Steph

Swirl ID-ing seems to be the most inexact of the present marble sciences. When people try to ID transparent swirls by maker it sometimes makes me laugh. Heck, maybe they're right in some of their more obscure guesses, but how can anyone be sure? To me there seems to be a lack of replicability to that part of the discipline. I want whoever I consult on that type of ID to be able to say "I don't know". If they don't have the security to say that with grace, then I will view them with some doubt.

Bo, have you spent 10,000 hours with them? That's one rule of thumb for what it takes to be an expert. Here's an interesting read from Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expert

What a delightful question. Time doesn't necessarily bring expertise but it is needed for perspective, and can you be an expert without perspective?

The big 4-oh? No way! Have a great day!

I wrote Ray. He is "very sure it is/was one of [his]". It should have a signature on it unless someone has polished it off, which he said has been known to happen.

Neat pic. I don't know the game but I've long been interested in the subject of adults playing marbles.

They remind me of Jackson Pollack. http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/pollock/

They are Vitros from the 1930's. The company name was Tri-Lite.

Happy Birthday Ernie! Hope it's a beautiful day up there.

Wellll .... it was in SP's marble case before someone else offered it for sale as an antique on ebay. I don't know whether Scott ever exactly said he made it. But he showed the photo from when it was in his case. The one I posted is the ebay pic.

Here's an onionskin which evoked a great deal of ... um ... interest awhile back.

Beautiful!

What size range are we generally talking about? My one SP is under 19/32". Sort of an antique handmade style but with finer strands and different colors than I'm used to seeing on other handmades.

Thank you, Al!

Hansel, I fixed the link for you, I think. The ones with the real agates are awesome! That whole thread at LOM is pretty cool though even with some of the pictures missing. It's always nice to read about Patry's collection, so I don't want to discourage anyone from following that link. Here's another good thread. Pete's description of his collection is a pretty nice catalog all by itself. http://www.landofmarbles.com/phpbb/showthread.php?26349

I'd like to learn more about his infamous marbles. It's fascinating that after all these years his marbles can still spark such lively debate. Post 'em if you got 'em!

Have a great one Bo!

Man, that guy sizzles my steak.

Why would they pay all that attention to the address and not the spelling of the company name?! lol

They were in Cambridge, OH, and Payne, OH. However there are real Christensen boxes which say New York. Not that the one in the auction is real! Not at all. Just saying. (from a Morphy auction)

Is that what you said to General Sherman?

Pelt Liberty?

I love the linen postcard. What tiny percentage of people will ever see that one and realize they're looking at a marble company !

Bullseye!

Using some of the keywords in the header (wasserstandsröhren, schmelzfarben and lüsters), I found this at Google books, from 1907: Deutschlands glas-industrie http://books.google.com/books?id=S2MZAAAAYAAJ Glaskugeln are mentioned in the book. That's marbles, right? LOL. I have a long way to go even the help of Winnie and babelfish. Nevermind. Looks like it might just be a directory. But that's more keywords. There sure were a lot of glass companies. The translation of wasserstandsröhren is water level roar. What is that?! I think I have a lead with "Irrigator mit Thermometer oder Wasserstandsröhre" from a 1910 catalog (link to catalog page). "Irrigator mit Thermometer oder Wasserstandsröhre" translates to "irrigator with thermometer or water level tube".