Steph

Pelt seems more likely to me on the first mib and at least some of the others. I think the first could be borderline NLR. There might be better photo comparisons to make, perhaps using red/white/blue mibs, but this is what yours reminds me of ... somewhere between these two sets: The mibs are all Carole's, but two used to be mine. :-)

Gotta love lavender.

So how are they made? Does anyone know the particulars? I guess I have been thoroughly misled by the "bullet mold" name. It makes less and less sense the more I think about the seams. The blue spot looks a tad smeared at the seam in this view but mostly the frit ends abruptly. How did it get chopped off like that? Carole, it would still be cool to see the part which looks like a pontil.

Thanks for the pix, Mike. Always appreciated. I agree with the notion that the etched ones which say marbles are fantasy. I need to reread the info but my overall impression was that some machines may have needed to be converted inside to be able to sell marbles but I don't have any reason to think the conversion involved saying there were marbles inside. And then some were designed to be more versatile, giving vendors the choice of what to sell. I don't think those would have been labelled specifically with the word "marbles". Why limit options? I might try to gather some links, but for anyone who doesn't want to wait, check out Billboard magazine at Google Books. Make gum balls two words. Actually "ball gum" is a good search phrase.

There was a gumball shortage during WWII. Marbles filled the void. As their promoters said, marbles never went stale or rancid.

April 1932 The Popular Science issue with a short but nice article on the California Agate Co. http://books.google.com/books?id=QSgDAAAAMBAJ The item is on p. 51: http://books.google.com/books?id=QSgDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA51 Well, here's the article. I "clipped" it out for the thread I started in January, back when pretty much all we had to go on was the company name and rough date and a mistaken caption in newspaper file photo. (click to enlarge) Note: the man at work in the factory photo is not Frankie's father. This article doesn't actually say he is but it almost sounds like it does, and the caption of the photo we started with in January said it was Frankie's father. We still don't know who the man in the photo is. Perhaps he is in fact R. W. Walker as the caption in the other photo said. Here's the thread I started in January, and bumped in February with a cascade of discoveries. :-) California Agates -- Marble Mystery I have learned a few more things, but the thread is choppy enough as it is so I'm letting the other info simmer a bit.

Oh yes, you could send them to someone who does remelts. For example, Joe Schlemmer of Mad Man Marbles.

Some make jewelry with marble halves. They could also be used for some interesting pieces in mosaics. You could put them in a shadow box. Someone else I know put mint ones in resin for use as paperweights. THAT was sorta sad to me. But the messed up ones might be cool in paperweights. Those which would have been valuable without damage might still be good to help with identification, for yourself or some newbie. Or you might feel free to bust 'em thorougly to study how they are made. Ummm ... I think I had one more but it has slipped my mind.

1935 "More on Marble Names and Games", an article by Joseph Jones in American Speech, Vol. 10, No. 2 (Apr., 1935), pp. 158-159. Published by: Duke University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/451751 (Accessible online for a price, but if you affiliated with an institution who subscribes to JSTOR you might be able to get it for free) A snippet from google books:

Here are some Scarlet Orgasms Backacres posted some years ago. This bag was posted at LOM. Sorry, I didn't record whose it is. The blue and yellow ones at least were thought to be Cairo. Maybe all were? Here's one of mine where I think I finally cajoled most people into a Cairo Novelty i.d. (lol)

What a splash of spring color.

He's making bullets. That's a REAL bullet mold. He is taking part in a re-enactment of some British battle. So I naively pictured marble molds as being hand-operated also. The 1880's description fit with my mental picture, and with my quick, mistaken reading of what Baumann wrote.

John, that's interesting that a machine might be involved in those too, at some point. Sounds like lots of different methods may have been used. Here are the examples Baumann gave of different ways sulphides were made: Most common was to have one worker gather a glob of glass and another press the figure into the glob, and if any part of the figure was uncovered the edges ofwould be work the edges of the glob would be pulled around the figure. Then it would be rounded in a marver. For larger figures a small "ampoule" might be blown, then cut open, then the figure inserted with tongs, the opening reclosed, the ball reheated to round it, and the air "aspirated" out of the bubble with the blowing iron. The third method he mentions involved putting a figure between two globs of glass and working that into a sphere with tongs and the marver. Here's a British war re-enactor using a real bullet-mold, and part of the reason I thought of bullet-mold marbles as handmade: (click to enlarge) . .

