Steph

There have been a couple of others posted on the board. A very early bag from Al in Post #40 here, Marbles From Oregon - Cac Flame?, still Vitro Agate, but now a "Division of Jabo". A later bag from Trevor/Trexohio here, Original Jabo Bag. I have also presumed this Presidential Marble Collector Set to be "original packaging". Is it?

Don't know if this says anything but I thought it might be interesting to look at the Gropper box up against a set of Akros. . . (original akro photo) I like how "standard" the contents of the Gropper box appear. If it is backfilled, then at least to my untrained eye it seems that whoever filled it did a good job of making the marbles look as if they belong together. And I like the how roughly the same proportions of colors were used in both boxes, with the necessary exception of having to reduce one color to accomodate the aquas. It's a romantic notion, but I want that box to someday be found to be entirely original. If those are Akros in the Gropper box, I want it to be learned someday that for some reason Gropper was also a distributor of Akros. Say, when Akro switched over to corkscrews and patches ... perhaps they still had slags onhand but no interest in distributing them ... so they sold the surplus to Gropper. Just wishing ...

I now realize this will never be "everybody". It's not even all the threads and names on board yet, though. So I'll keep looking! See also the Glass Addiction forum, http://glasswizzards.yuku.com. Here is a list at Glass Addiction of contemporary marble makers. Trying to keep it current. Around 400 names at present. Do have a few more names to add already. How many names would I have had ... Contemporary Artists: Wide-ranging displays and discussions: Contemps How Interested Are You In Contemporary Marbles? Furnace Vs. Lamp? Wheaton (nj) Marble Show, It's not JUST contemporaries!!! Glass Addiction: What is a Filigrana ? (Nifty discussion of cane styles) Brian Bowden: Marble & Glass Demos - Brian is a major collector and moderator of Glass Addiction. These is his gallery with photos of glass artists at work. Glass Addiction: Marbles from 2009 Glass Addiction: Glassmaking communities Unidentified Contemps: Watermelon?? (sulphide) NOWHERE NEAR COMPLETE LIST OF NAMES. Trying to decide whether to delete all the names I don't have links for because it looks sort of cluttered, and the list will never be complete. But having trouble committing to deleting names. :-) James Alloway: Michael S. Barton: I Got Bit Buy The Copperheads Too!, Mikey's Copperheads Bit By The Copperheads Again! Mikey Barton's Marbles......., are Da BOMB!! (original pix are gone; Mike shows one in Post #6.) Artsy Fartsy Bartsy Marbles, new ones "bocciballs", by Michael Barton Everybody Needs Some!, Check out my new Mikey Barton's Marbles! Folded Swirls, trying to learn my new camera Sunshine And Aventurine, a good combo Got Mica ?, mmm ... sparkly Mike Barton's First Tornado With Mica I Finally Got Some Time See also: Barton Art Glass Works Troy Bennett: Laura Berretti: Strange Marble... See also: Marbled Marbles at Land of Marbles Jerry Capel: Mark Capel: Andy Davis: Delilah Davis: Jeramy ?: Jim Davis: Rick Davis: Steve Davis: Mike Edmondson: I Finally Got Some Time Douglas Ferguson: Jody Fine: Drew Fritts: Ashley (Genovini) Galaites: In My Top 5 Favorite Contemporary Collection John Gentile: Misha, Matt and Brishen Giesler: See also: Eugene Rain Mike Gong: See also: ... through the fume (his blog) Brian Graham: The only one outside of captivity...... See also: The Akron Marbles Store Sara and Andy Gregorich: Greg Hoglin: J. R. Hooper: Other Side Of The Coin. (miniature marbles) Sammy Hogue: Trying To Find Marco Jerman: See also: Jerman Art Glass Zach Jorgenson: Marble Player Contemp See also: Lazuli Flux Chris and Lissa Juedemann Furnace Vs. Lamp? (see Post #6) See also: Glass Kitchen Studio Penny Kelley: Jerry Kelly: Robert LaGrand: Ray Laubs: Birdcages? Do You Have Any? Rays Sulphides Robert Livezey: John McCormick: Shamrock Rocks Shamrock Marbles Some Late Kc Pictures (picture of John and his machine) Blue Ray...no Way....???? Nadine MacDonald: Steve Maslach: Mark Matthews: Snapshots From Kc Marble Show 2007 John Hamon Miller: Kevin Nail: Contemp Collectors Filigranos... And Some Others See also: Kevin's gallery at GlassArtists.org Shannon Norris: Jerry Park: A Couple Of New Contemps., Any ideas? Kris Parke: Scott Patrick: George Pavliscak: Pavliscak Studios Live Auction - Sunday Feb 25th 5pm, Marbles and other cool stuff See also: Pavliscak Studios Michael Petura: Is Clear A Color ? Surfs Up ! Gallery: World's Best (Modern) Guineas Julia Powell: Trying To Find Gregg Pessman: Steve Powers: Ro Purser: Chris Robinson: David Rosenfeldt: Josh Sable: David Salazar: The Mailman Has Arrived Contemp Experts??, Any idea who made this one?? Joe Schlemmer: See also: MadManMarbles Kelly Schmidt: Who Did It? Eddie Seese: Eddie Seese Rainbow Twister (for Sue) See also: Eddie Seese Art Glass Marbles Josh Simpson: New Purchase, Josh Simpson paperweight Josh Simpson Planets See also: Josh Simpson Contemporary Glass Paul Stankard: Bo Stiff: Marble Mail Loren Stump: See also: Stumpchunk Gallery Bill Tow: Bt Marbles On Ebay...., Not an everyday opportunity!!! Transparents.. Bill Tow Marbles!! Wooo Hoooo!!!, Ya Gotta Luv'em!! See also: MARBLELAIRIUM and Bill Tow's Gallery at GlassArtists.org Teign Valley Glass: Any info on this House of Marbles handmade Vacor? See also: House of Marbles & Teign Valley Glass Tom Thornburgh: Kenen Tiemeyer: Kenen Tiemeyer! What A Class Act! See also: Kenan Tiemeyer's gallery Chad Trent: Daniel Trilli: Daniel Trilli Brice Turnbull: See also: Hammerlane Glass Tim Waugh: Rolf and Genie Wald: Jane Walker: Travis Weber: Travis Weber Marbles How Interested Are You In Contemporary Marbles? Some Pictures Of My Latest Marbles See also: Weber Glass Steve Willis: What Kind Of Peltiers Are These? (Cosmic Storm in Post #3)

