The October 2000 issue of Pop Culture Collecting
magazine includes an article focused solely on "Bewitched Memorabilia."
The article is written by Greg Davis and Bill Morgan, who wrote Collector's
Guide to TV Toys and Memorabilia - 2nd Edition and are the proprietors
of TVTOYS.com. This article describes the shortage in licensed Bewitched
merchandise from the 1960s and the value of some of the collectibles
that are available to fans of the show. There were less than 50 items
licensed by Screen Gems to bear the Bewitched name and likeness.
Since then, there has been 35 years of wear and tear on the toys that
survived. Now, Bewitched items are highly prized by fans of the
show and by toy collectors.
Davis and Morgan's article contains excellent descriptions
of some of the Bewitched items available. Photographs of many
of these original items are available on harpiesbizarre.com's Collectibles
page for you to view. One interesting item to note, is that there never
was a licensed Bewitched lunch box from the 1960s or early 1970s,
as was so popular with many of the other TV shows of that era. Today,
Vandor has manufactured a Bewitched lunch box shaped like a retro
TV set.
Here are some of the current values as forecasted by
Pop Culture Collecting magazine.
Dolls:
The Ideal Samantha
doll from 1965 (12-inch poseable doll with a red, sparkling flying
suit) is valued at more than $500 without the box and $2,000 when
in the original window box with "Samantha" across the lower
portion of the box. This doll originally came with a hat and straw
broom.
The Ideal Tabatha
doll from 1965-66 (and, yes, that's Tabatha with an "a"
on the box) is valued at less than $500 without the box and surpasses
the value of any other Bewitched memorabilia if in the original
pink window box. Ideal had many infant-like, 14-inch dolls that resembled
the Tabatha doll and many times impostors are sold by people who believe
it to be an authentic Bewitched collectible. The Tabatha doll's
back and neck are marked "1965 Screen Gems Inc. Ideal Toy Corp."
The Samantha and
Tabitha paper dolls by Magic Wand from the mid-1960s are worth between
$150 and $200 in today's market.
Books:
The Bewitched
coloring book, which was published in 1965 by Gosset and Dunlap, Inc.
is highly collectible due to the fact that the cover promotes smoking
by showing Samantha lighting a cigarette for Darrin. This controversial
cover and the fact that there weren't many of these books in distribution
brings the value of this item to more than $100.
The Opposite
Uncle, a hardcover book by Whitman, is the only collectible to
feature Dick Sargent as Darrin Stephens. It is valued at between $15
and $20.
There are two Bewitched
British annuals on the market and they command between $50 and $75
each.
The Al Hine Bewitched
paperback book from Europe is valued between $35 and $45.
There are three
different vintage writing tablets featuring color photo covers from
Bewitched, and their value according to Davis and Morgan is
between $40 and $50.
The Bewitched
storybook and activity book, also published by Gosset and Dunlap,
Inc., are easier to find and command around $30 and $40 a piece.
Games, etc.:
The Game Gems "The
Samantha and Endora Game" is valued between $150 and $200.
The Stymie Bewitched
card game and two Milton Bradley Co. jigsaw puzzles (one with Darrin,
Sam, and Endora flying on a broom and the other with all three sitting
in a living room) are each valued at between $50 and $75.
The original Bewitched
TV theme sheet music is reportedly valued at $50. Note:
Another issue of Pop Culture Collecting quotes Davis and Morgan
as saying it sells for more than $75.
Some other interesting, and exceedingly rare, Bewitched
items mentioned in the article, but without values listed are:
A Bewitched
Magic Coffee Set made by the Amsco Industries, Inc. division of Milton
Bradley Co. This set included a toy coffee pot with the Bewitched
logo, a burner, an orange juicer, and several other small kitchen
accessories.
A Bewitched
Hi-Chair toy set made by the Amsco Industries, Inc. division of Milton
Bradley Co.
A Bewitched
Magic Bottle Feeding set made by the Amsco Industries, Inc. division
of Milton Bradley Co.
A "Babycrest"
tag for a line of Tabatha clothing that was in development by the
Aimcee Wholesale Corp. This tag features a drawing of "a baby
riding on a unicorn and waving a magic wand." The text of the
tag says, "Designed Expressly for Tabatha, the BEWITCHED Baby"
and includes the Screen Gems, Inc. trademark. There is no description
of an outfit that accompanied this tag.
We're adding to the Collectibles
gallery each week, so pop in and see the photos and descriptions of
this and other Bewitched merchandise from the past and present.
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