Steph

Handmade marbles from China, board from Indonesia? ......

with a lot of window dressing.

Come on over Steph and I'll show you OR I'll put YOU behind the torch to make one!!!!!

lol, sure Rich, I'll be right there.

(erm, probably not, but they're still cool :-)

It's that you have to make sure you don't heat the base glass too hot before applying the colored glass on top of it.

Rich, you have me confused. Are you saying that there was a premade base ... or just that outer glass is heated to a higher temperature than the inner glass?

My mental picture of how it was done isn't/wasn't that they spread the colors over a pre-made base. I thought they made the marble at all once so the base glass would indeed be quite hot ....

If that's wrong, I would seriously appreciate some clarification!

.

This clip shows the inside of a veneered MK cub scout. Sorry it's a little fuzzy. It's from a photo posted by Jeff H. I blew it up some to get a good view of the white.

those are cool

Good question. I've often wondered that myself.

I have a mental picture / working theory but I'm nowhere near confident enough to try to articulate it.

really neat.

are we looking at Pelt white slags?

Cool Dan. Thanks!

You're still welcome, Chris. ( :

just sayin'

Thanks BJ.. I've known you for many years, and I was very disheartened when the boards went their separate ways. I guess what I'm asking is can we direct contemp traffic here? Can we all be one again?

Chris

There are a number of contemp collectors here ... and occasionally we have some good contemp threads.

You sound like you're asking seriously, so seriously what's your vision for a real amalgamation?

What are your terms?

j/k. hiya man.

Nancy, one trait I learned for a wirepull is that the ribbon of color is supposed to be one continuous stream. Some of yours look like they have multiple ribbons. Am I seeing them accurately?

I haven't seen many representatives of the most recent Jabos. However, I like white. I like the contrast it can give. Did the original Jokers have white? I liked the contrast on those. Made me think of classic mibs such as Peltiers.

I remember suggesting to Steve more than once that I'd like to see more marbles with a white base. Back in 2008, was it? Among the Jabos I own I think I like the transparent based ones the best, but I don't have many white ones to compare to. Now you have me wanting to see the recent Jabos. Off I go to ebay. I've been avoiding that place. Give me strength not to buy. ( :

Hi Nate. Glad you made it. That's an amazing photograph.

Oh that's sweet.

Here's a little turkey.

Did you make it yet? Here's what they have as a tootsie roll.

I hesitate to give my opinion. Sounds as if you might be in a hurry. I'll move it to the main chat area to get more eyes on it.

DAYANG !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111

We need Debra Stanley-Lapic to post her shooters! I'll send her an SOS!

It has been suggested to me that there were some Peltiers which looked like those red and white ones (which look a little mossy to me).

Can anyone confirm? And if so do you know what they were called?

A little more pure "FWIW":

The reference to sulfur might, strong emphasis on might, might refer to the way the porcelain figures were made. Or how they were made in the early days. How the molds were made for shaping the figures.

Part of the process of molding them might have involved sulfur. Here is the title of a work from 1775, "A catalogue of impressions in sulphur of antique and modern gems from which pastes are made and sold".

That appears to be purely a catalog. Not describing method. Just letting people know what figures were available.

I agree with Galen.

I've seen opals (synthetic?) used inside marbles to good effect. And metal. I don't know what terminology is used for that type of inclusion.

I believe the word sulphide refers specifically to the clay figures. I did some research for how the name "sulphide" came into use. My best guess so far, obtained with the help of some paperweight collectors, is that it came to us from the French, as "sulfure", in the early part of the 1900's.

Inlaying porcelain in glass appears to go back to the late 1700's. Other items such as ivory go as far back as 1584.

A Gropper box from a recent Morphy auction. Box

It's a New York box (as opposed to Ottawa). One row is something other than slags.

Photos from the auction:

(click to enlarge)

Do we even know what the "M" stands for?

In 1917, the M. Gropper & Sons company was said to consist of Harry Gropper and Abraham S. Gropper. From a patent for a "Liquid Pistol".

Patent number: 1238733

Filing date: Sep 16, 1916

Issue date: Sep 1917

In 1901, the names given for the M. Gropper & Sons company were Harry & Samuel & Abraham.

The Trow (formerly Wilson's) copartnership and corporation directory of New York City, Vol. 49

p. 195

Harry had a son named Meyer. At least there was a young Gropper named Meyer, and Harry was listed as nearest relative on his draft registration from 1918. Meyer was a packer at M. Gropper & Sons.

(click to enlarge)

(So maybe Meyer was Harry's father's name?)

While I'm at it, Gropper appears to have been (re)incorporated in 1923. From the NY Times, 10/4/23, under the headline of "New Incorporations", one of the listings is:

M. Gropper & Sons, Manhattan, toys and novelties, $50,000; H. and S. Gropper, B. Liebow. (Attorney, A. Brill, 299 Broadway)