Moss Agates How many types of Moss Agate have there been? (officially or otherwise) Kids played with 'em in 1883. Benningtons with shades of brown and green. These have some blue, but they'll do until I find a closer example. . . (murmelwelt.de) MFC made them. This statement was on Marblealan's M. F. Christensen page: Here is Bill Tow's moss agate avatar: And of course there's Akro: Any others? Oh yes, there are rocks: . . (Wikipedia) Any more?

Beyond the essential marble pages Links, many of us have found special favorites. Here are some of mine ... "only" the David Chamberlain articles for now ... I look at those so often I need to have them handy! Feel free to add yours. One at a time or in groups, organized in themes or random, with comments or without. I'll leave them as you present them (won't try to merge them into my list). Speaking of offsite treasures though ... have you see the updates at MarbleAlan.com? Looking good! David Chamberlain's articles at Marble Mental Champion Agate Company Cairo Novelty Company, Cairo, WV (1946-1952) ALLEY AGATE COMPANY Heaton Agate Company, Cairo, WV Alox Manufacturing Co., St. Louis, Missouri Ravenswood Novelty Company, Ravenswood, WV Jackson Marble Company, East Pennsboro, WV C.E. Bogard & Sons Cat's Eye Marbles, Cairo, WV Root Beer Floats, Novas, and Pink Champagnes, Peltier Marble Company Jabo 2003 Fall Classics Jabo, Inc., Reno, Ohio, 2005 Marble Production Jabo 2006 Article by David Chamberlain Jabo Southwestern Style 2005 Additional articles are added from time to time. And links have been known to change. There's a summary of available articles in the archives at Marble Mental: David Chamberlain articles

(click pix to enlarge) Acme Realers Maybe you knew this, maybe you didn't ... Before Acme was comedy . . (1) (2) it meant the very best, the highest point, perfection! . . (ads from 1902 and WWII) So what do you name an "extra high quality" glass orb with "genuine onyx color with cloud effects in contrasting colors" and a "real" marbled base? What better than Acme? (Love that ad! The realer is from PeltierMarbles.com.)

The sentiment on that one seemed mixed. (I was rooting for vintage. :-) This box doesn't have the looks-too-new problem. So it's basically a nice but worn old box from a company with somewhat unclear jobbering practices. With a nice set of basically matching yet nondescript slags in safe slag colors. Nice assortment of colors, beyond the basic MFC palette, but nothing fancy. Definitely no extra CAC colors beyond the Akro palette. (edit: I'm sure my summary shows my bias toward the possibility of authenticity, but is it about right?) The marbles are between 21/32" and 11/16". Does that mean anything? Like how hard would someone nowadays have to work to backfill it with marbles of consistent size, coloration and swirl? and would it be worth the effort?

Reliable sources confirm that there is reason to question whether the contents are Peltier. That leaves me wondering about the significance of "Factory, Ottawa" on the box. Since the owner says this box doesn't have any extra labelling warning people that those are glass marbles not actually onyx, one might hypthesize that these were packaged prior to 1931. (Gropper lost the lawsuit mentioned here, Misleading Naming Of Marbles, (didn't start with eBay). ) However I also hypothesized a Peltier connection for the contents based on the "Factory, Ottawa" statement, so I am now shy about all of these assumptions. Where did Gropper's jobber enterprise begin?

