BobBlock

Well, that's what I get for not reading the board each day :-(

A shame we didn't have more advance notice of this. Some really nice stuff in the listings

A marble show is the best place to buy marbles. Lots of sellers means that there are bargains to be found. I do my best buying at marble shows.

At the time the book was written, these were identified by collectors as Christensen Agates. That is why it is attributed that way in the book. Until the publisher sells the books he has, he is not going to print a new edition.

I'm looking to by a Peltier Stained Glass box or a Lucky Boy box. Empty is fine. If you have one for sale, drop me a PM

I'm supposed to be attending a conference in Charlotte on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday morning. So, I may route back through Canton and spend the night at the hotel.

First Northeast Marble Meet was in Fairfield Connecticut in 1980. This year marks our 36th consecutive year :-) There's a full history of the shows, with photos of many of the older ones at www.marblemeet.com

Running Rabbit sold one over 3" in a 1990s auction I'm pretty sure

Don't miss the return of my Chat Room auctions this weekend. Sunday night. All the info is in the first post of this thread. Throwback Sunday :-)

I've seen a couple of these boxes with the metal tabs over the years. They were printed Akro Agates. I think Hansel might have one.

I sold an empty box of chocolate covered marbles back around 1993 in one of my auctions. I think the company was called Beich. I'll see if I can find the catalogue and then I can scan an image.

I attended Bert's funeral today. The funeral home was packed. Rosalie included me amongst those who spoke about Bert. I've included my remarks below. The only other marble folks that I saw there were Sue Cooper and Carl Popp. The gravesite was about a 45 minute drive from the funeral home. The procession had a State Police escort! The police actually stopped all southbound traffic on Rt. 128 and then I-95 to allow the procession to continue unimpeded. Only Bert!!!! Sue and I both threw some marbles into the grave before we spaded dirt. Sue got one of hers to land on the coffin top, right over Bert's heart. It was a bittersweet day. Bert will be missed. My remarks: MY FRIEND. ANYONE WHO HAS DEALT WITH BERT HAS HEARD HIM USE THAT PHRASE. MY FRIEND. MY FRIEND, HOW ARE YOU? MY FRIEND, HOW’S YOUR FAMILY? MY FRIEND, I’M LOOKING FOR A GOLDEN REBEL FOR A CLIENT, DO YOU HAVE ONE? MY FRIEND, ARE YOU TAKING A TABLE AT THE SHOW THIS YEAR? I’VE RECEIVED ALMOST A HUNDRED EMAILS FROM MARBLE COLLECTORS WHO HEARD THAT BERT HAD PASSED. THIS MORNING BEFORE I LEFT TO COME UP HERE, I RECEIVED TWO THAT I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOU. THEY DESCRIBE THE KIND OF PERSON THAT BERT WAS. THE FIRST WAS FROM A GENTLEMAN IN GERMANY. HE SAID HE HAD PURCHASED A NUMBER OF MARBLES OVER THE YEARS FROM BERT. HE SAID THAT BERT ALWAYS BEGAN EMAILS TO HIM WITH “MY DEAR, DEAR FRIEND” AND THIS MADE HIM VERY HAPPY BECAUSE HE FELT THAT BERT APPROVED OF HIS COLLECTION. THE OTHER WAS FROM A WOMAN WHO WROTE THAT SHE GOES TO SIERRA LEONE OFTEN. OVER THE YEARS BERT HAS DONATED A LOT OF MARBLES AND BOOKS ABOUTMARBLE GAMES FOR HER TO TAKE OVER AND GIVE TO SCHOOL CHILDREN. EVERYONE WAS HIS FRIEND AND HE GAVE FREELY. I’VE KNOWN BERT FOR OVER 40 YEARS. SOME OF MY EARLIEST MEMORIES OF THE MARBLE WORLD ARE BERT COMING DOWN TO MY PARENT’S HOUSE TO TRADE MARBLES WITH MY DAD. 40 YEARS AGO BERT BECAME THE 4TH LIFETIME MEMBER OF THE MARBLE COLLECTORS SOCIETY OF AMERICA. THE BEST WORD TO DESCRIBE BERT’S ROLE IN THE MARBLE WORLD IS THAT HE WAS A CHEERLEADER. HE ENCOURAGED KIDS TO COLLECT MARBLES, OFTEN GIVING THEM AWAY AT MARBLE SHOWS. HE ENCOURAGED MARBLE PLAYING, EVEN SPONSORING MARBLE TOURNAMENTS ON BOSTON COMMON. HE ENCOURAGED YOUNG CONTEMPORARY MAKERS TO PRACTICE AND HONE THEIR ART, OFTEN BUYING HUGE AMOUNTS OF INVENTORY THAT HE COULD NEVER HOPE TO RESELL IN A LIFETIME. I’M SURE THERE ARE STILL CONTEMPORARY MARBLES IN BERT’S INVENTORY THAT HE BOUGHT BACK IN THE LATE 1970S. HE TIRELESSLY PROMOTED AND MANAGED THE NORTHEAST MARBLE MEET FOR THIRTY YEARS. THIS LIST DOES NOT EVEN BEGIN TO DESCRIBE THE IMPACT THAT BERT HAS HAD ON MARBLE COLLECTING. IT WOULD BE FAIR TO SAY THAT EVERY SINGLE MARBLE COLLECTOR HAS EITHER BOUGHT FROM BERT, OR AT LEAST KNOWS WHO MARBLEBERT IS. BERT, ON BEHALF OF ALL THOSE THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF KIDS, ARTISTS AND COLLECTORS WHO’S LIVES YOU’VE IMPACTED, I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS. MARBLE COLLECTING WOULD NOT BE WHAT IT IS TODAY IF IT WERE NOT FOR YOU. YOU WERE A VISIONARY, A PIONEER, A CHEERLEADER AND A FRIEND.

