david Chamberlain

Who would have guessed it. I've just heard through the grapevine that there's another marble talent within the McCullough family that might just eclipse Dave's best efforts. In fact at the recent Texas Marble Show the marble that Bonnie produced far outclassed anything that Dave could put together. What does this bode for the future? Only time can tell. Before you know it those grandkids are going to be emulating their grandmother's skill and putting glass to torch as well. David

Every Jabo marble pretty much has a signature and that is that they are very much demonstrably Jabo and nothing else. Now if they were into wholesale copying of other marbles which they aren't then I might suggest something like a 'sticker' on each marble....Is anyone believing this and can anyone believe this guy(Galen). Let me get this straight, this is the very same person who asked me this afternoon to ignore his posts and not respond to them. Fat chance of that happening! I swear he becomes more unreal progressively from Thread to Thread. I'm actually somewhat enthralled with whatever he manages to come up with next. I mean, this one was a doozer! David

Galen, this is supposing that I give consequence to what you have to say about Jabo in the first place. Most often it truly is completely ignorable. You've got it right on that point. It's just when it takes a negative tone as it ALWAYS does that I can't restrain my natural impulses. Also it seems to me that within the past week or so there was some considerable text here about the considerable uses to which Jabo marbles have gone other than the dreaded contract runs for collectors. I think you'd do yourself a world of good if you were to take another look at those photos of Dave McCullough and Beri Fox enjoying each others company at the Texas Marble Show. They showed considerable respect for each other and I have considerable respect for both of them and what they have accomplished. For you to think I will stop commenting here in this vein as I have previously takes one leap of imagination. I am here to stay.....well, until I get banned! David

This tale has been told many times over the years and every time it is a tear-jerker. Jim Ridpath would occasionally provide a version in his legendary 24 paged mimeoed marble newsletter. David

It's suspect. He's a bit of a legend already. I think I was hearing apocryphal stories about him as far back as the early 1990s. No one has ever said anything to the contrary and I'm sure I would have heard of his demise. Just now he was at least resurrected in a Post. David

When you do cross-reference to this thread wherever it may be at the time or just boot this one back up to the top and have it right next to your Picture Post; that way it would be easier for everyone to put matters into context. Just a thought. David

I've always felt this way marbleus1. Almost any one of these pictures being offered if you had the opportunity to turn the marble a quarter of the way you'd be able to tie it down. In hand is another world all together. Then Winnies' examples are rather dramatic. David

As I've worked my way down the thread I've been wondering what the pontils looked like in the three pics because they show everything but the pontils. On these old German swirls the pontils are integral to the integrity of the marble and if they are appreciable opened it is quite distracting. Would be nice to see a cpl. dead-on photographs of the pontils. David

I dunno, those Alleys are beginning to look like the German Swirls that have been popping up lately. LOL! David

I dunno, the marble actually looks in pretty darn good condition or at the very least rather uniformly aged. Now if we could only make some disparaging Jabo comment about it we'd have the matter entirely wrapped up to our satisfaction. David

Well geeze Galen you don't have to get all defensive about it when you in fact wind up agreeing with me anyway that it would be the Jabos in the box that would get you all 'disgusted.' You know, if you're going to make an issue out of this you ought to express yourself logically. You basically went around in a circle and agreed with what I said about it only being Jabos that would 'disgust' you. I don't see the disagreement. And, is it always necessary to put Jabo in a negative light when any slim opportunity presents itself? Don't you think it's time to pick on something else? How about Marble King. They're the only other operating marble company in the USA. Might be time to kick them around some. David

O.K. Galen let's see how what you suggest goes in this scenario: Bubba was recently totally hyped over his acquisition of the Red/10 cent/USA box with Ravenswood marbles. After a days worth of posts at the thread(RAVENSWOOD BOX) it was determined that the marbles were in fact Champion. Now according to you he should be 'disgusted' or does this only hold true when the marbles misidentified turn out to be the Big Bad Jabos. David

Whoa! Hells Bells! I think that was AC/DC. And those pics are a direct current to the brain. That's about the most dramatic side-by-side I've seen yet. I doubt though that it will be presenting problems in any large way. There have to be a variety of factors that converge to make it dangerous. Demand being only one. Still, Winnie pulled off a blockbuster with these four marbles. She goes to the head of the class. David

That half 'n' half Bennington is outrageous. I love it. And the 'pink'....Wow! Larry Castle would have traded his show stock for that one. He was always after me for pink in Lined Crockery, Benningtons, etc. Pink is rather prominent in another Thread here today. I have the movie Pretty in Pink and most of the early Hughes movies. David

If you wanted to collect paperweights you could stop with this one and have your collection. Looks like it just has surface wear, no gouges or chips....right? It is sweet. How much is something like that worth these days in that size? They are fascinating hand mades. David

A lot of the things we'd like to ask you would require that you actually have the marble in your hand, especially weight that you mention. And even a glass marble separately the same size for comparison. I'm assuming the [painting here has been done on a ceramic base. What is the size? Funny thing it looks like one of Nadine Macdonalds that has been aged. It has a lot of her ceramic china characteristics and they have been favorites of mine over the years. I have something like 50 of her marbles right now. But Nadine signs all her marbles and is a treasure in the field of marbles loved by all. It looks actually like someone's work who was trying to copy Nadine! Try that one on! If you had it I'd probably right away first look to see if any initials had been maybe altered and some liquid glass applied. This can go so many ways. The darn thing might be legit. I am not an expert when it comes to antique ceramic china marbles but I have a funny feeling about this one. David

I love this; it's feeling like a cliff hanger! David

This is so true. All the more reason to write to the USPS nationally and see to it that they are regularly encouraged to have a series done on marbles. In fact, it should be a joint effort in which from our collections and from the artistry of current marble makers we already have a prospectus with photographs and stamp descriptions that will finally convince them to issue marble stamps in whatever denomination. I'd be happy with anything. Lotta people still use stamps. Then like you say it could come out-of-the-blue because just the right combinations happened and were sufficiently parallel and ready to warp to the point when they come together. I'd say that the existing groundswell of marble enthusiasm could be the tipping point. Hell, marbles are hot! Maybe people don't have any money now but marbles are still hot.....David

Your suggested exchange sounds reasonable to me. And Pen, I will surely treat you as a special case! David P.S. I'll PM separately.

Penelope is clearly 'pretty in pink.' Re. value I see it very much as shift changing. And that is because in some measure the underlying propelling component of price is a lot more personal and intrinsic than is commonly revealed in closing prices. There is a visceral response to marbles that is deep-seated in the American psyche when it comes to marbles. I see this more in marbles than in most other main line collectibles. This is because marbles for many of us have been rooted in our childhood. Even people that don't collect marbles have extremely poignant stories to tell about their formative marble experiences. I've had people come up to me time and time again when I've been set up at a show or flea market in any number of states and out of the blue have to(Literally are driven to...) tell me their personal story as it relates to marbles. So you can imagine how this works subconsciously on each of us who have come to admire marbles in another sphere of our lives. Pretty is good! I know it when I see it. And in defense of my feminine side I must say that I very much like the pastels and pinks and lavenders; they have a special subtleness. I am upbeat on the future for marbles. There has been a major resurgence in marble play amongst youngsters. This bodes well. And right now the level of marble excitement is about as high as I've ever seen it. Hard to imagine it lessening much except for maybe ups and down cyclically in certain quarters. As for marbles as an investment while this may appear ludicrous to some I firmly believe that with a strong knowledgeable base and an eye for 'pretty' you can't go wrong buying marbles. Of course being able to navigate the marble market effectively helps. I'm so far zero-capable when it comes to eBay but I have the feeling that if I do venture into that realm I may be able to kick ass! David

Entering a room where Danny Grocki is in charge is like no other experience on earth. The guy is a show in himself. You may not believe this but i can be so incredibly gullible and Danny on numerous occasions had me wrapped around his finger. One of my favorite photographs is of Danny Grocki, Sammy Hogue, Ron Shepherd and Dale Simmons. Picture was taken in Sam's shop and they were all down on their knees looking at the Jabo Fall 2005 3/4" run. Photo was given to me by Mike Johnson. It deserves to be in a marble book. David

PoplarHead, You've got me looking at them again and although I wanted to make some of them into Ravenswood I think you've got the correct fix on the marbles. Regardless, as Champion marbles they are still a nice find. Most all of my Red 10 cents USA boxes had a much different variety of Champion marbles. I'd have to say again that these are better Champions. I don't think they measure up to the Champion marbles that Dave McCullough made in the mid-1980s while at Champion. That's another ball of wax all together. And that's a personal opinion; I'm probably somewhat prejudiced about those mid-80s Champions because of having acquired them in quantities during my very earliest years being into marbles. You know how that can be. David

I may just have to send you some specific pairs of Jabo marbles for to have a go at it! There are certain ones that it would be very interesting to see their rebirth. Like "being born again!" I know I've said it before but I have to say it again, Dave McCullough has made some of the prettiest marbles that have ever been machine-made. Granted there are many magnificent marbles from the past but Dave is right up there with them in the excellence of what he has created. He truly deserves all the good that comes to him from the joy he has provided to the collecting community. I'm not as familiar with the Dirty Jobs run as I am with some of the others but Dave Mc sent me a small sample box from the run during Nov. 2008 so I definitely was recognizing some colors. For that matter I could supply you with some killer examples from key runs you can just play with for your own enjoyment. Goodness knows Jabo marbles a plenty are available if you make the connections. David

The Buddy Box shown in the Ravenswood montage photos was filled with approximately 80+ marbles from the 1987 find as best as I've been able to determine. I've had them and have some still. Maybe two still although one of the boxes is rather rough. I don't know how many of the 10 cents/USA/ Red Boxes Charlie had but he had a lot! There was a time when you could buy them from him full of 60s/70s Champion marbles practically by the gross. I kid you not. I have some of his original order forms around. I need to look at that. Charlie Stutsman was amazing. He may have stuffed those boxes but he sure provided a world of collectors with a lot of nice marbles. He kinda gave Champion a bit more of a name than they had already. And if I were into the production of marbles I'd have been enormously pleased how Charlie highlighted Vitro and Champion in his offerings. I wish I'd bought more groupings of certain marbles that I could have bought from him in groups of 100. Oh well. I'm happy with what I've got or should be. David

I'll tell you in brings tears to my eyes seeing who the recipients were of the honor bestowed on them at your show. By the way, I love those pastels. I prefer them in the 5/8" side actually. I think they have been a bit unsung....maybe not; I haven't been getting around as mucvh as I've done previously. You can easily lose touch when it comes to marbles because so much is happening so fast and so many marbles are being recognized that did not previously have their full day in the sun. David