Steph

In case this isn't too obvious, zip baggies come in lots of sizes. 2" x 2" are really good for safe storage of mibs with a fair degree of visibility.

There is an alternative which a lot of little sellers will choose -- not sell. Not sell anywhere.

I used to sell on ebay and know I need to get back to bringing some money in. But everytime I think I'm about ready to brave the Bay again, something like this happens.

I imagine a "lot" of small sellers will just decide it is not worth the hassle. Stuff will go back to the attic or to Goodwill. But how much is a "lot"? Ebay has probably factored that into their revenue projection models and decided they can make it without the little sellers they are squeezing out.

I'm from Packer land. But if you can't be with the one you love . . . you can at least distract yourself with a good game.

One of those Buddy headers is a new one for me.

Too cool on the metallic in the Buddy bag.

That could mess with some ID's in future.

Rah rah!

Which color is the base and which the ribbons in this "purple tiger"?

This might be just a tangent to the main subject but that date estimate sounds like it might be early. My impression was that only swirl type mibs were around then.

Unashamedly ball bearings in 1902. :-) The newspaper reference I saw from that year said they were "the kind used for ball bearings". Said they could be gotten from bike shops.

Not arguing! I just love that reference. :-) My own thought is that ball bearings wouldn't qualify as marbles unless (a) they were in the packaging like you mention or (b ) I had it on good information that some particular steelie was used by a real kid back in the day.

John, that's great info you gave. Meant to say that earlier.

Ebay doesn't seem to care about people abusing the the names and reputations of companies who aren't around to sue anymore. At least I couldn't find anything which covered Pavcraz's type of offering the last time I looked.

I think that Pavcraz has sometimes made his own boxes from start to finish. I don't have any boxes with metal tabs handy to compare so I can't tell if this is one of his made-from-scratch pieces, or if it is an authentic box which has been repurposed.

However it is not authentic Christensen.

Not even going to add "imho" on this one. Pavcraz does a sucky job with his stamps. He gets the print layout sorta okay. Basic design sorta okay. But the quality of the impression is very low. Marble sellers of the day had professional box makers. Pavcraz hasn't got the skill. Not yet.

C'mon, you guys messing with my friend Pavcraz again?!

He's just trying to make a living! What harm does he do by whipping up a few rubber stamped boxes? Leaving them out in the weather or putting a little dark lacquer on them to make them look older. Nothing wrong with that. C'mon! Give a fella a break!

Solid steel balls were called Steelies and used as marbles at least from 1905 (edit: 1902). In other words, from at least around the time that Martin Christensen's steel ball machine made them affordable. So we should call them MFC's. LOLOL *joke!*

The earliest packaging might have been closer to that time, Sue, not sure.

But they were illegal in most if not all organized tournament play.

Edna gave me a modern Chinese millifiore (sp?). Not as large or colorful as this seller's but same style of marble.

I'd almost hope there weren't any special cats in it. I wouldn't want to be tempted to open a bag like that.

I'll take this chance to add something I'd hoped to add in another thread. Somewhere - couldn't find where - I said we probably didn't have much chance to find out the names of Japanese marble making companies. Now I realize I was wrong. I still don't know the name of the people who made Azuma cats, but I might know where the name can be found. Saw a snippet from a 1960 trade directory which had an entry for the "mfr and exp" of Azuma brand marbles, Unfortunately the company name was cut off. But there's more info out there, in English, than I suspected. Someone with a good library and the interest could probably find a lot of leads.

Thanks Al. That's a nice range of bags. Some new to me. Whirlwind, that's a fun name.

1868-1912, known as "the late Meiji period"

Flat glass marbles used as playing pieces in a traditional Japanese game.

おはじき遊び　Ohajiki-asobi　Ohajiki (Flat Marbles) Game

Of course there's a lot known. A lot of notes elsewhere. Especially for marbles from Germany.

Just found an intriguing reference for marbles from Japan and needed a place to put it. Not sure what the credibility of a bartenders' union's publication would be for information about the toy marble industry, but I still found this interesting.

1907

From the April 15, 1907 issue of The Mixer and Server. The context is the desire for tariff's to protect domestic U.S. industries. Just a tiny snippet about marbles among several other examples of imports from Japan:

Japanese glass marbles of much beauty sell for a cent apiece, . . .

Some more while I'm in the neighborhood . . .

1952

Possibly a mention of export of toy marbles from Japan to different parts of the world, possibly including Europe, South-East Asia, Central and South America, .... Mentions "Glass marble". I can only guess it's the toy version.

Trade and Industry of Japan

1973

A History of Glass in Japan, by Dorothy Blair, Corning Museum of Glass. The book at least mentions marbles, and it seems as if they might be early ones, as in circa 1900. I need to either get the book, or have some fun on Google ferreting out more of the passage.

1956

The Glass Marble Industry of Hongkong, by SC Wu, in Vol. 20 of the Far Eastern Economic Review. Discusses marbles made in Hong Kong and Japan. I should get the book. However in this case I was able to read a lot just by playing around and teasing out extra snippets of the book. Here is a summary I posted last year of what I read. In particular, cat's eye production in Hong Kong seems to have started in 1954 in response to Japan's success.

1951

In 1951 Osaka is a center for glass balls and marbles, according to The Oriental Economist, A Monthly Journal of Practical Finance and Economics.

Dorothy Blair's history also mentioned Osaka specifically.

Have found 1950 and 1949 references also:

1950, The Oriental Economist

1949, Foreign Commerce WEEKLY

1937

Trade Directory of Japan comes up with a search for Osaka and "glass marbles" (in quotation marks). Not even a snippet view available on Google though.

1960

Japan Trade Guide: With a Comprehensive Mercantile Directory. This appears to give a manufacturer for Azuma brand marbles. I can't see the company name in the snippet but it's nifty to know it's there. I thought we might never be able to find names of Japanese marble making companies. Just need to figure out how to get my hands on the full texts.

Other notes:

Seeing 1947 as what appears to be a founding date for a glass bead and marble company, unsure of location but mentioned in an Osaka trade directory. Seeing what looks like possibly 1967 for Camel brand marbles.

My bad! Pittsburgh!

Thanks.

"Jasper" was an 1800's name for lined crockery.

From an 1883 publication:

Next come the jaspers, or, as the boys call them, "Croton alleys," consisting of glazed and unglazed white china handsomely marbled with blue.

source

I know a little about the Penny King company of Philadelphia. For instance they sold penny toys for vending machines.

But also they've sold bags of marbles. I've seen or heard of more than one maker's mibs in the bag. What examples do you have or know of?

Thanks!

David, I've seen an historical reference to wooden marbles. I think it might have been at Akronmarbles.com. They sure would have been at a disadvantage if there were any real agates in the game!

'course this one in this auction is too big for a regular game so I would have a hard time labelling it as a marble.

Well, they might be "opals".

Is the base opalescent on the white/green/red?

I think I'm seeing at least some Jabos. That brown yellow orange one is one of my favorite Jabo combos.