I'llhavethat1

Would you entertain a digital camera in trade for some of the marbles posted?

...of the first two marbles posted, I meant. lol. Regardless, marbles posted in your second group look pretty much hand gathered to me too, you obviously know what a pontil looks like, right?

I'd venture hand gathered on the second marble re: bottom row middle. Maybe on both actually. Nice marbles.

Which pic has the cut/shear mark on the second marble? Is it that circular mark on the bottom left pic??

Some of my favs.

Alan, that's the type of controlled pattern I mean. Is it a trade secret or how exactly does the bubble make a non-bubble shape. Almost looks like a "sprue" on the B. Those are awesome marbles by the way.

A lot of German handmade marbles had air bubbles in them too, usually following the path of the pattern. I'm curious about some of the contemporary air inclusions in the form of a ring. I wonder how those get made. Same with the birdcage marbles.

Is there any transparency to the green glass? Hard to tell from the pics if the lighter/darker areas in the green are from "depth".

Hi Chuck, interesting marble

And another three. 3 best x 3 rarest = 9 bestest so I figured I might get away with 9 total mibs. lol. I make up my own math sometimes

And another three

I can't say these are my best or rarest three, but they're some of my favorites

At a glance I wondered how much of that article would even be considered accurate. Does "Semi-mechanical" on the German handmades account for a grinding wheel??

Was there a Blue Latt in this auction somewhere?

Probably had a lot to do with the industrial revolution. Things made leaps and bounds back then, machining etc. Augers have been around a bit longer

A jar of Citrus-es (or even exotics) sounds good to me. Big ol' jarful of marbles. yum

I don't know the specific topography of the area or what archives would show, but I know of a bunch of smokestacks that used to be around, at factories, that aren't there any more. Same with the factories. I don't mean in Europe, I'm just talking generally. Back in the old days there were a lot of factories that burned down and chimneys that eventually had to be demolished since they became a safety hazard. Interesting marble topic/discussion

Cool! The smaller mib with the bag is even cooler

Rich, I'd also think that torch made marbles vs. marbles made from furnace might change the way the sparkles get spread out. I like the sounds of a purple aventurine though!

"...didn't use aventurine in mass producing marbles for 2 reasons: one is cost and the other is usage/application was difficult" "...believed by most in the collecting community that aventurine was not used on purpose in machine made marbles" That sounds about right. Cool handmade! Big for that type

Merry Christmas to all Marble Connection-ers! and everyone else too

Happy Holidays!

Nice wirepulls in this thread, A blue/white in clear glass shooter was my fav when I was a kid. Still looking for it. Nancy, the circle you see might be from the marbles being wet or underground at some point, likely a "rust stain". It makes sense if you get a marble wet, the moisture or drop will go to the lowest point multiply that by a few decades and you'd get a stain similar to what you're seeing there.

When backlit, if the stretched bubbles seem to be elongated in the direction of one "pole" to the opposite "pole" in a slightly twisted pattern that says handmade to me also. Nice color.