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Yes, it has been very useful as a learning tool. I enjoy looking at cullet and I feel like it's a really nice asset to a collection. To me there is more to marble collecting than just the orbs of glass, I like the whole story. The pictures of the old factories, the broken pieces of oven brick and machinery parts, the stories and digs, the packaging, advertising, and all of it ties together to make a much more interesting presentation than just some pretty glass balls. Some of my favorite marbles are the ones to the left in a square cardboard box with dirt still on them from the old Pennsboro Alley factory that I got from Mibcapper. It's the history of it as much as the beauty. I hope that by the time I can retire (if I ever can), I will have enough interesting pieces to build a modest but complete "exhibit" about each manufacturer and share it with everyone either by going to shows or by having it in a small museum or ...? But that's why there is the little akro leaf dish, the gearshifter knobs, the cullet, the funnel and pintle from Akro, and stuff like that. All my cullet is from Pennsboro Alley, Akro, and CAC. I'd like to get some from ravenswood, Cairo, etc... if anybody has some they would like to sell.

That's actually a really tiny round wooden box that came with a lot of old marbles. I don't think it was related to the marbles and it seems like I did find out what it was for one time and have since forgotten. I kept it in my marble collection in case it was marble related, but didn't remove it when I found out otherwise.

It's raining, I've been looking at pics from the marble show, and it got me wanting to dig around in marbles so we know what that means... time to clear off the table! I took some pics because I figure what good is it unless other people get to enjoy it too!

I've also been told that if a marble is too big for the rollers it will get orange peel.

I agree with Steph... Vitro on left and no idea right.

Vacor on left, Pelt on right.

I get Pelt, MK.

I think Vacor or mega was making some like these in large sizes.

Waving back Hopefully you'll run across one someday. I didn't even know the type existed until I stumbled on this one. I really like it though!

Got this one recently. Akro royal with some nice aventurine. There is fine red aventurine in the red as well but it's hard to photograph it.

Some nice pelts there! I like the twisted ones and the chopped up ones.

Looks like someone played with this on a torch... maybe acetylene with the soot in the glass?

I'd probably put it with my vitros too.

I think someone was trying to make a marble that looks like one.

That answers the question in my mind: "where the heck do you find a big enough piece of bone or ivory to make this?"

Wow, I've never seen one made of bone or ivory! My uncle used to do scrimshaw when he was alive up in Massachusetts.

That's the type of vacor that some ebayers would love to try to pass as a pelt. Definitely a vacor though. Serpent.

Okay, now I'm thinking Cairo, CAC, and CAC.

I'm thinkin' no, no, and maybe. More views might change my mind.

Something newer?

Weird... on the "V" shaped shear mark i tlooks like the glass was too cold when it got cut, but there is no similar mark on the other pole. The ox looks like akro and the pattern on the one on the left looks akro, so dug akro would be my guess, but I don't know.

Cool brick! I still haven't acquired one. I can see what Ann says about bricks being a type that could easily turn into a separate collection of it's own.

I'm thinking peltier for the one on the left.

It's a nice marble with pontils that were done by someone who cared about their work and didn't make a sloppy cut of it. The bands on these are almost never 100% symmetrical, and they don't really reflect on the workmanshop of the marble maker. The bands are already in the rod of glass when the marble maker gets it, so it is what it is. It was handmade 100 years ago... it's amazing that it's as nice as it is!

Also look at the silver paper with blue print. This is something Akro used often enough. My two boxes of prize names have labels onthe same paper with the same blue print.