Steph

I can barely see the "breaks" in the pictures! Smooth!

Plus, camera differences and lighting differences could make the same marbles look different and different marbles look the same.

The side-by-side comparison gets both the camera and the brain to work better.

This is great! And I think I finally found some matches to what I have here...the blue/white popsicle and the pale yellow/white meteor. It's a thrill to see what you have, unless my eyes are deceiving me then it's back to the drawing board...lol

Wouldn't you know ... you pick out the patches. Several companies made patches. You might find some in the Akro boxes too.

A lot of the board's Akro photos were in older threads, so they're missing right now. But I hope enough remain for you to find some for comparison.

Ohhhhhh, I think I also have some of those dark red ones in Post #13..I call them black cherries...veryyyyyy kewl!

If we're talking monetary value (are we?), then clearies and solid game marbles are generally not very collectible unless they're in their original packaging. (There are some exceptions ... but it can take someone a year or more to learn to pick them out from the regular game marbles.)

That said, I love clearies. The first marbles I got as a kid was one of Champion's Bicentennial bags and it was full of clearies from ultrapeewee size to shooters. They're a very happy memory for me.

Plus I have a tray of solid colored marbles sorted by color. Every now and again I pull it out and admire all the hues.

That's a wonderful display. It is so cool whenever someone can show colors side by side in the same photo. Hard to imagine anything more helpful ... short of seeing them in person.

So far all of the yellow popeye boxes I remember seeing have had oxbloods and lemonades in them. All two of them.

Is this a mere coincidence? What else is known both about yellow popeye boxes ... and about how Akro's oxbloods and ades were marketed in general?

Here are pix of the two boxes. The first was shown by Lloyd here. The 2nd is Nancy/Pollyestr2's ... for a few more hours.

Here are a couple of Dazzlers boxes. Only the Giant Dazzlers appear to be labelled as Codeg brand. Both boxes are from Block auctions.

Auction description for the giant dazzlers:

Original package. Rare English marble package. Cardboard sleeve. "6 Giant Dazzlers" "Monster Size Coloured Glass Marbles". Codeg brand. Contains six 15/16" Wire Pulls. Circa 1950s. Rare. 5-3/4" long.

A solitaire game, from another eBay auction. Don't know whose. And I don't know what it said about where the marbles were made.

And there are bunches and bunches of Codeg examples here with a lot of discussion: Made In England?

Notable Threads & Other Resources

[This is quite dated -- probably many broken links again -- but I'll leave it up awhile longer at least.]

This started out as one long list. As it became even longer I broke it up into smaller, more manageable lists.

I still haven't read every thread on the board. Even when I think I have "finished", I'm sure I'll have missed something interesting.

What I'm getting at is if you have any leads on good threads to include, they are ALWAYS WELCOME. Thanks!

MAJOR new resource. Already great. Additions still being made as of the time of this writing:

Joemarbles.com

Click on any of the following topics for a list of threads to browse:

Original Packaging

Advertising

Nifty Items Which May Not Roll Far

Marble-Related Collectibles

Salient Features in Marble Construction

Marble References

Nomenclature

Restoration

Photography

Handmades

Early Machine Mades & Transitionals (slags, bricks, transitionals, etc.)

Marbles from Outside the U.S.

Cat's Eyes

Contemporary Artists

Mysteries and Tricky ID's

Interesting Threads I Can't Categorize Yet

Links: Marbles By Color

Marble Manufacturers

Early Marble Companies

• Barberton (1906-1908)
• Navarre (1897-1901)

  Navarre Glass Marble And Specialty Company 1897-1901

• American Marble and Toy Mfg. (1891-1904)

  Just Some Ugly Dirt Marbles

• Albright (? - ca 1938), inc. the Albright & Lightcap Co., and the J. E. Albright Co.
• Ravenna Ceramics Corp (ca 1938 - 1942?) -- Ravenna is the successor to the J. E. Albright Co.
• The Standard Toy Marble Company (1893 - 1922)
• The Calfornia Agate Co. (around the 1920's and 1930's)

  California Agates -- Incredible "find"

M. F. Christensen & Son (1903-1917)

Christensen Agate Company (1925-1933)

Alley Agate Company (1929-1949)

Akro Agate Company (1910-1951)

Master Marble Company/Master Glass Company (1930-1974)

Peltier Glass Company (1886-present)

Vitro Agate Company (1932-1992)

Champion Agate Company (1938-present?)

