Steph

Some people don't understand the importance of texture. That's something I'd think waffle experts would be very much in tune with.

302?! Wow! .... or should that LOL and the extra 2 years on the end let me know there's a joke there somewhere?

Clever!

Here's the most worn side of my big 'un up against some 21st century Vacors. The Vacors have a heavier feel and I think a little colder. The small ones are not strictly heaver than the large one. I confirmed that on my postal scale. But I think I verified that they're significantly more dense. Together the 2 smaller ones weigh a little more than .9 ounce. The large one comes in at a little over 2.2 ounces. (I conclude the "little over" part because the three marbles together came out to be 3.2 ounces.) The smaller ones are 19 mm wide. The big one is between 37 and 38 mm wide. (Can't be more precise because it's a little out of round and just a tad too big for my caliper's grips.) Sooooo .... if I did my math right, then the small ones together have about 1/4 of the volume of the big one. But the weight of the small ones together is about 40% of the weight of the big one.

I am pretty sure mine is not a Vacor. I'll try to get a pic. When I saw it though, I immediately thought back to the time Bill posted the huge clay for ID. I wasn't happy how that ID thread was left. I wasn't sure his was a Vacor to begin with. That was just something I was thinking of. However, if it was a Vacor, my thought was that it was made around the year 2000. That's when the stoney Vacors that I'm familiar with were made. The story which came with Bill's marble suggested that it was older though. I know that Vacor made clays when they started out in the 1930's. However, I would imagine those looked more like commies than like the recent version. I don't know though.

And a hush falls on the crowd.

Here's another Galen classic: Christensen Turkey Head

I'm not sure how widely used the name "diaperfold" is these days, but basically it is a single seam marble. The most famous were made by Christensen Agate (as were the marbles which are typically called turkeys). Single seam marbles were occasionally made by other makers (I have a single-seam Akro and a somewhat misshapen single-seam Marble King). Here is a pair of slag photos which I thought did a good job illustrating the name. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .. . . . (I think the marble photos came from Manddrakes' auctions) Turkey-head-like patterns also appear on other marbles but calling something other than a Christensen a turkey will generally get a lesson in how it's not a Christensen. More pix will surely be forthcoming.

It's not so hard to believe!

Did you know he collected Akros?

There was at least one different swirl type from the digs. I'm remembering red, green and white ..... Edit: yup, I checked my dug Akro box and I have a couple of the red/white/green swirls (in really lousy shape )

I'm thinking maybe Alley .....?

Pretty

For the archives

Yes. Akro Tri-Color Agates were definitely around by January 1931. So were possibly already around in 1930. (How wild is that, considering corks were only introduced in 1929 or 1930?) Here's a Jan 1931 Boys' Life with them: http://books.google.com/books?id=OVtPo30Su2sC&pg=PA44#v=onepage&q&f=false And that color catalog ad calls the Tri-Colors new, backing up the 1931-ish idea. We can maybe talk about what Akro meant by "Specials" later. *hehe*

Is this a liberty cork in this ad? I think this was 1931. It's one I spent some time trying to pin down and I may be confused about what I ultimately found, but 1931 is the date coming to mind right now.

I made these! Ummm ... well, actually, the guilty party should be by shortly. Click the pic for a larger copy. If I need to post even larger versions of the pix, let me know. I'll figure out a way.

When that buyer finds out enough about marbles to know they spent $100 on a common ..... Sad, expensive lesson.

Someone else might be able to find a better match by looking at their personal collection of euroswirls. I got this comparison from a quick forum search. (link)

Thank you for sharing the news. It's important that the pioneers be remembered.