This 40-count box says I asked the owner if there was any printing on the box other than on the side of the lid showing. She said there was not. She states their size as .666 to .680 inches. When I saw "Factory, Ottawa", I assumed they were Peltiers. Then I noticed the row of white slags. So, who made these?

incredible

'salright! I'm happy. (thanks)

Most or all from recent eBay auctions (click to enlarge pix) Marvellous Value, the "No Better" Box of Marbles: Brilliant Marbles, Wonderful Value: More lutz. Older than the box before? Crocheted bags: Pink: Deutsches Roulette. Look at how the marbles' core resembles the flag on the box top. That is not an accident. "Schwarz , Weiss, Rot" means "Black, White, Red".

From German marble sites A few items from murmelwelt.de. Several more at the site. (click to enlarge) A pair of mesh bags from among the many things to be viewed at maerbelmuehle.de, the website of the Thuringen Marble Museum. Colorful earthenware and wirepulls. I'm curious about the age on the earthenware and the mesh bag.

I may come back and edit this to make it sound more "official"! But I want to say now, if you have any eggheady stuff you'd like to add in here, feel free. Any projects you'd like to tinker on as you feel inspired. Pictures from your marble digs. Example pix in any germane category! Pontil studies. Slag color studies! "Lessons" about your favorite marbles. Unusual marble references you think worthy of note, and worthy of not ending up on the back pages as fast as they would in chat. Your own lists of useful links! (My W.I.P. will thank you, because it is still debating what to include.) Or ... ? I'm sure there won't be a stampede to post! But you're welcome anytime. Steph p.s. If you want to follow-up on any existing topics, it's okay to bump threads in general. Or start a new one, whichever you prefer. But if someone is working on a technical thread and you aren't sure whether it's open for discussion, play it safe. Start your own thread for the follow-up or check with the author to see if it's okay to add to theirs. p.p.s. It's always okay to bump my threads. Good for their circulation. ;-)

It sounds like marbles sellers were fairly careful with their labelling by 1933. In that year you could buy Glass Onyx Marbles, Glass Agates and Imitation Carnelians. And of course Imitation Agates, but Bennies were already being called that in the 1870's. Some Onyx Marbles For Sale, "CHEAP!!"

Akro, MFC and Peltier all called their slags onyx. This is my book report on the subject. I never learned whether CAC called their slags anything other than Toy Marbles as seen in Post #8 here, One Killer Box Of Really Big C.a. Slags:-). MFC had already been out of business 13 years in 1930 but even after Akro stopped making slags it still used the name Onyx for one of its cork lines. Edited: The name "onyx" was so widely known for toy marbles that at least four companies used it over the course of about two decades before the FTC complaint. That seems like a long time to wait before complaining. And it hardly seems likely that after all those years of playing with and breaking glass marbles, the public would think those particular onyxes were rocks. That's really weird, Roger. Still cool to know. But really weird.

From the Gropper Onyx Marble Corp., Ebay Item #120063544502, Gropper Onyx Marble Game NY Litho Rufus Rastus Darktown, listed in the category of Black Americana. The game, the rules, the box, the marbles currently with the box: From the auction description:

Top Assortment, High Grade, from the Gropper Onyx Marble Co., ca. 1933. They are fun to play with. Wind it up and let it rip. So easy a child can do it. :-)

Do you know how the case turned out?

That is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cool!

From Akronmarbles.com's Glossary of Marble Terminology: Which company would have made these? Opal Agates: .

wondrous

Thanks! Cool info. Thanks! I don't know who had that nice box. I tried to retrace my steps to see where I might have found the photo but no luck.

Mostly auction pix. Sources given when known. Click pix to enlarge Big Shot Agate Marbles box: Bull's Eye Marbles bag, from a Poplarhead auction, in which Don identified the marbles as Alleys: From Don's auction listing: Bull's Eye Marbles box, containing 7/16" to 1/2" marbles: Mesh bags. Bull's Eye and Big Shot from Marblealan auctions: Note: There are other pix in the links here, Compilation: Original Packaging. And another bull's eye bag here. Bullseye Mesh Bag W/ Coral Marbles & Mk Mesh Bags

Two threads from 2020: Named Heaton types Dug Heaton mib pics Big Shot mesh bags. The first is from a Marblealan auction. Two more: http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o151/modularforms/Heaton/th_002a.jpg http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o151/modularforms/Heaton/th_003.jpg Plastic Big Shot bags: http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o151/modularforms/Heaton/th_IMG_0009.jpg http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o151/modularforms/Heaton/th_IMG_0008.jpg http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o151/modularforms/Heaton/th_BigShot010a.jpg Dug marbles, from Rinesmarbles auctions: http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o151/modularforms/Heaton/Rines001a.jpghttp://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o151/modularforms/Heaton/Rines001b.jpg http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o151/modularforms/Heaton/Rines002a.jpghttp://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o151/modularforms/Heaton/Rines002b.jpg http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o151/modularforms/Heaton/Rines03a.jpghttp://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o151/modularforms/Heaton/Rines03b.jpg