Ravenswood Novelty Works (roughly 1928 - 1955?)

Marble King, Inc. (1949-present)

Jabo-Vitro Agate, Inc. (1987-present)

Vacor De Mexico, AKA Fabricas Selectas USA (dist. by Qualatex, Alamo, Mega, Etc.)

Other U.S. Marble Companies

• Heaton (1946-1971)
• Jackson (1945-1946)
• Playrite (1945-1947)
• Cairo (1946-1950)
• Davis (1947-1948)
• Alox (1919-1989)
• Bogard
• Kokomo
• Mid-Atlantic (? - 2002)

  Another Leighton link (stored here temporarily):

  http://marbleconnection.com/i...showtopic=11401

  (p.s., the Navarre co. was also mentioned on the page where this clip came from)

Here is a box from an old IAMC show report. The original thread isn't here anymore but I saved the picture. (Don't know whose it is.)

(click to enlarge)

It's a 25-count, No. 0 box for "glass marbles". Stencilled above the pastedown label is the word "Professional".

Handwriting at the top of the label says "No. 31 Two Color".

Is it known what Albright brand glass marbles looked like?

Update: The box with marbles inside is up for auction now (Feb. 2009). I don't at present know if anyone else knows whether the box was backfilled.

(click to enlarge)

Some discussion: Albright / Cac's @ Morphy's

Well, me and my camera had a little talk ... and it decided to cooperate today.

Here they are, on a brief stroll outside their cozy gift box.

How does anyone put all that color together ... whether glass or clay? That takes ingenuity.

Yea!

James, it sounds like your display mode got switched to Outline. If your layout is like mine, you have an Options option in the upper right corner of the page. Click on it to see a dropdown menu. If you switch to Standard display mode, you should get back to normal.

Crossing my fingers,

Steph

Here is another package from Argentina. The marbles inside are loose, but I've heard others mention old style swirled marbles from South America. Again, the box says "Industria Argentina".

(The photo looks like it probably came from an eBay auction, but I found it here. Jeff Hale describes the marbles as a sort of wirepull shooter.)

A Master Marbles bag from a Block auction:

Auction description:

MASTER MARBLE/GLASS COMPANY. Marble Pouch. Master Marble rubberized textile pouch from the Century of Progress in Chicago in 1933. Depicts The Marble House with the two toy soldiers next to it. Some rubbing loss of the graphic. This would be the pouch from the medium or small size box. This pouch is very rare. Usually, the pouches are leather (leather would have been cheaper to produce than rubberized textile back then). 5" x 3-1/2". Near Mint. Circa 1933.

So, there will have to be at least one more post. I must report that they are BEAUTIFUL in hand.

And Mr. Tallucchio is VERY nice.

Marbles from Argentina:

These are pictures Rick posted awhile back. Their original thread was lost in the recent downsizing. Luckily I'd saved the photos. These are way cool. The bag says "Industria Argentina", indicating that's where they were made.

Marbles from Brazil:

This bag was auctioned by the Lloyd Ralston Gallery.

Auction description:

Original package. Very rare Brazilian marble package. Poly bag. Header reads "Bolas de Gu de Arco Iris / No. 211 / Tamanho 5/8" / Quantidade 30". Estrela brand, from Sao Paolo. Contains mostly an odd type of Tiger Eye, some catseyes and clearies. stunning and exceptionally rare! Mint. Probably 1960s.

Some of its contents:

. . (source of contents photos)

Click game, from a Block auction.

(click to enlarge)

I guess I'll keep adding pix as I find them. Maybe you couldn't guess ... but I like pix.

Here's a Monaco stamp, first day cover issued May 9, 1989. From a Block auction.

The 2007 Tour info is at www.worldmarbles.com. (Here's the English version.)

The site has pix of past tournaments, e.g., from 2006.

The rules.

1. Heats are made up of between 6 and 8 competitors. The competitors begin at the START line and each player takes his or her turn to have a first flick.
   
2. Each competitor is attributed a coloured mini-cyclist used to mark the position of his/her marble on the circuit. The mini-cyclist is placed by the referee on the edge of the circuit next to the track.
   
3. Each player may choose his own technique. However, the marble should be FLICKED with the thumb, index or middle finger. The hand or a finger must always remain in contact with the sand.
   
4. The marble must NOT take off, but should roll as far as possible on the track. If the marble takes off, the player forfeits his turn.
   
