Steph

oh wow, yeah, that one is a great example! I don't know that I would have guessed new on that one. I think probably I would have guessed old. Yeah, double checking, I'm pretty sure I would have guessed older.

That would be awesome! Please do.

Thanks for the glimpses into the show. I'm still smiling trying to imagine how your Ed Sullivan impression sounds in person.

Here's some brown. Not in the core though. http://cgi.ebay.com/Marbles-NM-13-16-white-latticino-core-/330429731488

It's an adult marble chat site. PG-13 at least. It's been discussed whether the board should be G-rated or PG-rated, or something else. Some efforts were made to try to make it be more childsafe, but this didn't sit well with all the members or even all the mods. The concensus seems to be that this board was supposed to be less restrictive than that.

Thanks for articulating that, Galen. The dark spots were the main thing standing out to me. That just didn't seem right.

Also, for the book, does anyone know the story about large (or any size) guineas being found in Mexican packaging, sometime back? I heard just a tiny bit but now can't remember enough to even search for the original reference. Someone was going to pursue the lead. I think maybe someone from Running Rabbit? Ring any bells?

Here we go!

Okay. I will do that. Have a safe trip. My condolences to your family.

Nancy, I suspect the uploads aren't working because of the size. I resized the ones you sent me before I posted them here.

I slide in here with a "yes, to the best of my understanding", and then go back to enjoying the real mibs! :-)

Yes, Andrea. Thank you, Terry. 'Cupcakes' you say, Gail?

Awesome! Like a time machine.

Hi John. This is from a post he recently made:

New name for me, but I like that layered effect. With the balloon of color inside.

Neat! big ones! love the red, white and blue!

Great name. Does "Wispler" cover all the German sparkler types, or a special part of them? More Wisplers please.

Anyone have Wedding Cakes? Was looking for a good thread to send Douglas to but wasn't having a lot of luck. Figured others might like to see 'em too anyway. Thanks! edit: There are some at the bottom of this page at Joemarbles.com.

Vacor Sunsets I believe these are an example. It's Joeager's photo, which he posted for ID. It shows a lot of the variation. I think there are still others. For example, I need to confirm but I believe I remember some which were practically all white.

I figure "first run" would be the marbles made while the Alox company was still open. Then I figure "second run" could be the ones made in Branson. AMMM says only "about a half dozen" marbles were made there, to prove that the machine was working. Also says none are known to exist today. Those would be too rare to value! I didn't ask Nancy what "Third Generation" meant though. Maybe she was talking about herself, the 3rd generation of Friers making marbles. :-) Guess I could still ask. :-)

David, did you put your Alox post in the Joker thread and vice versa? We really do need a score sheet! :-)

Always fun when marbles pop up. Might have to watch the show!

The Alox adventure continues! In 2006 the authors of American Machine-Made Marbles reported that Alox's last working machine, which had been salvaged by two machinists at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri, had been shipped to Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee during the 1980's. They said it "still rests in Tennessee, perhaps dreaming of more productive days". I imagine the authors were being romantic and poetic, but guess what! Nancy Frier, granddaughter of Alox founder John Frier, has retrieved the machine and it is now running again. I don't have all the details - perhaps someone else will help flesh those out - but here are some photos of their run from this past Monday. I'm having trouble deciding which photos to include! (Click on pix to enlarge)

like!

My rule of thumb is that if the green vane is next to the blue, it's new.