Steph

My best guess at this time is these were made after 1990. Actually I'm fairly certain the rainbows with the lovely translucent base were after 1990. Likely in 2000 or later. (click to enlarge)

If the sources for the pix aren't given they're probably from old auctions. Sorry, I wasn't keeping track of the sources yet when I saved most of these first ones. Tournament Assortment, Berry Pink Industries. Check out the St. Mary's cat's eyes, which I think would have been made between 1955 and 1958. [edit: I based that guess on the assumption that St. Mary's cat's eyes were only made in St. Mary's. I've heard they may also have been made after the move to Paden City. However, there is obviously still a good chance that they're from the early period.] (click to enlarge) Here's a Tournament Assortment cloth bag. It looks like it may have most of the original marbles, but with more added. I see one blue and white St. Mary's cat's eye and some early Japanese cats, plus some Master Glass bananas. And I think there are a couple of steelies and at least one corkscrew. (click to enlarge) The cloth tourney bags were made in Japan but I don't think any declare that fact. However, there is a lookalike bag which is not Marble King brand, and I think that one does say made in Japan. Note: There are other pix in the links here, Compilation: Original Packaging.

Ken, how do the marbles in the box here compare to the ones you have in hand? Do you think these are Jennies? Thanks, Steph

This box and Ken's didn't look identical to me. But if you see a match, that means something. As to Mike's implicit id, for him to say he sees a match to a picture in a book means next to nothing to me. My impression from some of his auctions is that he sometimes implies things which might not be accurate. Then if anyone came back later and said they'd learned the marbles weren't Jennies, he could say he never explicitly said they were, and wash his hands of it. (That's my impression from some of his other auction listings.) So, without backup from credible sources, all I had was a hesitant match between this box and Ken's. Hence my questions.

From the sublime to the ... cat's eyes. (click to enlarge) The auction description: When I saw the gallery photo for those, I guessed they were from Japan. When I read otherwise I did a search for some sort of confirmation. Here's a page which says this type of marble is from the 1950's and is the last kind manufactured industrially in Germany, Murmeln unsrer Kindheit, die originalen Murmeln der 50er Jahre. The site says it has some of the last marbles made in Ilmenau, and it offers them for sale. Here's a sample lot showing more of the old cat's eyes: (click to enlarge)

Fair use. .

I don't know. They're discussed starting in Post #23 here, CAC, "Worlds Best Bloodies"?, Need others input. If you have Grist's Big Book, 3rd ed., look at p. 78, Plate 169. That's where I've read you can see a picture. I don't have the 3rd edition, so I don't know what you'll see! This box is from the Marquee auction. The description said these were like the ones on p. 78 of Grist.

Which? Why? Thanks.

And then here you have your basic, world-famous Jabo cage-style cat's eyes from Reno, Ohio.

Don't know if the marbles are Ravenswood, but here's an Assorted Colors box like the ones they call "Our Leader" in that catalog. This is the 30 marble size. (click to enlarge)

#131 box? Does anyone have pix from the auction mentioned here, Akro Special Champions Box? Or anything like that? Auction description:

And then we jump ahead a decade or two. Here are some early Japanese cat's eyes. The ones with bright colors, and pretty, sometimes peachy base glass. Pre-1964. Uncle Jack's Glass Marbles: Source (with more pix and discussion): Old package or new? And while I was at LOM looking that up I found a couple more links ... Pressman dishes by Alley Maker? (intriguing Pressman reference ... need to ask Chuck about that bag)

Sureshot Glass Marbles, Asstd Sizes.

Thanks Old Feller!

I was kinda thinking it showed excitement in the market. I would think of that as more good than bad! After watching the marble market slide ... to see an upturn however long it lasts ... sort of interesting. List your sparklers, Galen!

(click pix to enlarge) If I have anything to say about any carpet bowls beyond what the sellers of the bowls said in their descriptions, most likely it will come from Paul Baumann's, Collecting Antique Marbles: Identification and Price Guide, 4th ed (2004). (the same book the Marquee Marble auction refers to below) Marquee Marble's auction description: (winning bid was $350) Individually Baumann estimates the value of the crosslined bowls to be $140 each and the crown bowls to be $160 each. He says the crown is the most common sponge-printed style. But among striped pattern bowls, "plaid" would be more common than crosslined. Bob Block calls the next two "mochaware". The closest I find to these in Baumann is what he terms "agateware". Baumann estimates the value of his examples at around $250 and says: Auction description: (At the time of this writing, the asking price for this bowl is $299.) And here's a larger yet more delicate example. Description: (Asking price: $325)

Mostly auction pix. Sources provided where I know them. Marble King blister pack. Has 1979 style choking hazard sticker. (click to enlarge) Six Fancy Jumbo Kitty Cucumber Marbles. Bottle green cat's eyes, cute box, from Hong Kong, bought at the Smithsonian museum shop. Box is copyrighted 1984. Yes, this is a mainly for newbies thread. Would you like to help them out? Do you have any marbles that you're reasonably sure came from 1970 or later to share?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=180132492028 $522!!!!!

