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A good marble book?


Mikie_T

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Hello all,

I was wondering if someone could recommend a good marble identification book? I keep seeing the name Michael Johnson thrown out there as a book author. Does he have a general I.D. book?

I like to get feedback when I ask for marble I.D. and everyone here has been great. I just don't want to wear out my welcome asking so many questions.

Mike

 

 

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I got lots of marble books when I was starting out and they led to a lot of mistaken ID's -- so they can be good intros but feedback and adjustments will still be needed.  Which you can get by bouncing guesses off of us, of course. 

 

American Machine-Made Marbles which has Johnson as one of the authors is a good book for history, and it does have many good marble images.

https://www.amazon.com/American-Machine-Made-Marbles-Schiffer-Collectors/dp/0764324640


When I was starting out I found Bob Block's price guide to be most useful, but even that had some errors in it which made for a _few_ awkward moments.

https://www.amazon.com/Marbles-Identification-Price-Guide-Robert/dp/076433994X/


(Well, this is the edition I used: https://www.amazon.com/Marbles-Identification-Robert-S-Block/dp/0764315749/


We're starting to see more books dedicated to just one maker, such as the new Peltier book.  

https://www.amazon.com/Peltier-Glass-Marbles-Johnson-Biffany/dp/0692777822/


I'll add a good word for the latest edition of Everett Grist's Big Book of Marbles -- the edition Lloyd Huffer helped with.  This one added a lot of good marble photos, with many pages on various West Virginia swirl companies.  

https://www.amazon.com/Everett-Grists-Big-Book-Marbles/dp/1574326929

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Popular American Marbles is still my favorite general ID book for American machine mades.  The quality of the photos are hated by many, but I personally recommend the book as the most helpful available at this time in conjunction with The hardback historical book American Machine Made Marbles by same authors.  Don't write it off because of what many say.  Cheap money well spent.  I still wish all the photos were brighter

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As mentioned, the Popular American marbles book has a good variety of the more common marbles also which other books don't necessarily covers.  American Machine Made is best book for history on the companies, types of marbles made, packaging and other great information.  Not a lot of marble pictures for iD's.  Overlaoding you, here is a list I compiled some years back.

 

Marble Related Books

(partially updated November, 2016)

The list below - from a variety of sources including, but not limited to, Greenburg’s Guide to Marbles, various Bob Block publications and Craig Snider’s List – was compiled by Al Rasmus (** are ones owned by Al).

Books

**2008 Jabo Classics: The Experimentals               Steve Sturtz      2008 Sno Limit Inc.

A Century of Glass Toys       Mary Louise Stanley     (9 x 6)

A Children’s History of Marbles in Old Town San Diego   Alijandra & Geoffrey Mogilner

                                                                                                            2nd Edition 1988           20 pgs

A Collectors Guide to Games and Puzzles   Carolyn Goodfellow     Chartwell Books           1991

** Aggies, Immies, Shooters and Swirls       Marilyn Barrett Bulfinch Press (Little, Brown & Co.) 1994

A Guide to Akro Agate Glass           Budd Appleton Self-published 1966      28 pg. spiral binder

** A Price Guide for Jabo Marbles and More        Marlow Peterson & Dennis Andelin      2015

** Akro Agate                        Dr. Budd Appleton       1972 Booklet (37 pg) – one page with marble pics

** Akro Agate Price Guide   (Revised 2nd Edition)     Roger & Claudia Hardy            1998    Clarksburg

            Publishing Company

All About Marbles                 Akro Agate Co.           1926    (14 pages)

** All About Marbles            Mr. Floyd “Agate” Keeton       1986    116 pages

** American Boy’s Book of Sports & Games                     2000    Lyons Press (Orig. published in 1864 by Dick & Fitzgerald (Pg 33-40 are marble games)

Americana Marble Playing               1968    8 pages

** Antique & Collectible Marbles    Everett Grist     Collector Books           1984   

** Antique & Collectible Marbles    Everett Grist     Collector Books           2nd Printing 1986

** Antique & Collectible Marbles    Rev. Second Edition     Everett Grist     Collector Books           1988

** Antique & Collectible Marbles    Rev. Second Edition     Everett Grist     Collector Books           1988

Updated Values- 1990

** Antique & Collectible Marbles Identification & Values (Third Edition) Everett Grist     Collector Books            1992

