Steph

Here's a post rescued from an expired thread about a certain colorful Cairo swirl. It sure is pretty.

Here are some pics of a few of the S. orgs. that i have . As you can see, they tend to have lots of bubbles and are swirlly red and some white in a clear base. Peltier sunsets are S. Org, wanna bees. I've dug lots of Cairo's and I want people to see more of them, so I'll be posting more after i charge my batteries. They made some kewl mibs and They deserve more recognition!!!

Here's one of Backacres S. org. close-ups from a couple of days before that, another one he dug. This one was large, 13/16". He said it was the biggest one he'd ever found.

Cairo novelty ... don't have many pix of those.

Here's a screenshot of thumbnails of dug ones from Alan's archived Cairo page. Most of the larger versions are available at the archive, plus there are a few more examples which didn't fit in the screen shot, plus historical information of course.

And here's David Chamberlain's Cairo article at Marble Mental, Cairo Novelty Company, Cairo, WV (1946-1952)

More: My new Cairo novelties

.

Here's my next silly question about something which I'm sure should be easy, but I just don't get.

What's the difference between all-reds and tiger-eyes and yellow jackets? and are there other names for similar-looking marbles. Tri-color? Bull's eye? I don't know. There are so many Vitro names!

Well, I know parts of it of course. The all-reds with red in them ... for example. But do tiger-eyes sometimes look like all-reds and sometimes like yellow-jackets? Or ... and that's where it gets shaky.

Do some styles look alike, but the difference is in whether their base is transparent or opaque? Or ...

Marbo Kangaroo Puzzler Game, with CAC swirls:

(click to enlarge)

(from a recent Marquee Marbles auction)

American Agates, 25 count box, size No. 1:

(click to enlarge)

(I think this is from a Running Rabbit auction.)

That's good to hear!

What kind of toothpaste worked for you? Well, it could make a difference, I suppose.

There are other Chrissie pix floating around. I started this with boxes I wasn't seeing in other threads.

Here are a couple of lists of links to check, not updated on a regular basis, but there are some good things. Boxes could also appear in other sections such as "Gropper", "Jobber" or "Albright". Remember, link suggestions are welcome!

Links: Original Packaging

Links: Christensen Agate

World's Best Guineas. Just the box, with Christensen Agate Co. credited as the manufacturer and Gropper as the distributor. Maybe from a Running Rabbit auction.

(click to enlarge thumbnails)

yup. :-)

In the past few days I've been making notes of some of the rust-cleaning advice I've seen.

• Bar Keepers Friend has been suggested often, with Bon Ami once suggested as a less abrasive alternative to that.
  
• Dustin/Mordiskul said Coca-Cola and a Q-tip work well.
  
• Steve/SplattmanSS said "If rust stained or heavily crudded, CLR works too...cut it 50/50 with water and soak 'em for a bit...Then get a toothbrush...repeat as necessary.."
  
• Someone else said to try toothpaste.
  
• William Marbles said, "They are glass, so wash them like dishes.....soak them with denture tablet.....use a jewler's sonic machine"
  
• Galen has also put in a good word for the sonic jewelry cleaner.
  
• Some more manual suggestions were an "exacto knife with a brand new blade" and "triple 0 steel wool".
  
• Finally, I remember someone somewhere suggesting a very specific brand of white bath soap ... but I haven't found that reference again.
  

Check post #2 here for some cloudies:

Moss Agate Or Cloudy Type Marbles, Akro, Master, Peltier, Alley, who else?

for example,

(click to enlarge)

Edit 8 years later: I think those are meteors, not cloudies.

Cloudies on the left here, Meteors on the right:

Thanks. The picture in Post #6 would have done it for me. As much as I read, things can blur a bit and I forget where I read them. So when I want to doublecheck, I can't find them.

That's why I started these thread lists to begin with!

Now I need to go back and reread all of the links!

I didn't have a comeback for that ... so I went googling. Oh my, I sure found a good one, but it's on the adult side. So I'm taking it to the Alley! ROFL.

Gry, speaking of moonpies and R.C.'s ...

Mountain Marbles: An Appalachian Tale

I think it's a special kind of red. I think it's oxblood ... or something like oxblood.

I've asked a question about it in the main chat forum.

American Cornelian Marbles, 25 count, No. 1. These pictures came from an auction some time back.

These are called "bricks", right?

groovy :-)

Felicia, has changing to the IPB 2.2.0 Default skin made it possible for you to use the Reply page?

Yanno, I looked at the ones I call black cherries ( like the ones here: http://marbleconnection.com/i...st&id=14623 ) and instead of looking at them directly in the light, I had the light behind and noticed that a few had slivers of lines close to the surface and one looked like it was half clear red and half not clear almost looked black.

If I remember right, there's also a green one. Can't seem to look at that one too well..it's got a spot that soap n water didn't get out...can I use CLR? Some of these marbles got rust on them from a piece of round metal (looks like a musket ball) that was also in the jar.

Neat. I have one which looks red, but then I noticed it was half gold, and when I looked at it through water, I noticed the red was actually coming from a balloon shaped structure inside.

I've read that some have used CLR. I don't think it will damage a clearie ... but I don't know. I've heard of some cleansers damaging the colors stripes on the marbles from some makers, but I'd guess clearies should be safe.

It appears that the look of the fakes is changing.

This bunch from eBay has three of the white industrial balls with their now easily recognizeable magic marker drawings. Those three are larger than average, as the Atlanta porcelains have tended to be since their advent in the early 1990's. But notice that some in this lot are closer to standard size. And they're darker, and have a glazed look. They're still unnaturally decorated, but in a way they look more like older ceramic marbles. It's going to be even easier to trick people with these.

This is not good!

I really really really need a doing-handsprings emoticon ....

!!!!!?????!!!!!!!!! wow

The first five color combos of the kind of tri-color cork we now call Specials appear to have been introduced in the early 1930's. These images are from Dani and Ernie's catalog. I think it sounds like the Aces may have been released to the market before the Tri-Colors. Sounds like they had some feedback from the public already and the Tri-Colors were just coming out of the experimental stage. ? ??

At least I guess those are what we now call Specials. That red, green and white one couldn't have been a popeye, could it? ??

Could the blue and white and brownish one have been an oxblood? ???

This is from the enclosure promoting the naming contest for what we now call Prize Names. It gives the names Akro used sometime around 1929.

. . .

In presenting to our juvenile customers this beautiful new line of marbles, we have been at a loss to find a suitable name to describe them, therefore we will put it up to our boy and girl friends to give this new marble a name.

. . .

Attached you will find ten coupons. Give one to each customer who purchases ten of these marbles. They will fill in his or her name and address with with their suggestions for a name for our new marble, and mail to THE AKRO AGATE COMPANY, CLARKSBURG, W. VA.

. . .

As soon as possible after the Contest closes, we will have three judges, men of national reputation in marble games, select the most fitting name from all of the suggestions sent us.

. . .

We now manufacture marbles under the following names: Akro Striped Onyx, Akro Cardinal Red, Akro Moonie, Akro Imperial and Akro Flintie.

MR. DEALER

After that came the contest rules. There were to be five prizes, ranging from $10 to $100. The deadline for entries was Midnight, May 1, 1930. Winners were to be announced in the June issue of Boys' Life.

That makes sense.

Thanks.

So, the company name for popeyes was Tri-Onyx?

It seems that this is common knowledge ... but I never registered it until a couple of minutes ago ... when re-reading a section of Alan's ID pages which I would have said I'd read a dozen times before. Whoops!

Was Tri-Onxy also the company name for lemonades and the other ades and the oxbloods in the yellow popeye boxes?