Bar Codes The bar code was developed in 1948 and patented in 1952. The technology was developed further and applied with varying degrees of sucess in industrial applications in the 1960's. Its first retail use was in 1974. The first item scanned was a pack of Wrigley's gum at a supermarket in Ohio. By the late 70's, 85% of all retail products had bar codes. Sources: A Short History of Bar Code at Bar Code 1 The History of Barcodes, an article by Tony Seideman

This is a summary of some things I know, some educated guesses, and a few questions I still have. ========= Zip Codes in Company Addresses The 5-digit Zip Code was announced in 1963. So, if someone tries to tell you a marble bag is from the 1950’s but you see a zip code on it, something’s fishy! The precursor to Zip Codes were the 1- or 2-digit Postal Zones which larger cities were assigned starting in 1943. For example, if you see an address such as Akron 10, Ohio or Chicago 5, ILL., on a header, that's a good sign that the product is vintage! The 9-digit “Zip + 4” was introduced in 1983. I seldom see the extra digits on any packaging even now, so the lack of the digits doesn't mean anything special. But if you see it, then you know you are looking at newer packaging. An example is Galen's bag here, Anacortes Vitros, ca. 1989-1992. Age Warnings on Marble Bags Congress' Consumer Product Safety Act of 1972 created the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which began operating in 1973. Their first charge included working with manufacturers to establish voluntary safety standards. So that would be about when warning statements such as "For ages 3 and up" statement began to be placed on small toys. Then, after collecting more data, it appears to have been determined that for some toys the voluntary warnings weren't effective enough. And that's where the 1979 Child Safety Protection Act comes in, replacing the friendly recommendation "For ages 3 and up" with the more forbidding "CHOKING HAZARD, Not for children under 3 years" and the standardized triangular hazard symbol. One notable example illustrating the change in warnings is the Marble King blister packs with the horseshoe arrangement of marbles. Here are photos of two of those packages from eBay auctions. Both have small, easy on the eye warnings on the left edge of the card saying "For ages 3 and up". So both of these were printed after 1972. But only one was likely sold in the 70's. That's the one on the left. You can see the little dimestore style price sticker on the one on the left, but more importantly you can still see at the bottom of the card that what you were buying was "40 American Made Glass Marbles". What are you getting in the package on the right? A Choking Hazard. The harsher 1979 warning sticker has been placed over the American Made statement. (My thanks to CrazyRandy217 at LOM for getting me on the right track with the age warnings.) My next questions are: "For ages 3 and up" is less cautious than what we see on current marble packages, so what other age recommendations have shown up since 1979, and when were they introduced? And when did bar codes start appearing on packages?

I can hardly wait to see! Does she have a gallery?

More non-marble items which could be had from the Gropper Onyx Marble Co.: Gropper Onyx Marble Co playing cards w/ box . . (that's the description in a Jerry Stichter auction announcement)

Publications of the Gropper Onxy Marble Co., New York: Parlor and Lawn Croquet, ca. 1930. . . (source: Croquet World Online) Run straight to your library!

Advertising: As usual, this is a work in progress. I still have a few links to add, but there may be many I have overlooked. All corrections and additons are appreciated. And in this case, I enthusiastically encourage you to create more threads for me to add to the list! I would love to see more of those old ads. Note: LOM in front of a link indicates that the linked page is hosted by LandOfMarbles.com. MM indicates a link at Marble Mental. KC is the Kansas City Marble Collectors Club. Akron is AkronMarbles.com. "See also" will direct you elsewhere on the world wide web. Wide ranging discussions and examples Akro Timeline Ad Heaven Catalogs, brochures, company mailings, etc.: Howde They Get This One By Me (Ravenswood Catalog mention) Ravenswood Catalogs, authentic or Repro? Mostly Pix - Ravenswood (Pix from one of the auctions in the preceding link.) Some Onyx Marbles For Sale, "CHEAP!!" (1933 ad) Green Brick?? (scan from 1920's Montgomery Ward catalog in Post #29) There was a mention once of discussion of old catalogs seen in a Holland museum. Akron: What exactly is an Akro Agate Imperial (Source of the photo in the preceding link) Akro Ades, And Some Misconceptions.... (Akro catalog pages in Post #9.) More Marble Mail!!! (Akro ad in Post #11, from the same catalog?) MM: PeeWee Master Made Marbles (Reference to 1932 MM ad shown in American Machine-Made Marbles) KC: New Marble Catalogs (Vacor, Mega, House of Marbles) Akron: Image of brochure for "The New Akro Carnelian" (See more on Akronmarbles' Akro Agate Co. page.) Vienna Vitros !!! Blackies ad shown in many threads: Promotional Packaging: Starkey-Klicker (discussion) MM: Free Marbles! (A treasure trove of promotional packaging!) (see also Original Packaging thread ... will probably import some of those links here later) Printing on marbles: Printed Marbles (where to get them) Logo Marbles??? (Sistersville Fest marbles) Rare!, & unusual (Advertising Sulphide, Samuel Brothers of London) CATS?, New or old shooters, or Germans? (German Sparkler in Post #19 says Bonux) MM: Is the Porcelfrit question settled? Golden Rule marbles: A classic with several incarnations, sometimes used in advertising, sometimes not. Dilemma (References broken links; I'll try to smooth that out) Other cool items: Sam Dyke Miniature Jugs....

My thumbnails aren't working now. I need to change the code. Sources of pix are included when I know them. Here is a stupendous Ravenswood thread: Ravenswood Novelty Marbles - A Review Of Varieties Next, a catalog with Buddy bags, Paul Bunyans, and Assorted Colors. Polyethylene bags. Leader boxes. Also note the Buddy box in the pic, similar but not identical to the assorted colors box in the catalog. (click to enlarge) And close-ups of the bag which was sold with them: (click to enlarge) (source) Note: There may be other Ravenswood pix in the links here: Compilation: Original Packaging Links: Ravenswood Novelty Works