Ric

Wow! Now there's some glitz! Very cool, Dani. Here are some commons . . .

Wow . . . that really is cool. Here's a few more from FMG&SP . . .

Cool Swirls! Here's a coral . . .

Cool, Ryan - it looks YUMMY!

Nice one, Steve - those are real cool!

Hi Folks, I just visited the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park near Grand Rapids, Michigan, earlier today to take in a special exhibit by glass artist Dale Chihuly. It was a beautiful morning for viewing the exhibition called "A New Eden" - a wonderful melding of nature, flowers, sculpture and glass in absolutely gorgeous gardens. I highly recommend it. Here are a few pictures. I hope you enjoy. -Ric

Steph, I'm not Ron . . . but if you look at the pic of 5 Sistersville moss agates in AM-mM, I think it's the upper left one (it's also in PAM). The one you're referring to reminded me of the color on a Pelt pearlized patch, without the "pearl" - didn't have a PP handy for direct comparison though, so I could be off on that.

Nice, I especially like the blue and white one!

A little flaming "furnace" . . .

Come on now folks! You're not really gonna make me push this to 100 all by myself are ya'?

I wish I could make this one. But the next one is really high on my agenda - for sure!

O.K. guys, knock it off now . . . you're starting to make me really jealous and , , , hungry! lol

I think Galen and Bill are right, in that people did not refer to aventurine, regardless of it's color, as lutz on machine made marbles until after they started adding it to some of the JABO private runs. However, it is notable that people still refer to "blue aventurine" or "green aventurine" even on the new JABOs, and that the "lutz" term is used to refer only to the thicker golder aventurine that is displayed on those marbles, likely since it is reminiscent of the gold "lutz" on some hand made marbles. Since I'm not that much of a purist when it comes to terminology, it doesn't really bother me - I know what people are talking about. And honestly, have you ever seen the amount or type of gold "lutz" that appears on some of the new JABOs on any vintage machine made marble? If so, I sure would like to see some pictures, because those would certainly be some sweet mibs! All IMHO and FWIW.

I like the Bumblehopper, Big John. Man . . . they made some cool variations . . .

That is one sweet marble, John - the colors are great. Here's a few more . . .

A few more . . .

If your facts are correct, I think this is a VERY logical question, and I think you may be on to something.

An interesting thought, given the Paul Bunyan patches currently thought to have been made there.

I've also considered the idea that having just arrived at Sistersville and being short on capital, perhaps Mr. Alley made patches solely for sale to other companies just to get some cash flowing.

Ron poses a very good question. Although, we may never know for sure whether Mr. Alley produced patches or not, it does not seem unlikely to me that he may have, even if they were experimental and not produced in great numbers. Who knows, perhaps while setting up the machines at Sistersville for the first time all patches came out until the adjustments were made to produce pure swirls. And while some of the marbles found there are most likely from other makers, I do not believe any one type was found in large numbers (which is not necessarily to say they aren't still there somewhere). If I am not mistaken, the most common patches found at the site to date have been the blue patches on that base that looks like it could fluoresce but doesn't. And when I compare those to other Alleys, it's not too hard to imagine that Mr. Alley produced them. Of course, without examples in original packaging or iron clad provenance this is all just speculation on my part. Nonetheless, the marbles below share identical colors (or as close as one could reasonably expect given normal variation). These colors also respond to UV light in the same manner. So I have no reason to presume that Mr Alley did not make this type of patch, at least.

Thanks for your thoughts, folks. I guess about the only thing we know for sure about this marble is that it's not an Asian Cat's Eye. And David, that's a wild looking thing too - LOTS of Mica. Although, it sorta does look like there's a core hidden in there somewhere. Any other thoughts will also be appreciated.