bumblebee

He really liked peppermint swirls!

Popeyes still make collectors crazy. I have 25 Vitro tri-lites in my opinion better looking than 99% of Popeyes, but hopefully that remains only my opinion so I can keep scoring cheap Vitros!

I sometimes wonder if the artist(s) who made these had simply only released the very best ones in limited quantities, that they could have made more money that way.

Amazingly juicy collages there.

I had a dangerous contemporary marble moment at a recent show. I was so blown away by the beauty and craftsmanship of them that I spent the bulk of my money on a nice Geoffrey Beetem marble. It has taken me almost the entire time I've been in this hobby to purify my judgement of a marble to simply what my eye likes, rather than anything else I know about it.

That blue color is stunning.

Wow. I would nickname it The Thing.

Thanks, John. My head's spinning but I wonder whether anyone digging CAC's site found guinea frit?

4 hours ago, Steph said:

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Testing the compatibility of their guinea frit  glass rods on base glass? Mr Shamrock, where are thou?

My earliest "wow" moment was finding a beat up Master sunburst and being stunned by the color quality and depth of the glass. That's when I knew vintage marbles were special. That could have been my bug-catching moment.

Cherry-picking a mint Golden Rebel from a box was wonderful, but selling it later has tainted that memory.

The top one is built like a Vitro tri-lite and the bottom ones look more like the photos of Cosmic Rainbows, but I will definitely keep them in my cryptid section.

34 minutes ago, Steph said:

Not cosmic rainbow, huh?  

 

That yellow stripe doesn't really look like c.r. to me, but I had to mention it to get it out of the way.

Of course! Why didn't I think of that? Probably because I actually don't have any of those until now, apparently! Thanks!

Got these today. 5/8". Quite the oddballs. They came from what looked like a solidly late 40s to 60s lot. My first thought was Imperial, however, because I had a couple of clear Imperials lately with that yellow stripe, but in hand these feel like Vitros. If you think Opal, they don't look as such in hand. The top one in particular feels like a Vitro Tri-lite from an alternative universe where the color white and red do not exist.

True, the last time I found marbles at an antique store they were tucked away in draws in some antique furniture and you wouldn't have known without asking the attendant.

Great start! I was asking a local glass maker what a basic setup would require to start making marbles. He was estimating around $2k (used prices?) plus the cost of oxygen.

Does that sound about right?

This marble is very dark in hand and difficult to photograph. Here it is in direct sunlight next to Tiger Eye.

I may not list it on eBay simply because I cannot photograph it fairly. Will be fun to take to a show if I ever make it to another.

10 hours ago, wvrons said:

 Your second pic of three, I believe it is a Vitro Whitie.  There are two different style or types of Whties. Older are the brighter color ribbons and look more white, opaque. some of these contain aventurine. Newer are more clear showing and thinner colors. With time almost or all companies had to cut cost for many reasons. As usual cost cutting means less quality. One reason why most older marbles are more valuable. Better glass better colors better quality.  The four pics above, the bottom right is not a Whitie. 

I think the first marble is a Whitie. The newer or later version.  The ribbon color is weak. Maybe start of this color or as it was running out ?  I have seen these before.  Never heard of blind tiger or albino tiger eye ?   Most Vitro Tiger Eyes, type 1-2 & 3 are clear base but type 4 is opaque base.  

Like Vitro Blackies there are totally different type or styles of Blackies. Older and newer or later what some call Reverse Blackie, plus Anti Blackie.  

 

Thanks for your input. Your description makes total sense. The later marbles were running "thin" and weak to stay afloat in the market. This particular very large lot I had was a majority 1950s and 1960s with a lot of Tiger Eyes.

I was saying "blind tiger" or "alibo tiger eye" just for fun off the top of my head.

Here's another one from that lot next to my more proper Whitie. Also note the oddball at bottom right.

The orange banded one here has that "same recipe, different ingredients" feel to it, perhaps made later?

Here's another one from the same lot. From a distance it's definitely more Whitie but...edit: FB is telling me not all Whities are opaque.

Whitie with clear tiger-eye type base?

Blind tiger? Albino Tiger Eye?

2 minutes ago, Steph said:

Noooooo !  Really?  You could part with that?

I would trade it to get back my mint Golden Rebel and heavily grey aventurine Wasp. I even reached out to the guy I sold my Golden Rebel to, but he had traded it long ago.

I wouldn't get rid of this if it were worth less, but I'm told the last one sold for $800 so....every marble has a price.

I tried to photograph this "hideous beautiful" 21/32" marble some more with minor sucess. Gonna put it on eBay soon I think.

Totally need the Ancient Aliens guys speculating on this.

These look a lot like them: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/371687775475708971/?l=t

13 hours ago, Steph said:

My other SOS came in.   Chuck B. doesn't recognize it as Vitro.  He thinks maybe foreign.  

 

I could see that too. One of them has a large as made thumbnail-shaped dent, not a common site on my other Vitros.

Only other foreigns I saw or recognized in this big lot were a few Imperials.