I feel like I scored an incredible find this past weekend at River City Trading Post, my local antique mall. My husband walked into booth and shouted “Hey, Callie…you need this!” and that is why I married him – he knows me so well! I did need this cute little table top blow mold.
These typically go for $20 – $40 on eBay – but I snagged it for $12.50 (without a light), and a light kit on Amazon for $6, making it total only $18.50!
Being the inquisitive person I am, I had to do some research to understand my new pumpkin friend’s history. Here’s an abridged version of what I discovered…
In Elkton, Maryland in 1946 – A.L. Gursha and Eugene Salinger set up their balloon manufacturing business called, “Bayshore Industries” – the name is based on its location near the Chesapeake Bay. As the company grew they also added toys and rubber Halloween masks to their line of products. For a more in depth history on Bayshore Industries, check out this article from the Cecil Whig.
My pumpkin blow mold seems to have originated in 1972. I found this amazingly haunting 1972 product catalog on the Monster Masks blog (which includes a photo of my “Cat Pumpkin Lamp”). Take a look at some the masks they created on that page – they’re incredibly strange and eerie as most vintage masks are. The mask designer said that the inspiration for his designs came to him in his dreams.
Since the company no longer exists as a manufacturer of Halloween cheer – I feel very luck to possess a small piece of their spooky past!
Halloween Head 