kbobam

Today I had Christmas a couple days early, with the best 'mail-day' of the year. Always a gamble to buy things 'in-hand unseen', but got lucky with these two recently, and both showed up today. Think they're my best buys of the year. Will be taking better photos soon. Too late for natural light today. Here's a truly spectacular Jabo Blood Viper (or Cobra or Cyclone) and an Akro 'Three Toed Nappy", and if you've never heard of those you're not alone. (Although Edna probably has!) The etched rings you see around the inward- slanting rim go all the way down the outside. And the tiny amber glows at the very tips of the 'toes' (what a poet!) are really there. Like Moonie glass. Happy Holidays to everyone! Bob

Thanks, guys! I'm hoping to take some close-up shots soon to get a better look at everything. Probably should have positioned the green upwards in this shot to even out the exposure better. Couldn't expose much more in-camera without the snow (excuse the street slang!) 'going all clorox on my butt'. Good old film was more forgiving with highlight exposures than most digital equipment.

Well, it took many years of searching, but I finally found a Christmas Tree I could afford! Meaning both the marble and the very 'Charlie Brownish' tree you can see a little of in the background. The marble is 5/8 of an inch of pure 'ex-spraypaint agitator' condition-wise, but I still like it. Also sneaking in an O.T. shot of one of my critter buddies. Wishing everyone happy holidays, Bob ( :

Chinese buffet.... (insert 'drooling Homer' sound here) Happy birthday! ( :

For me, this piece was love at first sight.

Looking forward to seeing your Akros, but what I'd really like is a Pelt Blue Bee!

It's seriously 'chocolicious'! (Gawd, I'm so embarrassed! ) Pretty neat to discover a rarity in what you thought was your 'common' group!

I don't remember when and where I posted this shot, so sorry if it's a repeat. But these are my two favorite 'shooters' and I do remember that it was gratifying to show them. What with all those 'seeking perfection' out there, it was nice to find that there were other people who thought that old warrior marbles had a special beauty of their own.

Even though I've never been a marble player, I think I can understand your affection for that one. It's totally badbutt. Not in a nasty way. It just has that 'cool and confident' look. ( :

I'm not worthy of this thread! But I have to ask catfish - what's up with the three tier stand? That's really slick! ( : And Ken's marble bag photo is breathtaking.

It's instinctive for most of us to want to get as close as we can to our subject. Usually it's a good thing, but with close-up work even tiny adjustments can make so much difference. ( :

Took some test shots today and thought this might be a useful hint for those who haven't done a lot of close-up photos. (This is one of those itty-bitty Akro teacups, so it might as well be a marble.) In shot #1 the camera is very close to the cup. The front of the rim is in focus, but not much else. In shot #2 just by moving the camera back a few inches the amount of area that's in focus is dramatically increased. (All camera settings the same in both photos, other than re-focusing after moving back. Cropped #2 to make it the same size.)

Sweeeeeeeet! ( :

Wow. Those are beautiful! And the green and reds are right on time for holiday marble decoration. (Man! Someone had their width and depth measurements down pat when they made that display board! I'm pretty good with that sort of thing, but I know if I tried to cut them that close I would have had a few 'counter-sinks' running into each other.)

Thanks, Steve! Wasn't sure if there might be something about the red one that would cast doubt on the original diagnosis. Good to hear from a Jabo expert! ( :

You may remember the marble on the left from a previous post. If I'm remembering correctly, the general consensus was that it was a Jabo, possibly made with Fenton glass. Got the one on the right recently, and it sure looks like these two share some DNA somewhere, but would appreciate hearing what you think. You're seeing pretty much the entire pattern on both; if I 180'd them you'd only see base glass. The blue one's glass is slightly greenish and glows under UV; the red one's is pinkish and does not. Both are 15/16. Thanks, Bob ( :

So the name is from Joanne Argabrite BOgard! Thanks for a new one on me. ( :

Isn't that wild!? I've heard a little about different types of light being used for forensic purposes, and have enjoyed using a black light on 'glowers' for display purposes, but never thought of putting it all together and doing a 'crime scene investigation' on a marble. Cool concept. Thanks! ( :

My "Magic Marble". ("Stained Glass Lutz" clay over glass by Tracy Hawkins)

I'm going to go way out on a limb here, possibly because I've been ill and more or less hallucinating, but it feels right. Seems to me an important 'Calligraphy' distinction is that there's actually some degree of 'ink soaking into paper' effect. Most of what I see called 'Flames' have a more modern 'high resolution printing' look to them.

Huh! Small world! I just saw one of those listed a little while ago. Remember it because I'd never heard of them. Hang on a second while I take a look back. Here it is! Looks like one of the marbles Chuck described as wonderful in itself but not quite fitting the 'calligraphy' bill. ( : Thanks for the great photos to show the distinction! http://cgi.ebay.com/STUNNING-ALLEY-AGATE-CALLIGRAPHY-MARBLES-rare-jet-black-/370437631482?pt=Marbles&hash=item563fcdadfa

Definitely did check it out! Might have been misplaced in the crowd, but the 'neat one/outrageous color' note was all for you. ( :

Wow! I missed these yesterday. Definitely sounds like the Flaming Dragon is impressing knowledgeable people, and it's certainly something. But as a 'permanent newbie' I'd like to put in a vote for the Rebel. Because I'm more familiar with the marble and usually don't like them much. But something about the colors and pattern in this one really works. ( :

More nice stuff! This is great! Glad to see that there may be a large percentage of the small percentage of 'double-lovers' right here! Would definitely like to change the title of this thread to "Show Us Your Double Ingots", since I'm really enjoying this and hope others are too. ( :