bumblebee

Article describes the Leighton factory including the manufacturing process. This PDF version contains the entire page in high resolution.

Here's the PDF excerpt. My Windows 10 PC has a "Save to PDF" option so I just saved that page range. 1883-04-17 Harper's Young People pages 386-388.pdf

I changed the description of the forum. Let me know whether you want it different.

Here are the available PDF catalogs of past Morphy Auctions that featured marbles. Where no catalog exists, there will be a link to the online listing if one exists. Morphys offers a PDF of the final prices with their online listing, but you can also view the final prices online using this more interactive page. 2023 2023-08-02 Morphy Auctions (marbles at page 8) 2022 2022-08-09 Morphy Auctions (marbles at page 116) 2021 2021-11-30 Morphy Auctions (marbles at page 126) 2021-06-16 Morphy Auctions 2020 2020-09-23 Morphy Auctions (marbles at page 109) 2020-03-10 Morphy Auctions (marbles at page 301) 2019 2019-09-24 Morphy Auctions (marbles at page 208) 2018 2018-10-02 Morphy Auctions (marbles at page 21) 2017 2017-12-17 Morphy Auctions (marbles at page 120) 2017-04-14 Morphy Auctions (marbles at page 175) 2016 2016-12-09 Morphy Auctions (marbles at page 228) 2016-09-23 Morphy Auctions (marbles at page 101) 2016-06-24 Morphy Auctions (marbles at page 360) 2016-03-03 Morphy Auctions (marbles at page 14) 2015 2015-12-18 Morphy Auctions (marbles at page 146) 2015-09-10 Morphy Auctions (marbles at page 232) 2015-05-30 Morphy Auctions (marbles at 190) 2014 2014-12-13 Morphy Auctions (marbles at page 12) 2014-05-18 Morphy Auctions (marbles at page 15) 2014-05-03 Morphy Auctions (marbles at page 11) 2013 2013-12-13 (online link only) 2013-04-19 (online link only) 2012 2012-10-20 (online link only) 2012-05-05 (online link only) 2011 2011-12-02 (online link only) 2011-08-12 (online link only) 2011-05-20 (online link only) 2010 2010-11-05 (online link only)

This appears to be an excerpt from a 2020 catalog showing what Vacor marbles they sell. Download here: dde61f343_marca_es.pdf

Download here:HOM+2022+Catalog.pdf

2017 Glassfirma catalog featuring Vacor. Download here: catalogo-2017-glasfirma.pdf

Here's the PDF version of the 2013 FS-USA catalog featuring Mega Marbles. Download here: 2013-catalog-fabricas-selectas-usa-mega-marbles.pdf

Here is the 2015 PDF catalog from Glassfirma, direct from their website. Download here: catalogo-2015-glasfirma.pdf

Nice assortment and that bottom left one looks gray and maybe undyed too.

I spent $30 for this faceted bullseye agate shooter because it is not dyed or heat-treated. It's the first one I have found like this with strong bullseye rings (forgive my trademark low quality close-ups). So this is what your usual dyed agate would look like prior to treatment. Anybody else have any like this? "Flint" agates, I believe, were simply the lower quality Brazilian agate without any of the striations or color treatments. Most flints I have found are one shade of monochrome gray. Only one has a tiny little white patch on the top. Brazilian agate is gray and whitish when not heat-treated and/or dyed, for example:

Hi @spara50, I have uploaded the MP4 file here. It can be played on the site or saved. In FireFox browser, if I right-click on the video, I get a "Save Video As" option. Should be similar with other browsers. 1459873268_RedDonohueNationalChamp.mp4

