This Halloween shaker was manufactured by „Kircchof” in the 1950s (or „Kirchoff” as it appears on some other items they made) under the title „Life of the Party.” The design first appeared on a slightly larger tin rachet noisemaker with open ends in the 1940s (see Mark B. Ledenbach’s Vintage Halloween Collectibles: Identification & Price Guide (2003), p.143). Contrary to my usual practice I have included the hag image below (suitably modified) so that you can see how the image of the young/pretty witch has been paired with that of the old/ugly witch on this lithograph design, much in the same way as we often see a young/pretty witch with a hag witch mask.Note also the Puritan Hat (usually, a high, flat-crowned felt hat with wide uncocked brim and a silver buckle on a ribbon band). Here the crown is a little more pointed, suggesting both a witch’s and a Puritan’s hat, the idea being, perhaps, to represent a wicked Puritan girl who has joined her Salem sisters. In the coming months I will be showing some more images like these, each of which present problems because it is not always clear if it is a sexy-witch or a sexy-Puritan that the artist had in mind.