5. The marble must follow the track (full of obstacles !). Poles mark out different zones (eg. chicanes, the mountain etc..) . The marble must always pass through these poles. Shots are disqualified if the marble leaves the marked out boundaries of the sand track.
   
6. The referee will refuse shots if : the marble is pushed, if it takes off or if it leaves the track. When a shot is refused, the competitor stays in his/her initial place and awaits the next go.
   
7. Once all players have left the START line, the player who is in the lead plays again, followed by the player in 2nd place etc...
   
8. The winner of each race is the first past the FINISH LINE.
   

Here are some official gamepieces, cyclists and some of the marbles, from la boutique.

The company formerly known as Vacor appears to be the tournament's marble supplier. This link is to a large (1.3M) pdf image of the from the site showing photos of what appears to be the complete set of official marbles in their blister packs. It's in French, which imho is cool! Check out the French words for shooter size marbles and boulders.

In case you're not into playing and maybe you like to collect marble packaging, there appear to be unoffical versions also. For example, this from Amazon.fr:

And these pix from Fnac éveil & jeux show pieces set up in the sand.

(Click pix to enlarge)

Cornelian vs. Carnelian?

As a mineral, the carnelian is the same as the cornelian. Here's a page describing the stone, Cornelian or carnelian. Here are sample pictures from that page:

And here's a carnelian bracelet showing some of the brighter variations in color, from Earthen Vessel Designs.

But Akro appears to have thought the stone was nice enough to name two different kinds of marbles after it!

Here are examples from the Akro section of the ID Guide at Land of Marbles, along with the descriptions:

Akro Agate Co. - Akro Agate 'Cornelian'

Origin: Clarksburg WV

Opaque red swirled with opaque white. Superficially resembles a 'Brick,' but it is not oxblood red.

Akro Agate Co. - Akro Agate 'Carnelian'

Origin: Clarksburg WV

One of the 'Ades.' Orange/Brown and opaque white swirls in a translucent fluorescent base.

Here's another Carnelian, this one with oxblood, from a Block auction.

And then there's the M. F. Christensen American Cornelian. This is an old auction photo. I don't know who the seller was:

lol.

Well, Simichrome was the only brand name I found when I was doing my search for a bakelite testers. Comes in a tube.

I've used it a lot. Mostly on buttons and dice. Last month I even used it to clean some metal! lol

Fun to watch the color change from pink to yellow when you for sure have bakelite.

One thing is ... if I have this straight ... not all bakelite responds to the chemical test. But I think the smell test is suppose to work on all of it. Can anyone second that?

The version of the smell test I learned was to hold it under hot running water for just a bit. Then the smell seems rather strong to me.

My version of the chemical test has been to use Simichrome Polish, one of those pinkish pastes. 409 sounds less messy.

Jobber boxes from recent auctions:

(click to enlarge)

The first two boxes are from Block.

Here is his description:

BB Marbles: 2 Boxes Jabo 1999 Classics

OTHER MACHINE MADE, Original package. Lot of two items. Both are original boxes from "Lost Your Marbles" of 1999 runs of Jabo-Vitro Agate Classics. Each box contains eighty marbles. Nice groups. This outfit put together a limited number of these boxes in 1999 and 2000. 5" x 6-1/4". Mint.

Root Beer Floats, Novas, and Pink Champagnes
Pelt Novas
Believe It Or Not
Marble Names Not From The Factory (see Post #5)

Mostly Pix - Peltier (see Post #32)



Are there any other Nova siblings than the once pictured in these links?

This question is prompted by an LOM thread, which was prompted by this Bob Block Auction for a 1" vaseline glass marble he dated from 1970 to 1975 and called a Nova.

Bullet Molds:

Revolutionary War era bullet mold, from the Morristown National Historical Park:

. . (1)

Description:

18th Century

This mold was used to cast for musket and pistol caliber balls. Marked "IM," probably John Miller who also made molds for pewter cutlery such as spoons.

Brass. H 15.2, 2.5 cm

Morristown National Historical Park, MORR 1345

A British war re-enactor casting musket balls in another handheld mold:

. . (2)

The consensus is that the orb here, Bullet Mold? is an old musket ball. It appears to have been made in a three part mold.

And here you'll find some bullet mold marbles, in both the two-piece and three-piece styles:

Has Anyone Heard Of....

Bulletmold??, anybody know for sure?

Claw And Ball, I finally got one

Czech marbles also appear to have been made in the bullet mold style:

An unseamly question....or two.... (See Post #7)