david Chamberlain

I am not touching this! David

Exactly Clyde! I hope that my previous Post didn't imply that I was accusing Hansel of anything nefarious; I only expressed amazement that he would have any dealings with Scott Patrick, DPS at all. David

I know there's a mix of marble sizes in there but are a lot of them Industrials. And I know it's pretty clearly stated that these are Champion but those white w/blue ones sure have a Mid-Atlantic feel to them. All in all it definitely looks like a barrelfull of fun! David

What you also have is one of the earlier landmark marble efforts to provide historical background. Dennis Webb was one of the nice guys. Dennis like Mike Johnson received no help whatsoever when he enquired of the MCSA for a little support. Made me feel a little guilty at the time because I'd previously purchased 50 of Bob's "Marbles Identification & Price Guide," and poor Dennis couldn't even get some promo help. Mike Johnson's book is in many respects a serious fleshing out of what Dennis began. I would think you would want to hang on to Dennis's book. David

Wow! What I find amazing Clyde is that after being duped by Scott Patrick's, DPS mid-1990s Leighton's w/oxblood that Hansel would have anything to do with him that smacked of reproductions. When you deal with the Devil.....David

Peltier Transparent Rainbos. I love 'em! Bought a box this past year. You definitely need to enquire about the possibility of internal fractures as it was a major problem with this specific style of marble and it does affect price. My box had only one with a problem which was amazing. David

Yeah, the action especially clearly shown in the bottom right hand corner pic is rework. Th right colors though! David

A fight! A fight! How did I ever miss out on this one? Actually I've always found Peltier feathered slags to inscrutable, possibly an Asian connection. Nah! David

Nice sets of these marbles can still be obtained from Gino Biffany in Ottawa, IL. There couldn't be a nicer guy to deal with. I like to kid him by referring to these particular marbles as multi-vaned cat's-eyes but they do fully fit the requirements. Regardless they are gorgeous and a fantastic last gasp run at Peltier. David

Adroit observation and likely the cause of many questionable attributions. Not to be insensitive on the subject but I just don't get too all-fired excited about narrowing these things down. Guess I'm not much of a historical 'digger.' I lean much more towards a specific appreciation of individual marbles. Hard to do with Chinese Checker marbles but I have some examples that are surprising and practically lookers. David

I believe Hansel should be advised of this sale if this is one of the marbles that he had made in Germany. If I had his email I would contact him right now. David

Hi Craig, I can't seem to connect either. Definitely would like to know the full story behind these sulphides. David

O.K. I got a phone call from Mike Johnson last night about this subject. Interestingly, Mike informed me that when American Machine Made Marbles (2006) went to Schiffer Publ. in its 'final' copy a significant section on Chinese Checkers was deleted along with numerous other subjects. Lawrence W. Brown (1881 - April 4, 1960) of Brown Manufacturing, Clinton MO came up with a game for 2-6 players called The Game of Chinker-Chek in 1935. Brown filed for a Pat. in 1937 but it was never granted. It appears that numerous other people tried for a Patent but because of the great similarty I assume of the game to existing games the guys in the patent office couldn't get their heads around it. Heck, Art Fisher tried to get a Patent for Jump-Chek in 1939 but it was a no-go. When Brown swung into action he was producing 4000 boards daily and getting his marbles from WV suppliers. The games was marketed initially mainly between the East Coast and Ohio. That's pretty much the extent of the information conveyed to me by Mike. I really do not know how this all fits in to what you've already dug up because I'll admit that I've mostly skimmed here but I felt that Mike might have a decent take on matters being as much of a marble historian that he is and also a gonzo Chinese Checkers nut! Oh, Brown died tragically 4-4-1960 in a gas explosion. David

Whoa! David

What I would call a minimalist approach to Fantasy Bags! Yet exceedingly devious. David

The 'Tongs' are really a crack-up! That would totally take away from the visceral delight of hands-on jumping of opponents marbles! David

Hoping to get something definitive on this enquiry. I've a call into Mike Johnson but probably won't hear 'till this evening. He fully intends to do a book strictly on Chinese Checkers, a great marble love. Mike conveniently lives in the same community where my son lives, David

There's a marble board w/dome and 32 checkerboard chinas in a forthcoming Morphy's Auction. Any relationship? I haven't seen pics of the ones in the auction. All I know is that Brian Estepp and Bob Giese(sp?) have authenticated it. They're fairly heavy hitters. Jus' curious here.... I only happened to hear about it because Brian was asking me about my doll collection.....NSF! David

That 'Cash for Clunkers' program is experiencing a hitch totally aside from lack of funds. The Parts Industry has been thrown a monkey wrench what with the requirement that the clunker engines be disabled and the engines or parts thereof have often been a significant part of the profit in reclamation. David

Unfortunately, either way, # of bids or # of bidders the result(s) were the same, a mad scramble to buy that which wasn't what it was purported to be. Re. Bennett's comics: Actually they were rather charming in their thoroughly different illustrated box. Bennett even garnered himself a small corner in the field of marble collecting. And the size of the marbles pretty much made them patently obvious to anyone with a smidgen of marble knowledge. Unfortunately ignorance prevails! None of us are immune to it. Marbles are a real cipher. David

Now that we have full confirmation on Gerry as the glass artist I should say that he is alive and kickin' right here in Albuquerque, regularly traveling(Scotland last year) full-on enthused over fine antiques and a gracious host. David C.

The only 'JC' amongst contemporary glass artists that comes to mind is James Cooprider but I really do not know if I could credit him with making this marble. He's a lampwork artist. David C.

When Cathy Richardson first arrived on the scene at Amana so many years ago now her designs were an absolute revelation to marble collectors. Such a charming and delightful woman. David C.

Diana Hulet I presume. Nice. Could as easily be Gerry Colman too. Hulet is the kind of lady who at National Glass(Beads) Conventions delivers the Plenary Address. David C.

Oops, just noticed that there were closing bids for both 'Comics.' Ouch! David C.