I didn't know where else to look for information on this, I tried googling the name, but it returned nothing.
This box is wooden the name is Skillern Hand Made Fancey Tales, on the inside of the box is 10 cents marked as the cost, and over to the right hand side it says "Hole in the Head"
On the botom of the box is Fact. No. C- 348 Pa. 50
There is also a green United States Stamp with a picture of some "guy" on it and the Class E 50, in words.
Can anyone help me in identifying where these came from or how old it is??
I have a collection of old 1880's - 1920's cigar labels (hundreds) and three old boxes. This period was the golden age of stone lithography. With good vision or a little magnification you can determine if it's stone litho. The dots of color will be arranged haphazardly in swirls as opposed to the distinct straight lines that modern mass printing leaves (circa 1920's and later). Also the dots will be of different sizes and irregularly shaped like a chicken nugget as opposed to dots that are uniform and perfectly round.
If it's stone litho, it's generally more collectible. Another factor is rarity. Hole in the Head sounds like a more common one to me, but I could be wrong.
And of course condition is very important. Some boxes are falling apart with stains and scrapes and much of the labels mutilated. Some are as bright as when they were doing the 19th century version of a TV commercial under the glass. The slick ACID-FREE paper used to survive the tonnage of the litho stones has helped them survive the centuries much better than other paper collectibles of the era like Old Judge baseball cards which have barely visible printing and are yellowing away still.
Try eBay to get a feel for what they sell for. Could be in the $5-$25 range; could be 3 or 4 figures if pristine from that era.
"A little song...a little dance...a little seltzer down your pants!" --Chuckles the Clown
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