** Antique & Collectible Marbles Identification & Values (Third Edition) Everett Grist     Collector Books            1992 – updated 1994

** Antique & Collectible Marbles Identification & Values (Third Edition) Everett Grist     Collector Books            1992 – updated 1996

** Antique & Collectible Marbles Identification & Values (Third Edition) Everett Grist     Collector Books            1992 – updated 1998

** Antique Glass End-Of-Day Marbles       Stanley A. Block          2002    Schiffer

** Antique Glass Swirl Marbles       Stanley A. Block          2001    Schiffer

Art Linkletter Picture Encyclopedia Volume 10       1957

** Atomic Marbles & Branding Irons          Harriet Baskas & Adam Woog – Sasquatch Books 1993

** Big Book of Marbles                    Everett Grist     Collector Books           1993

** Big Book of Marbles        Everett Grist     Collector Books           1993 – updated prices 1997

Big Book of Marbles             Everett Grist     Collector Books           1993 – updated prices 1999

** Big Book of Marbles (Second Edition)     Everett Grist     Collector Books           2000

** C.A. Borchert Glass Co., Weston, West Virginia (Monograph Number 1)         Dean Six          The West Virginia Museum of Modern Glass        1999

** Chinas – Hand-Painted Marbles of the Late 19th Century         Jeff Carskadden and Richard Gartley                McClain Printing Co., Parson, WV                   1990

Collectable Machine Made Marbles           Larry Castle and Marlow Peterson        1989

** Collectable Machine Made Marbles (Second Printing)   Larry Castle and Marlow Peterson        1991            autographed by Marlow

** Collecting Antique Marbles         Paul Baumann               Wallace-Homestead Book Co. – 1970

** Collecting Antique Marbles         Paul Baumann     Prairie Winds Press Mid-America Book Co. – 1970

** Collecting Antique Marbles  (Fourth Printing)      Paul Baumann               Homestead Book - 1980

** Collecting Antique Marbles  (Sixth Printing)         Paul Baumann               Homestead Book - 1984

Collecting Antique Marbles  (Seventh Printing)         Paul Baumann               Homestead Book - 1987

** Collecting Antique Marbles           (2nd Edition) Paul Baumann     Wallace-Homestead Book Co. - 1991

** Collecting Antique Marbles – Identification and Price Guide (Third Edition)     Paul Baumann   Krause Publications.     1999

** Collecting Antique Marbles – Identification and Price Guide (Fourth Edition)   Paul Baumann   Krause Publications.     2004

** Collecting Early Machine Made Marbles          Robert S. Block           Schiffer 2003

Collecting Marbles, A Beginner’s Guide     Richard Maxwell          2012

** Colonial Period and Early 19th-Century Children’s Toy Marbles          Richard Gartley and Jeff Carskadden            Richardson Printing Corp.         1998

Contemporary Marbles and Related Art Glass       Mark P. Block             2001    Schiffer

** Cub Scouts Sports – Marbles      Published by Boy Scouts of America     1985

** David’s Jabo Renaissance (October 20, 2007 Through September 1, 2008)        Sturtz and Johnson

Encyclopedia of Modern Marbles, Spheres and Orbs        Mark P. Block             2005    Schiffer

End of Day Marbles – see Antique Glass End of Day Marbles

** Greenberg’s Guide to Marbles    Dennis Webb & Mark E. Randall         First Edition – 1988

** Greenberg’s Guide to Marbles    Dennis Webb & Mark E. Randall         First Edition/2nd Print – 1988

Greenberg’s Guide to Marbles         Dennis Webb & Mark E. Randall         Greenberg Books - 1991

