Steph

These logo collectors sets are neat. auction photos) The seller had other examples of Jabo logo marbles, some in packaging and some loose. Fun. :-)

Every now and then I have a good idea. My google search for Ottawa sand came up with contact info for the U.S. Silica company. I asked them why a silica/sand sample might be orange. (Didn't mention that it came from the Akro Museum, just said I was talking about it with some marble collectors.) Mr. Weber in the sales department responded most promptly.

Neat! The ottawa people are apparently mighty proud of that sand too. Here's a link mostly about Ottawa silica sand. And a little about silica sand from some other sites in Illinois and out. It seems to be saying that pure silica will be colorless. It also tells some other modern uses for silica.

Neat. Baumann said it was "the richest vein of silica sand in the United States", "99.9 percent pure silica". Wonder where it is used.

I'm looking at that super cool 1933 ad posted here, and once again I probably haven't registered everything on it, because once again I got sidetracked by something fun. Here are the Steelies from that ad. The box says "Solid Steel Balls", so this would be ball bearings, right? Check out that size! 11/16". These would break some glass! [edit: the 1933 date has been questioned. Any help clarifying and/or verifying the date would be appreciated. In any case the actual date would be close to 1933. Possibly a little before.] While I'm in the neighborhood, and in case anyone opened this thread in the hopes of finding some of the old hollow steelies with the x's in them, you can find some of those here, Steelies: Handmade Or Machine-made? Yes, it was a silly question! lol. But it's a great thread. Check out the patent John McCormick shows in Post #7 and Craig game set in Post #10.

Everytime I look at that 1933 ad posted I see something I missed the last time. Albright's 2-color glass marbles were in there. $1 would get you 500 in a muslin bag. Yes, 5 for a penny. (click to enlarge) When I asked about Albright and glass marbles at LOM it was said most likely Albright was the distributor not the maker. Who might have made these two color marbles? The names mentioned as possibilities that time at LOM were Christensen, Akro, Alley, Master and Ravenswood.

I didn't know Brian was in on that. I do see his site cited several places in Baumann. Pretty cool.

Dave, which book is that?

Well, I'm back. That's pretty funny how Akro sued Peltier for patent infringement because of the similarity of the Miller machine to Horace Hill's patent, and won, but then had their victory yanked on appeal because Horace Hill shouldn't have been awarded the patent to begin with. Yea! (Hey, I like Akros, but still yea!)

Cliff, I "read the books". the ones I have. But sometimes things don't click until I've formulated a question to ask. Maybe a question about the books, maybe about something which accidentally leads me back to them. I have to feel involved. I try to read the text but I drift off and look at the pictures unless I have an active topic of interest to pursue. Like this has become. Actually this particular topic has been great for helping me get back into Baumann's book. Not having registered the connection between MFC and Akro before, I couldn't understand why MFC and Akro were in one chapter with CAC and Pelt off in a separate chapter. That didn't fit with how I grouped their marbles in my own mind so confusion kept me from really focussing on either chapter. Pretty much all of the confusion has been removed by the comments here, and I'm getting a lot out of my Baumann reading today. I'm almost done with the MFC/Akro chapter and am about to start into the CAC/Peltier chapter. I'll probably be back with more questions soon.

I wondered if that was at least a part of it too. So it could have been a "Which came first, the glass or the glassmakers?" question. I was still fuzzy enough about the whole thing that I thought it safest to simply ask "Why?" and see what came of that. It's been interesting so far. I went back to read some in Baumann. He doesn't state Akro's reason for the move as bluntly as that, but yeah, that Horace Hill was some piece of work. That's irony. M. F. Christensen had to close down because of gas shortages but the dubious characters at Akro landed on their feet at a site rich in resources and were able to thrive. Martin Christensen (and son) really treated people right. Thanks for the reminders to look at their story again.

Yes, neat link. Thanks Dave and Alan for all the great info. I figured/hoped sand had something to do with it. Now you've crystalized it for me! I like the idea of in-house control of the colors and quality in the good old days. Fwiw, I'd heard the name Oriskany before (mentioned at your link, Dave). The (maybe) funny thing is that I read it today on an image I'd saved to my harddrive a few weeks ago. That image is what prompted my question. I wanted to know more about the significance of the jar of sand in a Marble Bert auction which had no takers. I would have bought it if I had any mad money, because having a jar of sand seemd like a cool idea to me! But I didn't, and apparently no one else got the historical significance of it, or valued it that much.

silica = sand? Did the old marble companies process their own sand/silica? I understand that natural gas is not so easy to come by anymore. Is the sand/silica dried up too? (no pun intended!)

Why did Ohio and West Virginia become centers for marble making? Any particular reason(s)?

Is glass addiction the same as "the melting pot". Their subtitle says "where all glass addicts melt together". Have I found the place? http://www.thegldg.com/forum/index.php Okay ... I think I've answered my own question. ... no, not the same. Glass Addiction

Update: In case any one hadn't already guessed this from the more careful marbles labelling all around in 1933, here's the final outcome of that "pending" 1930 case against Gropper. From the Annual Report of the Federal Trade Commission for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30 1931. (http://www.ftc.gov/os/annualreports/ar1931.pdf) p. 56 indicates Gropper was found guilty of "Misbranding; false and misleading advertising." A cease and desist order was entered. p. 157 has the details: PROCEEDINGS DISPOSED OF IN FISCAL YEAR . . 157 Gropper, M. J., & Sons (Inc.). (Docket 1722.) Order entered November 17, 1930, requiring respondent, engaged in the sale of marbles, to cease and desist from the use of the word "onyx" to designate glass marbles, without the use of other words clearly showing that such marbles are not made of onyx.

No. 6 Shooters. This style box can be seen in a 1954 Tiger-Eyes Ad. (click to enlarge) No. 1 "Shooters". No. 1 is typically 5/8" mibs. <-- edit: why did I say that? Is that right? ....

Another clue maybe. This is from the 1933 ad Galen posted. A No. 5 box saying National Rainbo Marbles.

Here's a pic I've been waiting to add to the thread for current or future consideration. Waiting until the auction listing was over ... it was a 10-day auction. lol From the seller's description: I'm too tired right now to think about what all it might mean, but I think it's a clue!

We know that some Akro patches were corkscrews which didn't cork. Made when the spinner cup wasn't spinning. For example, this popeye patch, pictured along with its sibling. (They were found in the same popeye box.) So, here's my question. Was the corkscrew machine also a patch machine on purpose? And the spinner cup was just held still when the patches were being made? Or were the patches which came out of the corkscrew machine(s) more along the lines of accidents. And did Akro have specialized patch machines? For example, were moss agates made on special patch machines? Or on corkscrew machines with the spinner cup held still.

wow ... politics and intrigue ... and potentially global economic ramifications and they're just toys ... rejected toys at that.

aw shucks. That's so sweet.

Oh ... not for me, hmmm ... just because I could picture myself as a 10-year-old knuckling down with your ruby bee in 1940? I wouldn't really, you know that Carole! Those are some mighty fine pelts! p.s., I am slowly putting together two sets of marbles I wouldn't mind bashing up so that my husband and I can learn to play. He says he's game if I can find some I won't squeal about whenever they hit each other!

Wow, that's a marble! That would look great spinning across the dirt, whomping up on the other mibs in the ring. (j/k ... except that it would! )