Scoop

Joe (Do you prefer Jo or Joe?? ) I just wanted to let you know that I didn't forget... This trip home, I managed to get pics of the Jewel trays and Benningtons... I'm not gonna be able to do the jewelry... But, your at the top of the list when I get home at the end of this week!!! LOL

Yeah, there's at least one collection out there, I can't remember whose... That is VAST!!! Here's what I have so far... Though, I couldn't find the big one (it's red opague) it's around here, somewhere...... Transparent... The ones on the ends are a very dark green and a very dark blue. Transluscent... The one that looks black is dark green Opague.... Worlds Fair... Carole, I was thinkin' that lower right might be like yours?? I don't know if it floureses... The black is BLACK!! They say all black glass has a base color... If so, I haven't found a light bright enough to show it's color

LOL@ Lou!!! Yeah, I have to agree that it does have an "interesting" look!! LOL But, I can see Carole's point too... I kinda has a mysterious"jelly opal" appearance, that makes you want to examine it... I wonder if "Dragon Dog" was what he first called it, or if Sheryl altered a couple of letters!!! ROFL

Havatok is a short for "Have-a-Toke" ..... Is "toke" even used as an expression any more?? LOL I hate to say that the little guy is still a virgin... It wasn't long after I made him that I decided I just didn't like smoking that much... Yeah, how fuming was discovered is kind of intriguing... I wonder if it came from a random experiment, or if it was discovered by accident, with a ring or bracelet that got in the way, or was used to hold something in place for a few seconds (I had a friend in college who glued her fingers together for the sake of inlaying a piece of ebony into a silver chalice!!! LOL)

Kevin, you have to specify WHICH pipe scene!!! "Havatok" was created in 1973!!!

They're all cool, Carole.... But, mannnn, that oxblood oddity is awesome!!!

Here's a link to that explaination on Kevin's "Me" page!! What is Fuming??

Thanks Ronnie, those are cool!! Do they have a story behind them that's different from the usual double ingot? They look like beach balls!!

Hey Joe, I don't know the jewelry co., but there is an assortment of similar jewelry out there. Many have the pee wee Pelt patches, or solid game marbles.... When I get home, I'll try to post some variations.

That doesn't stand out as a common color to me.... But again, I can only go by what I run across.

Hmmmmm, good question!!! LOL I never really thought about it as a competition, I just seem to run into that color most. There are a few collectors who are a lot more into it than I am.... They may have a score on that. It would be cool to know.... Aside from solid colors, though... I can tell you that marbles other than solid are rare. I have one with helmets that has a commemorative coin of the Statue of Liberty in the center. I have seen plain ones with the helmets in other collections.... Just beware of these with "replaced" marbles... If the plate comes off the back (and they do on some) it's pretty easy to replace the original marbles with something else... Usually, on the replaced ones, the plate is gone... But, some are loose and can be removed and put back on. That leaves the possibility that marbles could be put in that were never intended to be there... Both a cool thought and a dangerous thought... Let's say I had 12 Akro 5/8" snakes in different colors, each with one bad side.... How cool would that be??? But, how deceptive could it be, also?... I would expect (and HOPE) any knowledgeable collector would question a non-Vitro marble in a Jewel tray... If you were to see something unusual on ebay and it doesn't show a picture of the back, ASK... The plate is likely gone and marbles replaced... There are some "out there" that say "The Vitro Agate Co." on the back, rather than the usual Fisher... All of those that I've seen have a smooth brass surface, no texture.... The World's Fair trays are a little tougher to find and due to the cross collectible, they tend to run higher priced. The larger size, using shooters are awesome!! I have a red one and I'm always looking for more.... But, they run about $100, so my search for a "sleeper" continues!!! Again, I've never seen a large one with the texture design in the brass... I have seen those in chrome plated, also... Bev Brule had a large size with alternating red, white & blue shooters in the original World's Fair box!! One of my quests is to find the small size jewel tray with a clock in the center.... My ultimate dream was to get a lamp using the same type of style... That was realized 2 years ago, for Christmas!!! (Actually, I bought it with a BIN for.... I think $280.00.... and let Wally finish the transaction... LOL) Here's a picture of it... The style and cord indicate to me that it is newer than the other items... My guess would be late 60's - 70's.... Yet, there is a patent for it in the original applications. I'd love to know if this was a later creation, or if someone matched the shade (Miraculous!! if so...) and rewired it.

Hey Carole, I use Barkeeper's Friend for stuff like that (available in most grocery stores in the spot remover section) It's just like a scouring powder, but less abrasive (and different make up) By using just a little bit at a time, well diluted with water, it's possible to lighten the tarnish with out removing it all. It's also great for rust stains. But, I agree with Dani, they don't look right polished too bright. I think that one looks just about right as it is. I've been trying to collect all different colors of the jewel trays... In my travels, it seems like that color is one of the most common. That probably explains the low price.... But, unless your looking for each different color, who cares?? It's very cool!!!

