david Chamberlain

If it is Grouper than this is definitely a bag for Griff. One would naturally think it's a typo and they meant to say Gropper. Funny either way. David

This is the second major marble auction put together by Brian Estepp who is Director of Promotions at Morphy's now. Last November's auction was great and the catalog impressive. Brian has been a marble collector and dealer for over 25 years and a good friend. David

O.K. Steph on the four pics in your post that top left one which you partially ID does have a McCullough granddaughter in the foreground but I don't know if that's Mylee or Madyia. The next pic clockwise is Mike Johnson, Nancy and Dean Six. The third pic going clockwise is standing Dale Simmons, Sammy Hogue and Mike Johnson with Julia Powell in the foreground. And the fourth pic has some chap I should know standing beside Sammy. Needless to say I stand corrected but that's my best shot presently without doing any digging through past pics. Oh, that guy Griff gets scarier and scarier. David

I saw more Moms today than I ever have before on Mother's Day as I was on the Mother's Day Tour for our Neighborhood Association. They visited one of my abodes to view the Garden(The Secret Garden). Over 200 people came through @ $10 ea. for the Huning Highland Historical District Association. David

Great pics. Almost felt like you were there. David

Obviously fish-tailing all around the country! David

My brother is going to be fishing down Maine early June with three of his long-term fishing buddies. I have a 50th college reunion in Maine in June. June has got to be the month! David

True Chuck but as I said, "they look good." Lucky you! What do you figure the market is on one of those these days? I know in the late 1990s they'd be thru the roof. David

Dangerous looking marbles. Yes, high end Popeye marbles have surfaced with black and oxblood; I've seen them in auctions and they have garnered serious prices. They look good. What's their background? David P.S. Amazing! Two of them.....

Griff, Did you cause that marble to O.D? And what are those narrow blue ribbons(lines)? That's something I've never seen the likes of before. David

Ann, I may have worked my way into a corner with this because those corkscrews at their terminus often have a bit of a cut off that I suppose could be stretched to call a seam but hardly integral to the design, more a default necessity I would imagine. And it could very well be that the 'Pelt Connection' just never lodged in my mind. I've asked Al to weigh in on this but it might not be his forte as the "Bag Man." David

Nice recap Greatmacscott. David

Hey, let me go at this again. Corkscrews per se do not have seams; it's very much in the nature of their construction. If an Akro corkscrew had anything that even closely resembled a seam it would actually have to be a crease 'cause there was absolutely no intention of there being a seam (Akro quality control with corkscrews!). MK and Peltier did not make corkscrews. Akro did. By definition an Akro corkscrew that went awry, as many did by folding in on themselves and tunneling underneath, and created a corkscrewing pattern that was broken would rightly be called a 'broken corkscrew. Marble King and Peltier never had an intentional corkscrew to be broken in the first place therefore if only because of correct semantics you could not call any 'Odd' ones true broken corkscrews but I think the marketing ends of the companies and their manufacturing intentions are a more compelling argument. I may be wrong but I am sure that as far back as the early 1990s we were referring to broken corkscrews only in the context of Akro Agate Co. Very possibly some collectors starting expanding upon the definition. Still and in the truest sense I think the definition should be exclusive to Akro Agate Co. IM not so HO.....David Edit: Also with Akro's corkscrews at the cork extremity what you have is a 'cut off' not a seam.

Good to know I still have credits in the "rough time meter" Ric. And Steph I guess I'm giving broken corks a hierarchy with seamless ones having considerable more purity; at least that's what I think I've been trying to say. David

I'm having a tough time with this. Traditionally (speaking from the 1990s!) a broken cork is just that; it shoulda but it didn't.....no seams whatsoever. You get any seams in there and the possibilities of corking are negated.....pure and simple. I mean, it may look like it wanted to but there's no way it ever could have with purposeful seams. Like you shouldn't even be thinking about it (That's not meant to be harsh!). David P.S. I'm just trying to give you a rough time Ric!

I believe a 'broken cork' would have implied some halfway purposeful a priori corking effort and I don't see that. I dunno but attempting to apply that possible configuration to Rainbos would be a slippery slope. David

Makes you wonder if it's time for an ascendancy by antique hand mades although this was just one marble auction. I wonder if there has been any buying pattern noticeable lately. David

I always preferred my deck of cards(Official Set of Operation Yellow Ribbon DESERT STORM Trading Cards) which didn't have his ugly face in it. Support Our Troops/Pray for Peace! David

Sorry. I was referring to the phrase 'common as dirt.' I apologize. Kinda thought it might be misinterpreted. The most common Rainbo is white alternating with another color. David

Both are sweet. David

Yellow is good; with pink even better! David

The word 'dirt' comes to mind when determining degree of commonness! David

Interesting.....Rich has shown here how a variety of damages to marbles can be fixed; a decent instructional Thread. What is curious is that all sorts of people piled on right after he posted this including myself and railed about how the results were an aesthetically unpleasing marble as opposed to an original machine-made marble and Rich had clearly responded that the object of the Thread was to specifically show damage repairs that could be accomplished. It did tend to make fools of ourselves, yours truly included although I think I recall providing somewhat of a disclaimer since artistry was not the goal. David P.S. Anyway, good repair work Rich....

Whoa! These are rather impressive! Would be cool to also see a photo of the before cullet. There's some intricate work in these that's downright diabolical. I'm hoping that you do not go over to the Dark Side! David

Ah Morels! Have definitely heard of them but had never seen them. I could be persuaded to part with something dear as well; I've heard of their $value$. Damn things sure do look like sponges! David