Royal3

There are more scams than I care to think about. How do these people sleep at night?

Really well done. Never heard of the artist before (I cheated and looked it up - Mike Wallace.) Thanks for the post Vance!

Not a clue, John, sorry. Have you tried Ron’s site? It’s tedious to work through, but you might get lucky. They’re both classically constructed marbles, so maybe they’ve been around. https://www.glasmurmeln.com/HOT--ar--ar--ar--Identification-guide-for-contemporary-glass-artists.htm

I loved your thoughts about marbles disco, that’s why I called them romantic. That’s what I was trying to express! Ouch, Steph...

Much more...romantic. The machine creation process is so torturous - unbearably hot, unbelievable noisy, sometimes chaotic, dirty, filthy - did I say hot and noisy? - but at last these bright orange glowing orbs come rolling along those augers, then finally clamoring down chutes to begin revealing their beauty in the buckets at your feet. Then, at last, it’s the silence of the mibs.

Interesting question Dave. Occasionally some of those tiny filaments in Akros are UV reactive too - not sure about Pelts, not my thing - so I always wondered if they were some kind of precipitate from the batch, intentional or serendipitous.

You are correct, Vacor Stardust, and they do come in various colors. Here’s a good link for Vacor ID, in English: https://www.billes-en-tete.com/liste_billes.php?lang=en

I’m glad I introduced you to it Vance! I don’t have a great pic of their logo, but here’s a b&w version:

Sorry Vance, my weak attempt at humor obviously missed the mark. “Caw, caw, caw” was a reference to the Akro slogan “Shoot straight as A Kro flies.”

I’d agree.

Best? Master maybe. Seems like they were pretty consistent. Better maintenance?

Caw caw caw...I think Steph is right as usual.

Would you believe I got it from a guy named LaFlame? True story.

We used to vote in some elections here with black and white ones. I can't imagine a whole country doing it though! I've got a couple of those black & whites around here somewhere...

I always saw a coiled snake in this one. Dave, this is the bottom of that flame you like - I finally got the orange right on my new (to me) camera. Here's the other side of that puppy:

Older one used copper, Brian?

I’m no great expert on Joseph’s coats, frankly I’ll take onions over them any day, but I do think there’s a distinct difference so I went back to the reference books to see if I could define them a bit better. Onionskins got their name from their resemblance to onions, obviously, and so they have layers of color; a base color of some sort with other pigments layered on top, then encased in clear. A Joseph’s has, quoting Block, “a subsurface layer of glass that is composed of different colored strands, placed very closely together.” Others have said the bands should run from pole to pole; they may be shrunken on the sides (like some onions,) and they may be open or closed (some onions are open as well, like errors or maybe with mica or other panels.) Generally they are five or more colors, but that’s not hard and fast. The second marble you posted Dindo I’d call a slightly shrunken paneled onion - almost an Indian onion - it’s got that odd green base with one red and one blue panel. It’s a bit of an oddball, as panels are usually symmetrical, 2&2, e.g. and that sea foam green is interesting. How big is it? I think Roger’s theory about how the Joseph’s coat evolved is well worth reading below (though I disagree with his comment about Joseph’s being “a larger class.”) Nearly every Joseph’s coat I have ever seen in 20 years does have a rough or later pontil, not a ground (earlier) one, and “English” or brighter colors. If you see an obvious Joseph’s with a faceted pontil, I’d look at it really, really hard. There are always the rare ones; Morphy’s has this “rule breaker” coat up on their next auction: http://auctions.morphyauctions.com/mobile/lotdetail.aspx?inventoryid=447958&seo=striking_joseph_s_coat_marble_ “My understanding is that early on in the history of marble production, the onionskin required a base layer of white and/or yellow beacuse they were the only common opque colors of glass. Then different kinds of transparent surface coloration was used, sometimes full stripes, but more often pieces of broken rods, that stretched out to make a variety of surface shapes, jagged or blobby. Once more opaque colors became available ("English", bright colors), there was no purpose for the base coat any longer, and for the most part, joseph coat (at least ones with no base) replaced the onionskin. How often do you see an onionskin made with the bright, "English" opaque colors? Then a great number of variations appeared, including the use of open panels, and various strange core structures. Sometimes they take on an appearance of a latticinio, a solid core, or a banded clear, but they are all really a product of the shift to bright opaque surace banding colors (attached a pic below of a group of these that I was lucky enough to find as a partial solitaire set). I feel this was a major change in the nature of this type of marble, deserving of some names that reflect the change. Though I know it was not the original intended use, the term "joseph coat" seems to have evloved to designate this larger class of handmade.” Dindo I hope that helps.

Steph I’d put this one in the “coat closet.” I’m an onion fan myself, but I tracked down this definition of both on the MC site from 2007 that might help: http://marbleconnection.com/topic/7680-josephs-coat-vs-onionskin/ “Onionskins have a base layer of colored glass, usually white, or yellow, or panelled white and yellow. On top of that base layer, various stripes of (usually transparent) color are added. A joseph coat has the stripes of color, but there is no base, and most often the stripes are opaque.”

Probably Akro with that pattern, I inherited a couple pretty similar to it.

It’s a beauty in hand, too. I bought it from the late, great Alan Basinet some years ago and I was thrilled to get it. He knew his marbles...what a loss when left us.

Ron you are a marvel, a walking encyclopedia of marble knowledge! That really helps bring home the relationship between air, good furnace management, and seedy glass. I tend to like such glass in some marbles - in old Germans and the odd machinemade it can add eye appeal - but it does carry a risk.

I’m so saddened to hear that news. Like Alan (nicely done Alan) I met Mike at a show in Ohio nearly 20 years ago as he was introducing a lot of us to the wonderful world of JABO. He put a lot of time and creativity into those sets - he really knew how to market the product. Mike was a lot of fun at the shows, too, I miss those days. Rest in peace Mike.

Bottom left. S.W.A.G.

What a beauty - an unusual one. All of these are top-notch examples!

What a find.