Wow, I didn't know that Leroy... I have seen the multiple cores, but if quized, I'd have guessed that most all of them have some sort of core, even if it's only a single white line... I still wonder why.... The only thing I can imagine, might be that they'd have taken a bunch of "ends" that still had some use, stuck 'em all together, then built a new cane on top of them?? Yeah, that one is pulled down pretty far.... But, if the outside was really trashed, the end result is kinda cool. Whenever I see one like that, I always hope that the need was great enough that it only left that option to keep it out of the aquarium (Where I used to toss my "well beyond any sort of help" marbles....)

I wonder why they all seem to have an inner core? ... That one seems to have a really NICE core, too!!

Thanks for saving my sanity, Steve!! I could've sworn we had one in plastic... We have a few around... But, the one we found for the picture is glass.

HEY!!!! Lots of stuff comes up with a search for "Japanese Soda Marble Bottle!!!" Here's the stuff!!! Ramune You can buy it on Amazon for $1.95.... Only $5.03 for shipping!!! LOL

We found the new one... My son peeled the label off of it a long time ago, so if it did have any English on it (I don't think it did) I still don't have a way to get a name.... I'm sure I'll be going into Newbury Comics before long.... I could have sworn it was plastic... But, this one is glass.

If you have any Asian food stores in your area, there is a soda-type product from Japan that still uses the Codd bottle style seal. But, it's a plastic bottle... In New England, they sell it at Newbury Comics. I have one kickin' around here, somewhere... If I find it, I'll try to get a picture.

Whoa!!!! That is incredible!! Nope, I don't think I've ever seen on that big..... The rest of the bag isn't too shabby, either!!! AWESOME!!!

I've attended every Wheaton Marble Weekend and I don't think I've ever heard a word about which is "better" torch or furnace, there... But, when contemporary marbles were first hitting the scene, I did hear collectors mentioning that furnace marbles "should be" more expensive than flame worked... That goes back a lot farther than pipes... As I remember it, it had more to do with the investment in equipment... Doing a torch set-up is far less costly than a furnace... It's portable and a lot of people have been able to work torch glass as a "hobby." Whereas, working a furnace is very costly and not portable at all... It takes a "dive in" commitment, unless you can get lucky and work with someone who is established.... The primary reason that Bill Murray isn't making marbles now is, the guy whose furnace he used decided it wasn't cost effective to keep it running and shut it down.... Bill doesn't have the ability with time or space to create one of his own... I'm hoping someday we can get him back!! Looking at the early marbles, size and appearance was a big deal. Furnace marbles simply looked bigger, better and more professional. The guys who were making furnace marbles had been working glass for a long time. It took torch work a while to catch up. But, when it did, it caught up with a vengeance!!! Soft glass torch workers were taking huge steps... Then, the pipemakers stepped in with Boro and blew open a whole new door!! Now, when considering the cost of a marble, I don't think the medium of how it's made is taken into as much consideration, as the beauty, artistry and craftsmanship. Which is as it should be!!

No... That would've been cool, though!! It's April 3, 1939... I wonder why?

Here's the Universal Studio's version of the Rockwell cover!!

I missed Friday... I picked this up in a glass rolling pin at the Northeast show auction, for 25 bucks!! It's condition isn't the best, but it's cool!! Opaque red & yellow snake!! There is just the hint of a thread of white in spots... So, I'm thinkin' this was in a Popeye run that ran out of white... How about an Indian blanket on an invisible horse?? Some other cool stuff in the pin.... Bottom right-of-center is a metalic stripe on a yellow patch peewee. One of the light green peewee patches has a hairline of metalic... The dark green patch has a few huge chunks of aventurine, but they're so big they don't sparkle very well unless you get 'em in the right light. The green cat next to the yellow metalic on the left, is loaded with aventurine and the blue slag (??) on the other side has a distinct swirly 9 pattern with just a hint of white right in the glass. It's very dark and what should have been the white swirl is just a ghost of white through the marble. It really looks like it should have a pontil on the other side, but it doesn't....

Those are cool!! I'd love to see the face / planet colab!! At the auction for the Northeast show there were 2 Bessett / Simpson colabs... a seascape and a landscape.... They were interesting, but kinda boring.... A face with the planet in the mouth is much more what I'd expect......

I like debris, too!! 2 of the marbles I bought at the NE show, yesterday have it... One is an antique swirl with oven brick. The other is a yellow rainbow with a teeny spot of red in it... I'm not sure if it might be like oxblood, or what... As soon as I can, I'll get a pic. It's pretty cool. Wow!! Alan, a screw??? How cool!!! I'm not sure if her son still has it in her collection, or if he's sold it.... But, Bev Brule's collection had a large German swirl with an air bubble in it. Inside the air bubble, was an upolstery tack that moved around inside it!!