I almost voted for the bumblebee -- such a classic. But if someone asked me which one I wanted ... I wouldn't pass up the Hercules! lol

It wouldn't be the first mistake ever published. I had mostly trusted the report, but thought it was outdated. Baumann mentions different ways to make sulphides, with one being similar to what Roberts describes, though not quite the same. However, I didn't mean to sidetrack the thread. My real question was about whether or not marble molds were ever operated by hand. I hadn't even guessed that making bullet mold marbles might be what would be called a machine process, so Sami's answer surprised me.

LOL. Thanks Felicia. I have more but I got worn out. Told you about the Pennsylvania tradition. New Castle was trying to be part of it. Don't know that they ever made it.

All the marbles: winner takes everything! Money, marbles or chalk: I believe this referred to the terms a person might offer for a wager. I think the chalk referred to a gambler's marker. A boxer who would fight for money, marbles or chalk would be willing to take on all comers, no matter what they offered. Money, marbles and chalk: A variation of the preceding, which seems to have a meaning more along the lines of "all the marbles".

I would have thought the bullet mold marbles would be considered handmade. At least if the mold were operate by hand. True bullet molds (as in lead bullets) could be operated manually. Were marble molds not? In the 1880's to perhaps the 1920's, it was SAID that sulphides were made in two halves. I've been uncertain about whether that was an accurate report. Here's A. W. Roberts' version from 1883. I think this might have been the source material for articles which appeared in newspapers for years afterward. There was much recycling of filler stories at that time.

To your summary, I'd add this: Some of what we call a particular manufacturer's version of "oxblood" likely isn't copper-based. And even when copper-based, what we call oxblood only seems to have been made on purpose by a few marble manufacturers. And now for the mischievous p.s. --- it seems that some of the different copper-based shades, perhaps some of those shown above?, had different names in the late 1800's or early 1900's. e.g., Chicken Blood or Pigeon Blood. From a time when people saw enough blood that they were familiar with the shades I guess.

lovely last time you posted some this size I was wondering if they were actually played with. now I know they were. Still not sure of the name of the game. And I can't find the reference again! Supposedly every boy needed one of those biggies, and least in the story teller's neighborhood ....

Yesterday I sent one at about 3:10 and it said I had to wait until 3:15 to send another. Then I tried at 3:15, using the time given on the front page of the board and still couldn't send. At 3:16 I was able to send again.

Vacor wirepull types sometimes look like horseshoe cats. Don't see why a german wirepull couldn't. Can you trace one long ribbon around? or does it actually have vanes?

Berry Pink's formal tourney In spite of some newspaper records, etc., this might only have been from 1940 to 1941, and not national in 1941. Pink worked with the Scripps Howard tourney before 1940. It's just a hunch, but I think he might have branched out on his own because of the S-H tourney's insistence upon clay marbles when he was selling glass. 1940 - Finals at Worlds Fair: Douglas Opperman, 14, Philadelphia, PA 1940 - 150+ contestants VFW Tourney Starting in 1947 at Boys Town, but moved around. Albuquerque campaigned to be the permanent host site in 1951. Eaton Rapids, MI had a place of honor as the home of the VFW. Generally there was to be one contestant from each state, but sometimes additional players might be given slots for special reasons. For instance, sometimes past champions did not have to compete again to reach the finals. 1947 - Boys Town, near Omaha, NB: Ray Warren, 13, Old Hickory, TN 1947 - 50 contestants (planned) 1948 - Salt Lake City, UT: Eugene "Mickey" Alvord, 14, Salt Lake City 1949 - Pittsburgh, PA: Dick Atwell, 12, Fort Dodge, IA 1949 - Was the plan to meet in Indianapolis? A Reno paper said the national would be there. 1950 - Eaton Rapids, MI: Tilton Holt, 10 or 11, Wilmington, DE 1950 - 41 contestants Life Magazine pics from 1950 set to music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mc2ogroum70 1951 - Albuquerque, NM: Gordon Rowse, 12, Ogden, UT 1952 - Albuquerque, NM: George Andrews, 12 or 13, Durham, NC 1952 - 44 contestants from 36 states 1953 - Portland, OR: Bobby Vigil, 13, Walsenburg, CO 1954 - Akron, OH: Frank Caudillo, 13, North Platte, NE 1955 - Denver, CO: Frank Caudillo, 14, North Platte 1956 - Tallahassee, FL: Richard Austin, 14, Los Alamitos, CA 1957 - Seattle, WA: Misael Zaragoza, 14, McFarland, CA 1957 - a movie was made of the tournament, shown at VFW meetings 1957 - 41 to 43 contestants 1958 - Tucson, AZ: Gary Iverson, 13, Grand Forks, ND 1958 - 44 contestants 1959 - Eaton Rapids, MI: Clyde Archuleta, 13, Denver, CO 1960 - Eaton Rapids, MI: Jewell Dixon, 15, McMinnville, TN 1961 - St. Paul, MN: Mike Butler, 14, Memphis, TN 1961 - 45 contestants from 40 states 1962 - Greensville (sp?), TN: Tinsley Green -- miscellaneous notes -- no way will I try to make a comprehensive list of those winners LOL [edit: I've been sent a table of Tinsley Green winners. I will add that in a later post.] U.S. Marbles Championship 2002 - Amy Yarbrough (nee Thompson) Others -- miscellaneous notes