** Greenberg’s Guide to Marbles (Second Edition) Dennis Webb   Greenberg Books – 1994

** House of Marbles & Teign Valley Glass            Catalogue         (no date)

** How Things Are Made – Books for World Explorers        National Geographic Society - 1981

** Jabo A Classic      Sturtz and Johnson        2008 Sno Limit Inc.

Knuckles Down!         Cathy C. Runyan          Right Brain Publishing   1985

Knuckles Down! (Second Printing)     Cathy C. Runyan          Right Brain Publishing   1990

** Knuckles Down! (Third Printing)    Cathy C. Runyan          Right Brain Publishing   1993

** L.E. Alley: A Man And His Marbles (Monograph Number 2)     Dean Six          The West Virginia Museum of American Glass, Ltd.            1999

Lets Look At Marbles           Angela Royston            2005    (Children’s Book)

** Machine-Made & Contemporary Marbles                     Everett Grist     Collector Books - 1992

** Machine-Made & Contemporary Marbles (Second Edition)      Everett Grist     Collector Books           1995

** Machine-Made & Contemporary Marbles (Second Edition)      Everett Grist     Collector Books           1995 – updated prices 1997

** Machine-Made & Contemporary Marbles (Second Edition)      Everett Grist     Collector Books           1995 – updated prices 1999

** Magic With Marbles        Hazel Pearson Handicrafts        1962    15 pg

** Magic With Marbles        Hazel Pearson Handicrafts        1964    15 pg

** Marble Ballot Boxes        Scott Rice McBride      2004

** Marbles & Spinning Top Treasures    Marlow Peterson & Denis Andelin    Exemplar Press    2013

** Marble Collectors Handbook      Robert S. Block           2005    Schiffer

** Marble Madness  Amanda O’Neil            Parragon Books           2001    has some of Alan’s marble pics

** Marble Mania       Craft Catalog                Mangelsen’s                 1972

** Marble Mania       Stanley A. Block (MCSA)        Schiffer Publishing         1998

** Marble Mania       Stanley A. Block (MCSA)        Schiffer Publishing         Revised 2010   autographed

** Marbles 101 Ways to Play           Joanna Cole & Stephanie Calmenson                Beech Tree Publ.

            New York        1998

** Marbles (Identification & Price Guide)               Mel Morrison & Carl Terison - (approx. 1970)

            self-published               16 pg.

** Marbles – A Forgotten Part of Salem History    Dale E. Shaffer (Salem, Ohio)   1983

** Marbles – A Player’s Guide                    Shar Levine & Vicki Scudamore           Sterling Publishing Company            1999    96 pages (6” X 9”)

** Marbles as Historical Artifacts   Mark Randall               Published by MCSA     1979

Marbles Beyond Glass          Stanley A. Block          2006    Schiffer

** Marbles for Everyone (Mr. Marbles)     Gene Ray         Knuckle Pool Company, PO Box 40302,

            St. Petersburg, FL 33743         1979

Marbles – Games around the World                        Elizabeth Dana Jaffe      Compass Point 2002

** Marbles Identification and Price Guide  Robert Block    Schiffer Publishing         1996

** Marbles Identification and Price Guide (Second Edition)            Robert Block    Schiffer Publishing         1998

** Marbles Identification and Price Guide (Revised Third Edition)  Robert Block    Schiffer Publishing         1999            autographed by Bob

** Marbles Identification and Price Guide (Fifth Edition)     Robert Block    Schiffer Publishing         2012            autographed by Bob

** Marbles Illustrated Prices At Auction                 Robert Block                Schiffer 1999

            autographed by Bob

** Marbles, The Guide to Cat’s-Eyes Marbles      Marlow Peterson and Larry Castle        1998

** Marbles, The Guide to Machine Made Marbles           Marlow Peterson and Larry Castle        1992

** Marbles, The Guide to Machine Made Marbles           (Second Edition)           Marlow Peterson and Larry Castle   1995

Marvelous Marble Art          Children’s Arts & Crafts Book Shure Press

** Marvelous Marbles          Beth Dvergsten Stevens            Perfection Learning Corporation           1999

Mathematics – The Path to Math Success  (Marble Ring & Marbles on cover)       Silver Burdett Ginn

