will have a GHOST of a chance. Thank you for reading our desCRYPTion. Enjoy!

WE LOVE OUR BIDDERS! We are thankful for you every day. Please check out our other auctions including 4 Authentic Pretty Pink Depression Glass Berry Bowls, Doric Pattern, 1935-38, Authentic Pink Depression Glass Square Handled Tray, Doric Pattern 1935-38 NICE!, Vintage Halloween Large Minnie Mouse Jack o Lantern Band Member Diecut w/ Cymbals, Authentic Pink Depression Glass Oval Platter, Cherry Blossom, 1930-39, Lot #2, VFINE to NEAR MINT Uncommon Vintage Halloween Large Crescent Moon & Witch Diecut, RARE Vintage Halloween Red Devil Jack o' Lantern Germany 1920s-30s, VFINE-NMINT!.

As our gift to fellow Hallowe'en collectors, we will ship this item to you FREE including insurance!

Please pay within 3 days of end of auction. We'll ship within 1 business day of receipt of payment. Pennsylvania residents pay 6% sales tax. While we prefer to ship to the United States only, we will ship overseas to interested collectors – but will need to quote actual shipping costs at the end of the auction. All international sales will be shipped USPS Priority Mail International insured. We also cannot predict other fees such as tariffs or duty taxes for each country. 

Happy Hallowe'en 2012!