BobBlock

I haven't been able to go in a few years, but you have got to go to this show if you're anywhere near it. It is definitely worth the trip.

At least on the east coast,Im seeing people getting interested in the vintage marbles,AFTER they have been introduced to the newer marbles.There have been a lot of people,wanting to know what good books they should buy,to get started. Maybe Bob Block can offer something about his book sales,being steady as testimony.Or not,I dont KNOW. The Price Guide has consistently been ranked somewhere between #2 and #5 in Amazon's antique and collectible toy category since it came out. It can never seem to knock the Star Wars Lego book out of #1. Go figure. My kids like Star Wars and Legos better than marbles as well, so no surprise there. Occasionally, Marble Mania will inch it's way up into the #15 spot. I don't get the royalty statements from Schiffer, the royalties go to the MCSA, so I don't know how many have been sold. I think the initial run was 5,000 and I'm pretty sure he is well into the 3rd printing now, maybe the 4th. Make of that what you will, but it definitely indicates that people are interested in marbles, and most of my book sales on Ebay are to people I have not dealt with before, so I figure they are newbies.

It has to be insured for a high value. Tourquise is a rare color, just like he says :-) I have to check my marbles, I must have at least one that has tourquise in it.

Well said Al!!!

Here's a link to the Chinese Handmade article I wrote for this month's email newsletter http://www.marblecollecting.com/marble-community/marblecollecting-com-newsletter/

No idea Bill. I didn't really give it a lot of thought. They asked me to authenticate it and appraise it. Prior to them showing up at the house to film, I had only seen three of the marbles. I didn't know there was a board, or how many marbles there were. I had assumed they showed me the three best marbles and that they were going to show up with a bag of slags. The way I look at it is, any national publicity that might get someone interested in marble collecting is a good thing.

3-1/2 hours of filming for 1 minute of tape. LOL. It was a large antique 37-hole solitaire board with 1" slags on it. Most were MF Christensen, a few "transitions" and a few Akros. Five were not Mint. Why they chose to focus on the one with the worst damage is beyond me. The board was a lot more impressive in person than it appeared on the tube.

I was impressed when they showed the marbles to me, so I can guarantee you that they are not felt-tip Civil War chinas :-)

The marbles found in the storage locker will appear in tonight's episode of Storage Wars - New York. It airs on A&E at 9PM NYC time and again at 1AM NYC time. Tuesday, July 23. I've seen the marbles and I can say they are pretty interesting. I'm not sure what the guys will say about them on the show, but I would imagine you'll at least be able to see some video of them.

The catalogue and images for Marble CyberAuction #1109 are up on my website and on icollector. The auction will be held online starting at 8PM NYC time on Sunday August 4. You can place absentee bids at iCollector. Here's the links and some images. 200 lots of handmade and machine made marbles. http://www.marblecollecting.com/marble-auctions/block-s-marble-cyberauctions/ http://www.icollector.com/auction.aspx?as=28243

I have a grouping similar to the ones that Steph posted. I bought them in Amana or Columbus about 15 years ago. I was also told they had been purchased in Shanghai. Unfortunately, I've never been able to ascertain the age. I'm pretty sure the "leaf" style Banded Opaques are from the same location and era. Here's an Ebay listing that I was following for a few months for a Chinese paperweight with sulphide birds. http://www.ebay.com/itm/181088994529

My youngest son (age 9) said to me last night "Dad, I was watching a show on tv and the person was using a phone where they held a piece up to their ear and they spoke into a cone and it didnt have any numbers on it. How's that work?". By the end of the discussion I pretty much had him convinced that yes, telephones did used to have wires attached to them. He was especially fascinated at the concept of a switchboard and couldn't believe that Grandpa used to have a switchboard operator that sat at an actual switchboard at his company and plugged wires in when people were calling the company (I still remember this from when I was about 8 or 9).

Zip codes were introduced in 1963 I think

His location is listed as Denver Pennsylvania, which is where Morphy's is located. I bought a sulphide from him last night, it's listed as Polished so I won't have any issues with grading.

Or near the end of the cane

Looks like an end of day to me. Very shrunken.

Talking to some old timers years ago, they said that big marbles (boulders) were used as the target to shoot at with the regular marbles.

This gentleman from Portugal has been selling this type on Ebay for about 3 or 4 years now, which is about 2 years longer than the Bulgarian guys. I've never bought any. I've always felt they are old (maybe 1930s) but from a different house than the ones we are used to seeing. I've never felt the Bulgarian ones were old.

Based on the images of the pontil, the first looks buffed, the second looks polished.

It's old cullet, recently ground. I hope his reserve is not much above his starting price.

The handmade Corkscrews are all made from the "soft" glass like you see in Clambroths, and they all have pontils on each end.

Contemporary, though it might be as early as the 1980s

I seriously doubt they are 100 years old. I think the oldest they are is 1930s. "Bullet" mold marbles are still being made in the Czech Republic.

Beautiful fish. Very nice!

>>Im thinking Conn. is on the way home too.Might have to clean out some fishing hole around Bobs.<< You can have your lakes and rivers with your piddling little fish. We only fish in saltwater here for big fish :-) Let me know if you need a guide for the Far Mill River or one of the local lakes, I'll take the day off.