The
Peltier Glass Company
1886 – still in operation at the time of this writing
Marble production: approx. 1927 – 2002
Peltier was
founded in 1886 as The Novelty Glass Company by Victor J. Peltier, a glassmaker
who had emigrated from
Their first
marbles were produced by 1927.
They were using a machine patented by William J. Miller.
In 1929 this particular machine became the center of a lawsuit which
would transform the marble industry.
Akro sued Peltier for infringement on a 1915 Horace Hill patent and won the
case, but the decision was reversed on appeal.
It was determined that the 1915 patent should never have been awarded
because Hill’s design was not sufficiently original.
This decision was called “the breaking of the Patents” and allowed other
marble companies to use the technology without fear of penalty.
Peltier
made hand-gathered slags but is better known for its later slags, many of which
display a finely feathered look.
During the
30’s and 40’s they gave us the highly popular National Line Rainbos followed by
the simpler yet still popular Rainbos.
Other favorites from the 30’s are the Peerless Patches and Acme Realers.
Their famous Picture Marbles featured comic strip characters printed on
Peerless Patches. Many marbles from
this era, especially many NLRs, have been given colorful names by collectors.
In the
1950’s, Peltier suffered the same decline as the other major marble companies
did with the introduction of cat’s eyes from
A 1962
price list shows that the company was still selling boxes of Rainbos and
“Bloodies”, but few of their marble making activities after this have garnered
much attention. Notable exceptions
are the Nova family, including the Root Beer Float, which were part of a special
order run on one day in 1988. These
marbles are in the 7/8” to 1” range. Another special order of similarly large
marbles was run a short while later; some also refer to these as Novas.
In 2002, new owner Boyce Lundstrom made two very small test runs which
have become known as First Run and Second Run Peltiers.
These are sparkler-like in design and quite attractive.
Many were given away, some scattered for children to find on the company
grounds.
When not
making marbles for play, Peltier has made industrial marbles and flat gems but
in 2002 they sent their gem table to Marble King.
The Marble
King/Peltier connection goes back a long way.
Sellers Peltier was one of the incorporating partners of Marble King,
along with
Another
company with ties to Peltier is the Kokomo Opalescent Glass Company.
At the time
of this writing, Peltier produces glass tiles for construction and glassware for
many applications.
More
information:
American Machine-Made Marbles,
2006, Dean Six, Susie Metzler and Michael Johnson
Collecting
Antique Marbles, 4th ed., 2004, Paul Baumann