MCSA Price Guide    Marble Collectors Society of America   1985    28 pgs

** MF Christensen and the Perfect Glass Ball Machine    Michael C. Cohill          The History of the American Toy Marble Industry, Vol. 1, Series 1   Group Ideate Publ.       1990    Spiral Bound Book.  This is # 12. Less than 100 printed

Paperweights and 0ther Glass Curiosities    E.M. Elville       1967    Publ by Spring Books               116 pgs

** Pictorial Price Guide of Marbles Robert Block                Schiffer 2002

** Pocket Book of Marbles Publ. by House of Marbles       Copyright William Bavin           2008

** Price Guide to Collecting Antique Marbles        Paul Baumann               Wallace-Homestead Book Co. 1976 – revised 1984 15 pg.

** Sulphide Marbles  Stanley A. Block and M. Edwin Payne  Schiffer 2001

** Sulphides, The Art of Cameo Incrustation          Paul Jokelson   Publ Thomas Neson, Canada    1968

The Collector’s Encyclopedia of Akro Agate Glassware                Gene Florence              1975

** The Collector’s Encyclopedia of Antique Marbles         Clara Ingram    Collector Books - 1972

** The Complete Line of The Akro Agate Co.        Roger and Claudia Hardy         1992

** The Encyclopedia of Collectibles (Lalique to Marbles – 11 pages)           Time-Life         1979

** The Game of Marbles (Pamphlet – 20 pages)       Shirley “Windy” Allen   Marble King, Inc. 1953

** The Game of Marbles (Pamphlet – 20 pages)       Shirley “Windy” Allen   Marble King, Inc.

1953 & Revised, 1967

** The Great American Marble Book         Fred Feretti      Workman Publishing Co.          1973

** The Klutz Book of Marbles                     Klutz Press       1989

The Marble Book      “A book about marbles around the world”        Publ by SKF – Goteborg, Sweden – 1986 (128 pg) (in English)

** The Marble Book (with Box & Bag of Marbles attached)  Richie Chevat   Photographs by Martha Cooper            Workman Publishing     1996    4X6

The Pocket Book of Marble Collecting, History and Games         William Bavin               House of Marbles            London, Outline Press              32 Pages          1991

** The Pocket Book of Marble Collecting, History and Games    William Bavin               House of Marbles            London, Outline Press              32 Pages          1994

The Story of a Marble           Master Marble Co., Clarksburg, W. Va.           6” X 4” Thomson (or Thonson?) & Ellis Co. (Pridemark?)  1933    22 pgs

** The Sulphide Marble – A Handbook       Bill Ely  Self Published 1985      21 pg.

The Toy Museum – Menko & Marbles       by Toshikatsu Tada      July, 1992        4 pgs on marbles

Torchworked Marbles, Vol. 1           by Drew Fitts

** Traditional Marbles, Rules Of The Game (8 page pamphlet)      Tinsley Green               British Marbles Board of Control – 1986

Uncle John’s Panorama Games and Sports Book               Philadelphia      CG Henderson & Co.

            Arch & Fifth St.            1854    Hand colored pictures

** VFW National Marble Tournament Official Rules 1958 (Booklet) (Davis-Monthan Air Force

            Base, Tucson, Arizona) (sponsored by Billy The Kid Tournament Jeans)

 

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YEP..... LOL....

That is what I would call severe overload Al... LOL .... But thanks for the list.

Maybe I will get one for starters and just ask questions to boot.

I want lots of pics so I am leaning toward the "American Machine-Made Marbles" book.

Mike

 

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6 hours ago, Steph said:

 

American Machine-Made Marbles which has Johnson as one of the authors is a good book for history, and it does have many good marble images.

https://www.amazon.com/American-Machine-Made-Marbles-Schiffer-Collectors/dp/0764324640
 

Thanks Steph......

I just ordered this one for starters.

Mike

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 7 months later...

American Machine Made Marbles written by Dean Six.Susie Metzler.Michael Johnson.

I just received a copy last week. It is mesmerizing the amount of marble history all in this 1 book. I cant put it down. I love the history of American marbles and does this book ever deliver. 

 

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  • 2 months later...
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