National Marbles Tourney Atlantic City, New Jersey 1923 - Harlin McCoy, 14, Columbus, OH 1924 - George Lenox, 14, Baltimore, MD (Catonsville, MD) 1925 - Howard "Dutch" Robbins, 13, Springfield, MA 1925 - notable: Marie Lawley, 13, girl champ of Harrisburg, PA created a sensation 1925 - I think at least one national mib champion became a sportswriter. Was Dutch one of them? Need to check. 1926 - Willis Harper, 11, Bevier, KY 1926 - notable: Francis Kau of Hawaii is first player from American territory 1926 - notable: , 11, girl champ of Cleveland, OH 1927 - Joe Medvidovich, 13, Pittsburgh, PA (Clairton, PA) 1928 - Alfred Huey, 12, Akron, OH (Kenmore, OH) 1928 - 46 boys, 1 girl Ocean City, New York 1929 - Charles "Sunny" Albany, 12, Philadelpha, PA 1930 - Jimmy Lee, 14, Columbus, OH 1931 - John Jeffries, 12, Greenville, KY 1932 - Harley Corum, 13, Louisville, KY 1933 - Aaron Butash, , Throop, PA 1934 - Clifton Seaver, 13, Springfield, MA 1935 - Henry Altyn, , Throop, PA 1935 - June 30, 1935 article said Seaver passed his crown over, and mayor placed it on Altyn's head. 1934 - How often were crowns re-used? What happened when they were retired? 1936 - Leonard "Bobby" Tyner, 13, Chicago, IL 1936 - Leonard was the first 'colored' champion. 1936 - I don't know if I'm only imagining it, but it seems that he got little press coverage in comparison with other winners of the 30's. 1936 - 44 players (expected) Wildwood, New Jersey 1937 - Bill Kloss, 13, Greater Canton, OH 1937 - notable: June Lapham, girl champ of Cleveland, OH 1938 - Frank Santo, 13, Throop, PA 1939 - Harry de Board, 12, Landenburg, PA 1940 - James Music, 13, East Point, KY 1940 - There might have been a high profile girl player this year. I see something about "her brilliant playing". 1941 - Gerald "Chick" Robinson, 14, Scranton, PA 1942 - Charley Mott, 13, Huntington, WV Cleveland, OH 1943 - Richard "Butch" Ryabik, , Pittsburgh, PA 1946 - Raymond Ryabik, 14, Pittsburgh, PA 1946 - 17 boys, 3 girls Wildwood, New Jersey 1947 - Benjamin Sklar, 12, Philadelphia, PA 1948 - Boy: Herbert Turman, 14, Beloit, WI 1948 - Girl: Jean Smedley, 13, Philadelphia, PA 1948See also Mibs & Mibsters, by Paul Kerr, an article from the Beloit Historical Society Asbury Park, New Jersey 1949 - Boy: George Wentz, 12, Huntington, WV 1949 - Girl: Emma Miller, 11, Canton, OH 1949 - 48 boys, 4 girls 1949 - Emma was Amish. Large crowds gathered to watch her play. 1950 - Boy: Bobby Retzlaff, 14, Montgomery, AL 1950 - Girl: Kay Allen, 13, Greensboro, NC 1950 - 52 contestants 1951 - Boy: Shirley "Windy" Allen, 13, Beckley, WV (Fairdale, WV) 1951 - Girl: Ida Jean Hopkins, 13, Cleveland, OH 1952 - Boy: Russell Gwaltney, 12, Salem, VA 1952 - Girl: Dorothy Hobbs, 14, Martinez, GA 