Steph

100 count box of mostly swirls, with some question about whether the white marbles belong. Auctioned by Morphy. (click to enlarge) (source) A larger version posted by Galen:

lovely. Glad it has a name ... vitros with names seem more likely to get shown than vitros without. Or maybe it's simply that the ones with names are more memorable. Whatever it is, thanks for showing yours. :-) If this didn't already have such a specific collector's name, would it be considered a superior?

Why that late? They were making the prize names on one machine in late 1929 or early 1930, and still making slags on other machines at the same time?

Right. The names were used for swirled marbles. And then for corks. Thus the ambiguity. Without more info one way or the other, do we know exactly what "onyx" meant on July 1, 1929? The introduction of Prize Names involved two issues: (1) The new cork pattern. And (2) the new glass combos. The rod and cup mechanism patent was applied for in 1928 so what was stopping Akro from using it to fill up their onxy boxes in, say, March 1929? And then perhaps they started playing around with the new glass combos after they felt comfortable with their new machinery? Seems like there's still some gray area. Still some open questions at the moment. At least based on the info I've seen so far. We have some great info. I feel really good about the rough date of 1929 for the transition to corks, and it's awesome that we can be as specific as that. I'm satisfied. I simply noted the ambiguity of the names because it's stopping me from narrowing it down more than that based on what I know so far.

Marie, I care. I knew at least one other person also cared. He and I were talking about it by email when we came to an informational impasse and decided it might help to ask if anyone "out there" had more info. Sue, sorry. Scott, according to Cohill's book, Horace Hill started working for MFC in 1908 and it is believed his nafarious deeds took place later. Also, I think the plans he stole were still for machines to make slags. The patent application he filed in 1912 was turned down for being too close to Martin Christensen's earlier designs. Hill's 1914 application was granted but it appears that his modified designs were seriously flawed, showing how little he understood the designs he had stolen. And it does appear that it took Akro a long time to finally work out the kinks. (p.s. you messed with my head when you said lashes are only found on Akros because isn't it the lashes on master sunbursts which sometimes lead to their misidentification as sparklers?) Everyone, thanks for the input. So it does sound as if it was around the end of 1929 before Akro was ready to go live with a corkscrew promotion. Last observation which occurs to me here is that there is some ambiguity in the July 1929 pricesheet: cardinal red, onxy and imperial all being names under which corks were sold at some point. It still leaves open the possibility that corks might have been in public hands before they came into their own as a special style with new color choices.

Anyone know about the mibs in this box, and who would have made them? They look similar to Jane's and mine. They are highly fluorescent.

When did Akro cork production start? How far can the date be narrowed down? For example, I know it was somewhat before May 1, 1930. Had to be because that's when the Prize Name naming contest ended. But how much before that?

More Qualatex. The New York entry in the Travelog Collector Marble set. (source)

Whatever the name is, Jane I like your marble! And I do wonder if yours and mine are kin. p.s., I read yet another definition of moonie, in the glossary at the The American Toy Marble Museum website, and it allowed "cream yellow" as a possibility. They called it a "popular term", so we might be running up against the difference between the interpretation of Moonie with a capital M, and what the kids on the street used it for. But isn't that another matter? Jane wasn't asking if hers was a moonie. She asked if anyone had one like hers. no disrespect intended ... I want to hear more about her marble whatever anybody wants to call it.

are we practicing our understatements? lol One more question: How wide is the box? Downright petite, I'm sure, but I suspect I don't yet appreciate how tiny ...

I have one which looks a lot like yours. Practically identical in shade. Closer even than it shows in this old pic. (The flash couldn't quite blot out all the effect of the sunlight turning the insides orange) And it fluoresces the brightest I've ever seen glass fluoresce. Better than my lemonades. Mine is hand-gathered. I had it a long time before I realized that. But yes, it has faint, yet distinct, handgathered features. Any chance of yours turning out to be?

Are any of those "special" colors? Some of them look unusual to me (still feel like a newbie when it comes to slags).

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (wow) You don't waste any time getting to the hot stuff, do you!

Well, this subject appears to be tougher than I thought. That could explain why references to the reproduction boxes tend to be vague. Here are the original style boxes I've found pix of in auctions. 5 count, 12 and 20. Those match the boxes I saw in Grist's Big Book of Marbles. Grist also showed a more generic gift box type package with comic marbles on one side, a different kind of marble on the other, and a bag in the middle. The most specific info I've found about the reproduction boxes in recent times is in this thread at LOM, Bennett Repro and Box - info? .

Links to sites selling foreign (or otherwise modern) marbles: Here are a couple I go to fairly often. Recommendations welcome. Foreign marbles: emarbles.com: This link goes to their page for Loose Mega Marbles, which has a list of fairly current Mega names with pictures. I think the most recent varieties may not be listed there yet. schusserland.de: This site appears to be under construction, and I am not currently seeing options for buying marbles, but they have a wonderful assortment of pictures, and seem to be in the business of selling. There are some Czech bulletmold style marbles in the picture section. Are they are will they be available for bulk sales? That's one thing I hope to see soon. For purposes of having all the modern sites I find in one easy to reach location, and for promoting American-made marbles! Marble Kings: Marble King: The company site The Marble Man, Collectible Marbles: At the time of this writing, several varieties of Marble Kings, Jabos and Champions.

I'm starting to lose track of the variety of Pelt comics boxes I've seen. There are so many. Original, reproduction, and then I think some other modern ones which aren't modelled after old boxes? It would be neat to hear again the story of the man who made the famous reproduction boxes, and to know how many different styles he made. That was Harold Bennett, right? Plus it would be nice to see more of the other varieties out there. I've got quite a few different pix, but like I said, I'm starting to lose track of them. Wondering if I've nearly reached the end of my quest for "all" of them. Thanks!

Thanks Dani! That would be WONDERFUL! Intriguing seams on that one, Sue. I've never noticed them before in gutta percha pix.

groovy, tks

I'm under the impression that gutta percha marbles used to be called paper mache. Is that all paper mache marbles ever were, gutta percha, or were there other styles with that name?

I bid on them. Didn't win. So I only have pix. Looking at how the camera caught the color of the seller's hand, and the white part of the bag, and the whitest marble showing in the lot, I imagine that the golden shades are fairly close to true. At least what is showing on my monitor.

Oh gee, Mike is posting, and now I'm ashamed. I didn't even think to add the unique marble stand he made to this thread. This one is mine, tho' the photo is his. He made the flower marble and the leaf stand underneath. More views here.

Allyrat, the door and the window are astounding. I also love different ways to display marbles. I was hoping to see more. I didn't say anything at first because I know there are lots of neat displays out there which could be shown ... but none of them are mine! plus I was trying hard to avoid posting the silly thing I'd found the day before you posted. Biting my typing finger. But I can hold out no longer! Check it out. These turtles are being sold at toypost.co.uk specially for holding marbles. *chuckle*

I found these interesting enough to bid upon them. These could qualify as "clambroth" glass iiuc, but not fancy enough to merit any such special name of course. just marbles. or murmeln. p.s., Joe showed a cool almost clearie here ... "clearie" is totally not the right word. But it is very simple. I like it a lot.

Dan: I agree. It IS interesting. what is it? :-) Rick: neat thought! Roger: LOL @ most interesting least interesting. why wouldn't anyone call it a Joseph's coat? Looks like it has tons of color. Is there some other criterion which it might miss out on? JVV: . . Felicia: you got that right!

Ducking back in ... what do you think of their completed listings? iluvpansies247