Steph

This morning we have Marble Kings. We call their cutlines "seams". The two marbles on the right end are modern. The top left is a Rainbow Red. The bottom is called "blended". The four in the middle are Rainbows -- they are said to have a "patch and ribbon" pattern, which is a prime sign that you are looking at a Marble King. The brown and yellow one is called a Bumble Bee. The light blue with red ribbons is called a Robin. The white-based Rainbow with the three different colored ribbons is called a ...wait for it .... Tri-Color Rainbow. Note the 'w' at the end of the Rainbow name with Marble Kings, while we leave off the 'w' with Peltier Rainbos.

Thank you for putting your 2 cents in. I really appreciate it. And I'm still just guessing.

That is a nice size.

Another way to cut down reflections and get to the heart of transparent marbles is to take a picture of the marbles underwater. At least that's the advice we sometimes give, and it can have dramatic results with old German handmades with cloudy surfaces. Here are some Peltiers. One thing I accidentally illustrated here is that different color settings may be needed for bright yellow marbles than are needed for not-so-bright marbles. And I needed to brush the bubbles off the surface of the marbles. This will do until I get a better sample photo. Transparent Peltiers under water:

I think I'm finally seeing at least one cutline. I'm going go bold and give a solid answer of Peltier Rainbo.

Jose, Jabo did do some patch-style marbles. I don't see those as Jabos though. ??

Ah, that's a thought. I think I'm seeing a more traditional structure on Cat's marble though. Also, Cat's marble being an inch makes it not such a direct connection with those. I don't know though. You could be right.

Left Vitro All Red. Right Peltier Rainbo.

I don't see enough detail to ID. Is it a solid color?

To me, natural light sometimes leads to a lot of reflections which can make it hard to see marble details, so I took a second set of photos using a flash. Your mileage may vary.

Here are some Peltier pictures showing the seams. They could be called cutlines, but generally these are called seams. Again both seams. Note, I am using a gray t-shirt for the background material. A gray background helps not-so-smart cameras get colors balanced. And a smoother background helps the camera focus on the marble instead of background textures. (Since my camera is picking up the stitches clearly, it's possible I need a smoother background to help the marbles be more focused.) Again, I took pictures of both seams. The top left marble was so busy that it almost looked like it had three seams, but that's a different subject. I finally found the second true seam, and got that photo. The top left one is a National Line Rainbo, aka NLR, from around 1930 give or take a couple of years. The top right is called a Bloody Mary. The rest are showing typical Rainbo patterns. (Rainbos are later than National Line Rainbos, and span the mid-to-late 30's through the 1960's. (Not sure if they were still in production in the 70's.)

Vitro Conquerors, 1940's

Vitro cage style cat's eyes. Could be vintage or could be modern. Made from the 60's right up through about 1990.

Hi. That would be a modern marble. Probably from Mexico or Asia.

My first thought was Master. My second thought was European. I'm back to Master ... I'm sticking to that!

#keeperthread

I'll go with Master.

I want it to be Vitro. With those colors, I wanted it to be Peltier at first, but since the ribbons aren't in pairs, I am moving to a Vitro suggestion.

Yes, in general, cat's eyes are not popular. Cat's eyes often subtract from the value of a mixed lot. I would have bet on you being able to sell a lot full of super-sized marbles, but yeah, basic six-vane cats with that orientation of the color are considered very common.

Hmmm ... maybe more pictures from other angles would help. But some remain a mystery.

Love the display!

I'm feeling good about the Amber being Pelt. I felt pretty good about the blue and white being a Vitro Cat's Eye. Because the vanes weren't very wide, I wondered about Peltier, but I think Vitro is right.

Sushi love

Here is the start of my long-promised replacement of the seam tutorial I accidentally deleted a couple of years ago. Some companies are known for more swirly marbles. Some are known for having lines or patches of colors which run from seam to seam or pole to pole. If marbles have poles or seams it is helpful to show them when looking for IDs. Rather than try to define the jargon I'll start by posting examples. And rather than wait until I have all the photos ready, I'll post them as I take them. So here I am starting with some Master-made marbles. Masters often have relatively small U-shaped or V-shaped seams or "cutlines". Some people might consider them to have "poles" where the ribbons come together on top and bottom. I took photos of both poles here. Sometimes seeing both ends can help with the ID.