1953 - Boy: Jerry Roy, 13, Huntington, WV 1953 - Girl: Arlene Riddett, 14, of Yonkers, NY 1954 - Boy: Bob Hickman, 14, Huntington, WV 1954 - Girl: Wanita Kucher, 9, Chester, PA 1955 - Boy: Raymond Jones, 12, Pittsburgh, PA 1955 - Girl: Karen Olson, 12, Niles, OH 1955 - Notable: Raymond is sometimes credited as first 'colored' champ, which isn't accurate, but was still special for the time 1956 - Boy: Fred "Freddy" Brown, 12, Beckley, WV 1956 - Girl: Lynette Watkins, 13, Bryn Mawr, PA 1957 - Boy: Stanley "Stan" Herold, 12, Summersville, WV (Muddlety, WV) 1957 - Girl: Lois Fusco, 13, Yonkers, NY 1958 - Boy: Dennis Kyle, 14, Richwood, WV (Nettie, WV) 1958 - Girl: Jeannette Merlino, 13, Yongers, NY (Sandra Wallace of Ohio is mentioned as champ in a 1990 paper) 1959 - Boy: Matthew Wysocki, 13, Wilkes-Barre, PA (Plains Township) 1959 - Girl: Sandra Stefanchik, 12, Yonkers, NY 1959 - 37 - 40 contestants 1959 - Sandra was described as "only girl ever allowed into the final round of the national marbles tournament", but I think this isn't the only time I've seen this claim in the 1950's. I need to track down the details. I'm not certain what is meant by the "final round". (The reference I quote is a preview of a pay-per-view June 27, 1959 article in the Chicago Tribune.) Wildwood, New Jersey 1960 - Boy: Tommy Meade, 12, Yonkers, NY 1960 - Girl: Christine Zamojsky, 11, Yonkers, NY 1961 - Boy: Augustus "Ace" Millen, 11, Yonkers, NY 1961 - Girl: Anita Danyluk, 14, Niles, OH 1962 - Boy: Mark O'Mahoney, 13, Pittsburgh, PA 1962 - Girl: Peggy Mullen, 9, Pittsburgh, PA 1963 - Boy: James Donohue, 14, Springfield, MA 1963 - Girl: Patsy Coon, 12, Fort Dix, NJ 1963 - 33 boys, 7 girls 1964 - Boy: Clarence "Peewee" Bower, 14, McGraws, WV (Mullens, WV) 1964 - Girl: Claudia Davis, 12, Yonkers, NY 1965 - Boy: Gary Malcolm, 14, Elkhardt, IN 1965 - Girl: Jacqueline Izaj, 14, Pittsburgh, PA 1966 - Boy: Melvin Garland, 14, Pittsburgh, PA 1966 - Girl: Marcella Elliott, 14, Wilmington, DE 1967 - Boy: Barry Blum, 13, York, PA 1967 - Girl: Patricia Yurkovich, 13, Pittsburgh, PA 1967 - 38 contestants 1968 - Boy: Rudy Raymond, 14, Reading, PA 1968 - Girl: Debbie Webb, 13, Yonkers, NY 1969 - Boy: Glenn Sigmon, 12, Wharton, WV 1969 - Girl: Maureen Regan, 14, Lawrenceville, PA (Oakland, PA) 1969 - 33 contestants 1970 - Boy: Ray Morgano, 13, Pittsburgh, PA 1970 - Girl: Karen Yurkovich, 14, Pittsburgh, PA 1971 - Boy: Rick Mawhinney, 14, Cumberland, MD 1971 - Girl: Cheryl Elliott, 14, Wilmington, DE 1972 - Boy: Ray Jarrell, 13, Whitesville, WV (Naomi, WV?) 1972 - Girl: Kathy Pazkowski, 13, Pittsburgh, PA 1973 - Boy: Doug Hager, 13, Whitesville, WV (Glen Daniel, WV; Mt. View, WV -- did he move between news reports?) 1973 - Girl: Debra Stanley, 14, Reading, PA 1974 - Boy: Larry Kokos, 14, Lawrenceville, PA 1974 - Girl: Susan Regan, 13, Lawrenceville, PA 1974 - Claimed to feature "the first boy-girl meeting in the tournament's history". 1974 - It sure wasn't the first, but it does sound as if Susan came close to winning it all. 1975 - Boy: Richard Unser, 14, Pittsburgh, PA 1975 - Girl: Sharon Woolworth, 12, Reading, PA Jackson, New Jersey 1976 - Boy: Jeff Rice, , 1976 - Girl: Judy Bosiljevak, , Allegheny County, PA Wildwood, New Jersey 1977 - Boy: Walter Morgano, 14, Lawrenceville, PA 1977 - Girl: Diann Kopicki, 12, Reading, PA 1978 - Boy: Dean Feinauer, 13, Reading, PA 1978 - Girl: Diane Bertosh, 13, Lawrenceville, PA 1979 - Boy: Danny Stamm, 11, Reading, PA 1979 - Girl: Kris Alfiero, 12, Reading, PA 1980 - Boy: Sandy Nesmith, 14, Naoma, WV 1980 - Girl: Brenda Schwartz, 9, Pottstown, PA 1981 - Boy: Jeff Kimmell, 13, Cumberland, MD 1981 - Girl: Joelle Guiles, 14, Reading, PA 1982 - Boy: Mike Moore, 14, Cumberland, MD 1982 - Girl: Lisa Stamm, 12, Reading, PA 1983 - Boy: Kerry Acord, 11, Mount View, WV 1983 - Girl: Patricia Kimmel, 12, Cumberland, MD 1984 - Boy: Gregg Yakich, 14, Pittsburgh, PA 1984 - Girl: Nicole Stamm, 11, Reading, PA 1984 - 45 contestants 1985 - Boy: Jon Jamison, 14, Reading, PA 1985 - Girl: Amy Thompson, 12, Cumberland, MD 1985 - 30 contestants from 12 states 1986 - Boy: Giang Duong, 11, Upper Darby, PA 1986 - Girl: Darlene Schwartz, 12, Berks County, PA 1986 - 34 contestants from 8 states 1987 - Boy: Chad Reber, 11, Berks County, PA 1987 - Girl: Lori Dickel, 14, Ridgely, WV 1988 - Boy: Dan Strohecker, 12, Reading, PA 1988 - Girl: Shannon Capasso, 12, Pittsburgh, PA 1989 - Boy: Nicky Piatek, 9, Pittsburgh, PA 1989 - Girl: Donna Rothenberger, 13, Reading, PA 1989 - 25 boys and 26 girls 1990 - Boy: Carl Whitacre, 12, Ridglely, WV 1990 - Girl: Alison Reber, 10, Fleetwood, PA 1991 - Boy: Brian Shollenberger, 13, Reading, PA 1991 - Girl: Dawn Lancaster, 13, Cumberland, MD 1992 - Boy: Wesley Thompson, , Standing Stone, TN 1992 - Girl: Trish Tressler, , Frederick County, MD 1992 - 70 contestants expected 1993 - Boy: David McGee, 14, Pittsburgh, PA 1993 - Girl: Amanda Burns, 12, Moss, TN 1993 - 42 boys and 38 girls expected 1994 - Boy: Bong Duong, , Upper Darby, PA 1994 - Girl: Kim Shuttleworth, 12, Allegheny County, PA 1995 - Boy: Jason Williams, 14, Clarksburg, WV 1995 - Girl: Stephanie Zlokas, 14, Pittsburgh, PA 1996 - Boy: Nathan Thompson, , Monroe County, KY 1996 - Girl: Molly Reecer, 14, Celina, TN 1996 - 31 girls and 32 boys 1997 - Boy: Michael Thomas, 11, Upper Darby, PA 1997 - Girl: Megan Winkelman, 12, Frederick, MD 1997 - 64 contestants 1998 - Boy: Ben Nelson, , , 1998 - Girl: Emily Martin, 13, Frederick, MD 