He was president of Irwin Toys, which made the first Barbie car. He collected marbles, paperweights, art glass, coins, mascerated money, glass canes to name a few.

Service Friday, Dec. 26, 2014 10:00 AM Levine Chapels 470 Harvard Street Brookline, MA 02446 http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/bostonglobe/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=173562300

Just received a voice mail from Rosalie Cohen. Bert Cohen passed away last night. He was 83 years old. You will not have found a bigger cheerleader for marble collecting or for contemporary marble artists anywhere. He'll be sorely missed. Bob

I also use Gimp. The learning curve is a little steep, but it does most of what Photoshop can. However, be aware that I have seen the analogy that using Gimp to process your images instead of Photoshop, is like using emery cloth to brush your teeth instead of a toothbrush. It gets the job done, but it's painful to do.

Wishing you the best of luck, Scott. Hope things ease for you.

The stamps were attached to a short wooden dowel. The wood piece on this one is an add-on

I think this was a marble that was faceted down into a paperweight. That's why it's so expensive :-)

The price is not targeted at the paperweight community. The paperweight hobby is much older than the marble hobby, serious collecting started in the late 1800s. There are not a lot of paperweights worth $8000+, and all those are 1840s-1860s French manufacturers. Chinese "aquarium" paperweights from the 1930s are not even recognized as collectible paperweights by most paperweight enthusiasts. They routinely sell in the $25-$40 range. Admittedly a bird cage Chinese is harder to find than other "aquariums", but you are not going to get much interest from paperweight collectors for it. Whoever listed this is aware of birdcage marbles and is basing the price on the one sold by Morphy a few years ago.

I think the decimal point is misplaced :-) http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chinese-Birdcage-Paperweight-Marble-Art-Glass-Antique-Deco-Era-Very-Rare-/221628009762

Bump. Auction is this Sunday.

I have a press photo of Roy Rogers playing marbles with his kids, and one of Peewee Reese playing marbles.

I agree with you Ann. The popularity of solitaire boards in upper middle class English parlors was late Victorian to Edwardian. So, that would put it in the 1890-1910 period.

I've only seen these odd colors come out of England, usually on Solitaire board sets. It's the same mfr as the other onion in that Ebay listing. They are definitely old. I don't know the name of the manufacturer. FWIW I have never seen a remelted marble come out of England.