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I sure do admire those canary bluebloods, Edna ! mike b.

None of Peltier's formulas used gold for their several reds in the 20's and 30's. I've seen a lot of gold pinks in sheet glass form, and I can tell they are made from gold. I don't remember ever seeing a gold red, except for the cranberry shades. mike b.

Another reason is that pink, like the better purples, is made with gold, and is one of the more expensive colors to make. mike b.

Black glass is especially prone to natural iridescence from being in the ground, and it does resemble the iridescence of Tiffany Favrile glass, don't it ? mike b.

Sue really surprised me with this special little gift that she and Bo made for me. The box is just over an inch the big way, and the teensy marbles, with more detail than mine, are less than 1/8". And it came with it's own custom-made marble bag, too. Sweet. Thank you so much, Sue and Bo ! mike b.

Carole had mentioned a "dream marble" to represent a Tennesee sunset, and she was nice enough to let me try. These were the first marbles I attempted using powdered glass for all the colors. You can't tell, but the larger, more wispy ones have 2 yellows, 2 oranges, a red, a pink, two purples, and two blues, pressed into strips of clear, stretched out thin, and then laid over a base of light blue in overlapping layers, and then messed with a little. They didn't come out quite like I hoped, but they have nice depth, in person. The smaller one was just rolled in lines of powder, and then messed with. I made a few others, also, shown below if I did this right. Oh, and Sue, I am most intrigued by what you said, and I will just wait right here, by my mailbox. I'm so exciting ! Thank you very much, mike

Hello Steph, I just called Boyce Lundstrom to get the right figures. These were the blue marbles in the blue bags that he gave to the kids at the 2002 ( I think ) Ottawa marble show. There were about 2000 marbles made and 100 bags, each with one hand full of marbles, approximately 18-20 per bag. He gave out maybe 60 bags to kids, and 20 more bags to close friends, and kept the rest for the future. The remainder of the loose marbles we sprinkled in the streets around the factory and the nearby school yard. He owned a house across the street from the factory, with a large window on the front, and we had a blast watching kids find them and some old banana marbles that we also sprinkled about. Thank you for asking, mike b.

Thank you Mike. Those above were just under an inch and took about 35 - 40 minutes, most of the signed ones were $15. This last week I made some about 1 1/4", they took about 50 minutes, maybe $25, I don't have them graded yet. I might still have that green one, send me your address, and we'll find out. thanks, mike

Thank you Carole, Maggie, and Dave. Mike, I'm relieved that you liked yours, thanks. and Steve, I'm ready to try the Wissmach any time. Different sheets may not be compatible, so if you have any pieces with 2 or 3 colors, we may get something more interesting. Need my address ? thanks all, mike

Thank you Kris. James, I took a month off from marbles because I had to make a few windows and do a lot of yard work. I'll try to get these on my website this weekend, and I am making marbles again now. If you like any of these and can't wait, please contact me. thanks, mike

Thanks a bunch Carole ! I will send them off tomorrow. mike b.

Oh, and I made a few that have goldstone and blue aventurine, too, just to be sure. mike b.

I found a place on my innernet that had a free sample of mica flakes for just a dollar. My usual glass wasn't compatible, so my first two days' marbles all fractured, but with a little experimentation and sufficient doobage, I was able to find a glass that works, and I just about got it figured out now. So, from my kitchen table to you, I hope you like these. Thank you for looking ! mika b. out left in Calif.

Here are some more. mike b.

and these whoops, I reposted some and don't know how to fix it. sorry.

I've been working on some new patterns all year. What do you think of these ? mike b.

The earlier marbles were put in blue Peltier bags and given out to kids that came to the Ottawa marble show in 2002, to teach them a lesson in economics, like supply and demand and stuff. Each bag had precisely one handful of marbles in it. They were all about 5/8", no shooters. The "second run" marbles were made in April 2002 in one night. I don't know the exact date. Some had just white vanes in clear, but most also had green and/or blue, and a few had red or yellow. Oh, and some white ones had a little amber. Boyce and I called them "Series Two", but a few of our advisors, Gino and Guy, suggested "Second Run". mike

I had the good fortune to meet Guy at the Ottawa 2002 marble show, and was able to arrange a tour of the Peltier factory for Guy and Denise. I'll never forget the look of joy and wonder on his face throughout the tour, and the fun Denise and I had prying old marbles and glass jewels out of the crumbling mortar and brick walls. Bless you, Guy. You've earned those wings on your wheels. mike b.

Bill, that is terrible news about our old friend peltboy. All our prayers are with ol' Guy and Denise. Thank you for letting us know. mike

Jon, The "Second Run" Peltier marbles were made without authorization in April of 2002, by Terry Zellers, the Peltier batch man. They were a single stream marble, made by throwing handfulls of "gems", marble sized globs of flattened glass, into a tank of clear glass. The resulting marbles were clear with strands of white,green,blue,red and/or yellow. The ones with red,yellow,and/or deep cobalt are the most scarce. The red was not compatible, and many of these have fractures. I believe there were about 5000 marbles total in the entire run, depending on how many buckets Terry snuck out the back. I may have been there during the run, but I can't say for sure, 'cause of the evil weed. In 2004, due to my persistant nagging, I was permitted to make some special boxes with the remaining marbles. I made ten boxes of 28 marbles, and four investor-size boxes with 112 marbles, one unique blues-and-greens box for a cool guy I almost met once, plus the original prototype. Very few were sold, and the owner decided to keep the rest. So, there you are. mike b.