1998 - about 70 contestants 1999 - Boy: Doug Watson, 13, Greencastle, PA 1999 - Girl: Kathy Stehlik, 11, Perry Hall, MD 1999 - 59 contestants 2010 - see also: Allison-Antrim Museum, Greencastle, PA 2000 - Boy: Andrew Martinez, 14, Grand Junction, CO 2000 - Girl: Larin Miller, 12, Pittsburgh, PA 2001 - Boy: Tim Ratliff, , , 2001 - Girl: Kristie Vanderzee, , , 2002 - Boy: Jonathan Hulse, 14, Washington County, MD 2002 - Girl: Morgan Kellman, 13, Middletown, MD 2003 - Boy: Jeremy Hulse, 14, Hagerstown, MD 2003 - Girl: Jennifer Pinciotti, 13, Frederick, MD 2003 - 56 contestants 2004 - Boy: Aaron Nees, , Meas County, CO 2004 - Girl: Carly Miller, , Allegheny County, PA 2005 - Boy: Jamie Miller, , Allegheny County, PA 2005 - Girl: Amy Nees , , Meas County, CO 2006 - Boy: Keith Moss, , Allegheny County, PA 2006 - Girl:Melissa Ashwood, , Gunnison, CO 2007 - Boy: Nick Anderson, , Mesa County, CO 2007 - Girl: Alexandra Bauer, , Pittsburgh, PA (Bloomfield, PA) 2008 - Boy: John Laffakis, , Pittsburgh, PA 2008 - Girl: Amber Ricci, 12, Pittsburgh, PA (Shaler, PA) 2009 - Boy: Ricky Brode, 14, Cumberland, MD 2009 - Girl: Whitney Lapic, 13, Shillington, PA 2009 - Whitney is the daughter of Debra Stanley-Lapic, the 1973 champion 2009 - See: The Wildwood Chronicles 2010 - Boy: Corey Goolsby, 14, Standing Stone, TN (Hanging Limb, TN) 2010 - Girl: Penelope Bauer, 13, Bloomfield, PA 2010 - 17 boys and 18 girls 2011 - Boy: Brandon Matchett, 12, Allegheny Co., PA 2010 - Girl: Bailey Narr, 11, Allegheny Co., PA. 2010 - 2012 - Boy: Caleb Isaacson, 13, Gunnison., CO 2010 - Girl: Logan Mayberry, 11, Clay Co., TN 2010 - 24 boys and 20 girls 2013 - Boy: Cooper Fisher, 12, Middletown Valley, MD 2010 - Girl: Emily Cavacini, 11, Shaler, PA 2010 - 26 boys and 26 girls 2014 - Boy: Dominic Rudakevych, 13, Middletown, MD 2010 - Girl: Marilyn Fisher, 13, Middletown, MD 2010 - 42 contestants (NPR said more girls than boys) 2015 - Boy: Devon Loewendick, 13, Cumberland, MD - Girl: Emily Simkovich, 13, of Lansdowne, PA 2016 - Boy: Louie Lee, , Mesa Co, CO - Girl: Haley Grenesko, , Pittsburgh, PA. 2017 - Boy: Eli Murphy, , Allegheny Co, PA - Girl: Sierra Ricci, , Allegheny Co, PA. 2018 - Boy: Joshua Johnston, , - Girl: Madison Johnson, , 2019 - Boy: Spencer Hays, 13, Gunnison, CO - Girl: Lauren Young, 14, of Frederick, MD 2020, 2021 Canceled due to Covid 2022 99th NMT winners Jessica Johnson of Cape May Co, NJ and Todd Kmiecik of Frederick Co, MD 2023 100th NMT winners Jessica Thompson of Middletown, MD and Isaiah Garcia of Philadelphia, PA

Yes, they moved from Vienna to Parkersburg in 1945. Okie, yours might be a conqueror variant, introduced during WWII. Straddling the time of the move IIUC. So I think it could be from either site.