Ravenswood Novelty Company
By
If truth be told, you could say that I’ve been asked by more people over the
years to identify Ravenswood marbles than any other kind. It hangs heavy on me
that there are so many people who have actually taken stock in what I’ve said! I
came late to a realization that my so called expertise was strictly confined to
that one large 1987 Ravenswood find reported in Castle & Peterson. I even sold
Larry & Marlow a 50 pound box of those Ravenswood marbles undoubtedly adding
unwarranted weight to their exclusiveness.
For a fact, there are Ravenswood varieties beyond that special population I was
working from. Just look at these 19 favorites in Photo #1 that I separated from
a larger group of 35 marbles belonging to Mike Johnson. All are Ravenswood and
most every one distinct unto itself. And many are different from this exalted
group of one-of-a-kind 57 varieties (Photo #2). I put these together after my
gleanings from box after box of the 1987 find. I brought them to Amana 2004 but
never took them out because no one came along who seemed sufficiently advanced
in their Ravenswood interest.
Photo #1:
Photo #2
For the longest time, I pooh-poohed the idea that there were Ravenswood marbles
larger than 11/16. Oops! See Photo #3, a gift from Mike Johnson and measuring
7/8. And he has the big brother to this marble measuring 15/16. I call mine my
Ninja Marble!
Photo #3:
With some pride and accuracy, and conveniently working within the confines of
that 1987 find, I can say that I was able to identify approximately 15 different
varieties in which Brown or Tan in their various shadings were used (Photo #4).
Wading through over 30,000 Ravenswood marbles, I’ve been able to put together
only 5 groups like this. Of course, Brown is a rare color, not a color that a
young kid would necessarily be attracted to, but aren’t they beauties? Alley
Agate made a calligraphy marble using brown that is mistaken for Ravenswood but
not often because they are so far a few between. Here’s an example so you don’t
make the same mistake (Photo #5).
Photo #4:
Photo #5:
At a separate Ravenswood digging site called Hastings-Pinegrove they’ve
uncovered an entirely different species of Ravenswood swirl. (Photo #6). All dug
marbles. Except for the opaque ones, they could as easily pass for translucent
Jackson or Playrite marbles. Often, unless you have ironclad provenance, it’s
anyone’s guess.
Photo #6:
In every marble run , no matter how much you attempt to control the variables,
there will be exceptions and these 15 marbles in Photo #7 exhibit the whole
range including misshapen machine color changes, hybrids, one-of-a-kind colors,
pee wee, and just plain totally unexplainable. Yet, all from that 1987 find.
Photo #7:
The first time I set to pulling out favorites from various 50 pound boxes I
think I grabbed all the ones with true Red. See Photo #8 (by Marilyn Barrett,
1991). To this day I have this group in a bag labeled Top-of-the-Line! Of
course, ones perception changes through repeated run-throughs and the passage of
time. Still these hold a special charm for me. Other than these red varieties
any others I came across are either red-orange (with an emphasis on the orange)
or flat out orange.
Photo #8:
I think because they so much so bespeak Ravenswood, I should include another
photo of the Brown varieties (Photo #9). Marilyn photographed this group in
1991. They’re not all different but they were photographed three years before
her book came out and I wasn’t thinking about putting together an exclusive
group. Nice chunk of coral background.
Photo #9:
For a virgin view of what one of those 50 pound boxes of Ravenswood marble
looked like, here’s a 1991 photo by Marilyn (#10) before any serious plundering
by yours truly. You can readily see how sparsely the Brown varieties are
represented as well as marble examples with a true Red.
Photo #10:
I hate to be a killjoy but the stories going around about these cute little
riverbank bottles with the two 9/16 Ravenswood marbles are bogus. (Photo #11).
You’ll have to buy Mike Johnsons books for the true story. Im not about to give
it away here. Even I was taken in!
Photo #11:
These simple marbles in Photo #12 come out of Buddy Bags from that 1987 find.
After the longest time, I opened one of my three bags and had the greatest joy
to discover that they had the most intense coloring. All of them 5/8-. This is
one of my favorite marbles and photographs. I’ve named them Ravenswood Gumdrops!
I consider it marble prerogatives! Sometimes the simplest of marbles or anything
for that matter can have the strongest impression on you.
Photo #12:
Within the past couple of weeks, an old photograph has surfaced which
conclusively identifies the marbles in the smaller 30 count blue
Photo #13:
Photo #14:
Here in Photo #15, is a Ravenswood marble package done in quantity (3000) for
the Haslip Hardware Store in
Photo #15: