10 replies to this topic

[Steph]

(click pix to enlarge)



Tit-Tat-Toe:






Mesh bag:






Another mesh bag:

[RunnersDad]

Steph, it is true that Alox brought in marbles from other companies and included those marbles in there own packaging, correct? Being from St. Louis I am interested in getting some dig rights to the factory where Alox existed at one point in time. Not sure who owns the property or exactly where it is at but I bet it would be a good dig.

[Steph]

Short answer: I think so.

The first mesh bag looks like it. I'm pretty sure cat's eyes like that are post-1950 technology, and Alox had stopped making marbles by then.

What I've read is that they first distributed others' marbles, then started making their own, then quit making their own, all before 1950, but at that point they had a huge backlog they still needed to distribute.


p.s. My information as meager as it is, is cobbled together from a couple of sources and neither is American Machine-Made Marbles. Does that say anything more helpful about the subject?




update: I have since read the Alox material in AMMM. And I have seen other Alox packaging from other sources. Alox has made more marbles than most people are aware of. I'm still puzzled about the presence of the cat's eyes, but it is true that Alox had cat's eyes in stock. In addition to whatever regular packaging they had, they also gave cats eyes away as a promotion to sell shoe laces.

Edited by modularforms, 05 July 2008 - 05:39 PM.
add'l info

[Steph]

RunnersDad, on Jun 11 2007, 08:05 PM, said:

Being from St. Louis I am interested in getting some dig rights to the factory where Alox existed at one point in time. Not sure who owns the property or exactly where it is at but I bet it would be a good dig.

That would be quite an adventure! Downright historical!

[Al Oregon]

I think Alan noted somewhere that a lot of Alox's empty bags, marbles, headers were sold at auction when they closed (kind of like with Champion and their Milton Bradley, Nationwide, etc. headers) and then the bags were filled afte the fact with Alox marbles and, when they ran out, othe company marbles - primarily MK from what I have seen in bags. Some of hte Coca Cola mesh bags were the Alox 'filled' bags. Probably Weather-Bird also.

[Steph]

Weather-Bird marble closeups for comparison:


(click to enlarge)


(from a marblealan auction, as is the bag with the cat's eyes)

[Steph]

Ting Tong Tang gameboard.

(click to enlarge)


(source) As of this time the seller has 16 available, along with many other non-marble alox items: wooden checkers, an advertising decal for shoe laces, a baton ad, a lasso, jacks, a clown hand puppet, and a "whistle handled carnival lash whip".

[Marbleholic]

I received this email tonight from the granddaughter of John Frier, who started Alox Agates and thought I should post it for you.

"My name is Nancy L Frier and in regards to Alox marbles, my grandfather started Alox Mfg in 1919 in St Louis on Maple ave making shoelaces, the first shoelace factory west of the Mississippi. Then later started the Marble factory on Page ave in Pagedale Mo. The Marble machine is now in Dollywood. John Frier my grampa bought the marble machine from West Virgina and bought marbles first, then started making marbles, the factory ran 24 hours a day. My dad took over Alox and then they had to close the Marble factory. John Frier 1895-1974 "

[Steph]

Hello Nancy!

How fascinating to hear from you. I know some people who would love to talk to you! I've learned a little more since I started the thread last year, but some of what you say is still new to me.


Thank you for sharing!


Stephanie



p.s. Thank you Del for posting this.

[Steph]

Some interesting threads, webpages, events, groups which have resulted from or benefited from Nancy's outreach:



Here:

• Alox Shooters
  
• Quick Alox Cat Eye Note

at LOM:

• Today's History Lesson...Alox Toy Company..Long Read but informative!!!

By kite collector, Jeff Duntemann:

• John Frier: American Inventor
  
• Alox Kites and the Man Who Made Them

More:

• World Kite Museum

[Steph]

I made this post elsewhere today. Figured I should add it here also.




There are patches in this bag of Nancy's.





Mr. Bales once posted individual shots of the marbles in this box:

(click to enlarge)





Some examples: