david Chamberlain

It may be fun for you Chuck but when it come to Kokomo marbles for me it is excruciating. Got a sample set for sale? Or trade? David

You're in a safe zone Edna because no matter which way you count from back or front because the 3rd row is right smack dab in the middle of the five rows I decided for no special reason to use the back row as the 1st row. Thought I'd made that "perfectly clear' a la Richard Nixon. David

I think this is doomed to failure! O.K. with the back row being #1 and working forward to the front row....already I've forgotten how many rows there are! Anyway, the 5th one over in row #1 (the back row). The 1st one in row #2. And in row #3 the 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Of course, so many Kokomos being so similar to Peltier + only getting one side of these marbles........Yeah, I know excuses, excuses, excuses, BUT these are Kokomo marbles.....or they aren't. And I'll admit, I just don't know the Kokomo palette. You want to send me a nice mix of them Chuckl? David

You are a veritable font of information Winnie, European and otherwise. It has been a blessing since you connected with the marble boards. David

1 inch white cross-throughs are GOOD! Could you describe what's going on in the 3rd photo? What's the vane configuration? Hard to make anything out from the picture. David

I'd like to see a couple more photos as well. Right now I'd say definitely not a traditional Akro Sparkler. Also not looking like the Alox examples that I have come by. Just can't say for sure (if ever) with this one photo. David

What are the actual colors on that top right one? David

Maybe I can give this a little perspective. I do not see any of these four marbles as 'purposeful' mimics; that is investing them with a character that I can't imagine anyone actually aiming for at the time of their creation. I see them as pure happenstance although I am sure that many different companies in the past saw marbles produced by other companies and thought to themselves, "That looks like a winner. Gotta pull off something like that." But doing it would have been an entirely different matter. For the most part like Jabo today I think the older marble companies were in business to try and make pretty marbles. By the way, I'd have guessed Champion on #2 except for the pronounced flaming action. And marble #4 was for the longest time considered Christensen by many(Many!) of the dealers and collectors. Then all of a sudden Ron or someone set us right thankfully. If sizes were provided for these four marbles I'd have been able to have a better mental image of them. SNYD, It ain't as bad as it appears.....really. I will grant though that marbles being such a subjective toughie it's a field that's wide open to fraud and eBay seems to be the area of criminal choice. But with a modicum of knowledge it's possible to put most of the pitfalls behind you. I know I've said it many times but if people buy what they like, buy condition and buy within their means if they discover in the future that what they bought wasn't what they thought it was at least it is something they like, that doesn't have detracting damage and didn't cost them an arm and a leg. In the final analysis as in any area of antiques and collectibles knowledge rules. David

A born marble shooter.....fore sure! David

I was wondering why I buy and sell and collect but never play marbles. David

Well I guess that wasn't a misidentification after all. But marbles being marbles confusion is apt to reign no matter how simple and straight forward surface(or subsurface) appearances appear to be. David

Finding an antique dealer Mark who knows marbles is like finding a needle in a haystack. One of your marbles is a natural stone(agate) marble and not evidencing any particularly outstanding qualities. Your other marble is a machine-made marble but the photo being kind of blurry it is hard to put a name to it; it does appear to be fairly common though. I would encourage you not to put too much effort into selling these two marbles as you will be spinning your wheels due to relatively low values and minimal interest. Probably not what you care to hear but it's the straight skinny! Sorry, I'm not familiar with the Atlanta area. David

Thought I'd add a bit of information about that Friendship Run (3-6-2009) Run marble in champagne glass. Besides the champagne glass (pinkish) it has what looks like green and blue mica and in many some very recognizable traditional oxblood. Talk about everything but the kitchen sink! Now that green and blue could be aventurine but it is so chunky it looks just like mica chunks. I would be interested to know just what it is because I've never figured it out. David

Now those are true 'exotic fish marbles.' What do you figure, fresh or salt water? David

Smitty and Clyde have done an admirable job of wrapping it up and hopefully putting it to bed. David

You did good Edna. Isn't it amazing what Danny winds up bringing to a show. Clearly these were meant for you so that you could show us just how unpredictably our assumptions about machine-made marbles are. David

Good to see that this MFC subject has also shown there to be a cross-disciplinary friendship although I wonder why so often and so tangentially the specter of the 'exotics' is raised with never even a remote attribution. Is their creation such a guarded secret that it borders on 'national security?' For those not fully aware I speak of the marbles shown on the cover of Baumann's 4th Edition. David

Actually the 'persian blue' is a very desirable color often aimed for but missed and generally commanding a higher value when attained. David

I should really stay away from this one! Let me say that it just doesn't seem like a mix that would be in the bag whether they were Akro or not. The oxbloods are Akro and the green and red ones could be as well but the blue ones are totally out-of-the-blue. That hole presents a problem and I suspect there has been some mixing and MISmatching going on. Actually he blue ones are rather nice. David Edit: Thought I'd dig myself a deeper hole and say that the blue ones look like a cross between a Cairo 'Cloudy Day' and a Heaton 'Robin's Egg!'

Could have fooled me from y'r Post #9* above. Well good for Tom. Either way he's got talent. David "More than just art. For the (low) price these marbles are originally sold for, it must be a vocation." hdesousa avocation - a subordinate occupation pursued in addition to one's vocation esp. for enjoyment; hobby Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary Sorry, couldn't help myself!

This could be especially intriguing. Master Glass was in business between 1941 and 1947. Your marbles could very well have some value. Maybe you could sort what you have and post a representative selection of them here for people to appraise. It works best if there are not too many marbles in each individual Post and often two views of the same marble enhances the ability to identify. There are some difficulties in IDing Master Glass marbles from Master Marble marbles. Your group would be a perfect selection for positive IDing. David

Actually that would be an avocation. And while vintage marbles rarely exhibit crazing, to the marble novice and to the general collecting public crazing is generally an indicator of age. Whatever, I would give Tom Thornburgh the benefit of the doubt. David

Although it doesn't necessarily provide definitive answers I thought I'd reference here George Sourlis's two articles at joemarbles.com titled "Akro's Earliest Box" and "Akro's First Four Small Display Boxes." David

How'd you come by these Rich? What background if any do you have about them? So, Thornburgh actually cultivates a crazing appearance in his chinas? Interesting. I wonder how he justifies that or why he does it......authenticity? David

Oh! That is so nice.....David