Speaking of moons, here's some text from an unpublished marble wiki I was working on: Moons are circular or crescent-shaped impact fractures occurring in the subsurface of agate marbles. Unlike the more fragile glass marbles where moons can occur on the surface (missing glass) or subsurface (fractures), moons on agates always appear subsurface. Most collectors today consider moons unwanted damage that detracts from a marble's beauty and value. This was not always the case with marble players of the past. Earl Johnson, writing in 1946 about his boyhood marble memories, said agates were like “diamonds” and that the: …milky white ones that had the wonderful propensity of collecting 'moons' (like moons on finger-nails), when hit by other marbles! With great ceremony we used to soak a many-mooned agate in a bed of lard and presto, next day–all the moons were gone! 2) On the other hand, there are several instances of players seeing moons as highly desirable, even necessary. Weare Holbrook writes in 1940: And although flaws in an agate did not enhance its desirability, 'moons' were something else again; they were scars acquired in long and faithful service, a visible proof of prowess exhibited as proudly as the saber cuts on the face of a Heidelberg student.3) The author of this 1953 newspaper article describes how when he was a boy: …you wanted moons in your agates. You treasured them. They were proof your agate was the real thing. 4) This 1908 poem contains a stanza about a new agate being proven 'right' by adding moons: Then Guy Fuller bought an "agate," And to prove it was "right," He would throw it hard against a stone; "Half-moons" you'd see of white, On the other hand, another writer in 1921 says too many moons was not desirable: At the time we played marbles an agate should have two or three moons in it to prove it was genuine, but its value was lessened by a larger number. 5) But another author in 1921 says that agates: …were the mark of opulence and the more 'moons' they had in them the more valuable they were regarded. No agate was worth anything until it had some 'moons' in it. 6) If this sentiment was true nationally in America for a significant period of time, no doubt agate owners spent time ensuring their agates were covered in moons even if not from official play. 'Repairing' Moons Those who disliked moons were able to temporarily but effectively obscure moons by soaking an agate in lard overnight, or by boiling an agate in lard. Oil would seep into the porous agate and fill the moon fracture space, obscuring the damage for a time. This trick was also reportedly used by unscrupulous gemstone dealers who used it to obscure flaws in opals.7) This technique was reportedly used by unscrupulous players to deceive opponents into thinking an agate up for “keeps” or for trade was pristine. While the lard method has been proven effective, other substances are also mentioned by article writers as being effective at obscuring moons, though vinegar seems dubious: Buttermilk Coal oil Cream Vinegar

Wow that one is cratered. I will have to try that in a dark room myself.

Thanks, everyone. I have added the first eBay search link at the top menu. For now it's just the reputable sellers ones. I have set it to sort by "newest first" instead of "best match" but the downside there is the results will tend to be front heavy with Cedarman7 auctions because he lists so many. Still, I prefer "newest first" and assume most others do. Let me know whether you have any feedback. It used to be much easier to pinpoint marbles on eBay until they removed all the subcategories, but with some finagling you can get pretty good results with the advanced search options.

Chad where are you seeing that? I see no current or sold listings from the seller with marbles in them.

Seller told me early on someone had offered him $5k cash. What likely happened is someone offered him probably $10k cash with no eBay fees or taxes.

That's strange. I wonder what happened. I figured it would go to at least $14k but his repost showed $10k to buy it.

@wvrons, have you seen the seller's updated pictures? Condition definitely better than original photos. I was just thinking I'd never bid higher without seeing better condition photos. Any thoughts why the Blue Galaxy is the only "fancy" NLR in that box? Maybe they produced them later?

Are you asking seller about condition? To me the marbles look more like NM but maybe that's just the quality of his photos. They don't seem to shine like mint ones.

I'd rather not say. I was afraid if I offered too much he'd smell a rat. BTW, seller told me these belonged to his great grandmother who lived to be 99.

Imagine the nightmare bad packaging scenarios! I'd probably fly to pick it up too. Seller could do much better selling it with Morphy Auctions.

My jaw dropped when this new listing appeared last night. Seller had a Best Offer but no Buy it Now. I made my best offer but by the time he got it this morning, other bidders had already struck. Still, for one hour last night I was biting my nails and refreshing the page, hoping he got my offer before anyone else found this. 😉

Do you know his seller's name?

This week I will be adding a new top menu item containing advanced eBay search links. One of these links will only show results from reputable sellers of vintage marbles. So far the sellers I have are: cedarman7 hjdmarbles orange_orbital rhgeis65jk oldnurse85 natwilso-9 arasmus bobblocksmarbles Do you know of any other vintage marble sellers with a stellar reputation? I can only include so many, so ideally these would be regularly active sellers. I know zaboo left eBay. Thanks!