akroorka

Really nice Gladys. It looks like it has a streak of opal in it too. Top Shelf !!

Consider this; it is a rare and cool box for sure. A family owned store with a small area of coverage. Perhaps a toy dealer sold the owners marbles from different companies letting them chose what to pack these boxes with. The marbles do not seem to be all from one company. Regardless of my wanderings on this subject. It is a very cool box with very cool marbles and I want to see more of the box and the marbles---- Thanks for sharing, Marble on!!

I read somewere once that Vitro produced different colored/styled marbles for sale overseas. I cannot recall were I read it and I cannot verify it. These would fit the bill if it were a fact. I am not so sure about the one in the middle but the others look like Vitro to me. Marble on!

"The Alox machine had small holes wore in the rolls and repaired by filling them with copper." That any one in modern times would even know such a thing just blows my mind. Thanks Ron for sharing all that you do.

Try little o-rings like the type used in faucet repair. Marble-on!!

I also have found marbles with some metallic or other “dirty” smears on them and have wondered if it could be “pollution” from the manufacturing process. Lubrication, cleaning, wiping down, the occasional bird dropping and other foolishness that gets into bored workers heads. I have worked in a few manufacturing facilities in years past and some weird things happened when the supervisor stepped out for a smoke. I wonder if any metallic marbles have ever been tested for lead contamination? These of course are my personal mental wanderings with no proof whatsoever. Just the weird ramblings of a Marblehead. Marble-on!!

Here are a couple of future projects that I have. Simple back-fill really, maybe a little cleaning. Winter is coming and I will have time on my hands for these then. The Solitary Checkers is the only one that I have ever seen. Its the same as the Akro Solitary checkers in size. Filled with Vitro and with no reason to think that they are not original. Nice bonus with the paperwork for sure. The Vitro Helmet gift box is just a cool thing.

I believe that the marbles on the left and right are Jabo---from the factory, not any contract runs. The middle one could be a Vacor Octopus. Marble On!

The middle one is a Vacor Blueberry Freeze. The one one the left looks like a single seam Christensen Agate slag, but the color is not as vibrant as I would expect, usually deeper yellow. I lean towards Akro on this one, I bet it glows like a firefly under UV. More input needed on this one. The one on the right could be from a few different WV swirl makers. I will not venture a guess on the maker. Marble On!

I agree with all that has been said. The Blue/White alley sometimes appears with black aventurine along the blue the swirls---they are very nice to look at. The Corkscrew with an amber base a is a nice and rare example for sure. Martble on, Art

Hello all, My name is Art and I collect. My wife and I have collected all sorts of cool stuff, including our most recent interest, Swarovski crystal. We have acquired quite a nice bunch of sun-catching Christmas ornaments along with various figurines. The grandkids-great grandkid always appreciate the prismatic colors that are reflected on the walls as I did when I was a tad younger, visiting my Grandparents and checking out the beveled glass in the windows. We also have enjoyed collecting pottery along with various glass pieces from Depression to early Pressed Glass and a bunch in-between. Collecting glass before I got into marbles explains my fussy mint-only demeanor for sure. My wife and I started collecting Akroware in the 80’s. What a revelation it was to find the first Hardy’s Akro book to discover that others shared in our passion. This book also revealed to me that Akro made marbles. That started it all for me. I have spent hundreds of hours researching, books, post boards such as this and many from years past, along with images on the net, old newspaper clippings, toy catalogs and online auctions. I enjoy doing research but there are always a few marbles that I must show to others for verification or information and I look forward to asking your advice, no one knows it all. I have been a lurker-closet collector for a long time, mostly due to the marble wars of the late 80’s and 90’s. I can see that this board is a most respectable place to be and it is monitored to keep it absent of malice. (Thanks to all of you that spend the effort and have weathered the bad times to do so.) Collecting boxes is what really turns me on, especially boxes that are in disrepair. It is another form of research that I enjoy. Gaining knowledge of how to, and how to not, bring paper and cardboard back to life and experimenting with some half blown ideas that I might have. Back-filling empty boxes are also something that I enjoy. I do not just backfill, I backfill to what my research determines to be original, it takes a lot of time. I respect originality to the utmost. It is a great way to collect. Searching for what many consider to be “common” is not so easy. I also collect and restore pouches, especially ones with advertising or history embossed. I enjoy gardening, flowers and vegetables, planting native trees—another passion of mine, bird watching which is still my biggest passion (even over marbles) and everything else that nature may provide. I also really get into cooking worldwide comfort food (who does not like a good comfort food). We share our life with our kids, grandkids and great grandkid, two dogs, a Boston Terrier, a French Bulldog and two cats, a Ragdoll and a Yellow Tabby. I think that we are both old wannabe hippies that have survived regardless of our choices------. I have been married 43 years---to the original and the best. Thanks for reading my wanderings. Marble on, Art

Gladys, I doubt that anyone has a toy such as this in such great condition. I am sure that Ron is booking his next trip to Minnesota to look for more clues. This is a fine example of asking and receiving. No matter the experience in collecting, one always has something to share of great quality. I applaud you for sticking your post in and sharing. I wish that more would. Do not be scared of sharing what you have, no matter your experience level. These rare finds are evidence of the history and the knowledge that may be gained from sharing. Ask questions and share what you have. Have no fear of being judged. There are folks managing this board that will stick behind the most inexperienced and experienced collector. Post and learn. I welcome all new collectors as all on this board do. Ask more questions and receive more answers. Ron is top notch and he still asks—follow his example. Great job---Marble on

Sorry Gladys, I had Gina on the mind. I fixed it. Those are the Best Oxblood Patches that I have ever laid eyes on That Toy needs to be played with---Marble on!

Hello all, I just gave my wife several copies from the glass study series from The West Virginia Museum of American Glass for a Birthday present, one of which covered Ravenswood. If the information in this pamphlet is accurate, I would conclude that Ravenswood made these marbles using equipment purchased from Akro Agate. The Paul Bunyan’s may look Akro but the quality is not, for that time frame. I also have a hard time believing that Master would have sold such quality at the time. Seeing the marbles that Gladys posted, I would conclude that they are Akro no doubt. Her toy looks to be in the original box and the marbles are rare (top notch killer for sure) enough to presume that they may have been contracted by Akro. I propose that Ravenswood made their own marbles and after slow sales contracted better looking marbles from Akro. I know possibilities are many. Just my thoughts. Interesting that the following page in “Marble Mania”, the book Ron mentions shows “Akro Helmets”. Time will sort this out as it did with the “Akro Helmets” or the Vitro “Popeye Patches”. Discussion such as this will help tinder the fire. The Paul Bunyan toy is what Interests me---where were they made? Documents from the place of manufacture may show direct shipment of marbles from a specific place. Marble on!

More images of the green-red-white would help. It looks like a messed up Peltier Christmas tree to me--the colors are right. The pink is probably thin white. I will call it a Peltier Christmas Tree until I see more images. They are not all perfect for sure. The Brownish marble looks to be vintage---a WV swirl. Maybe a Ravenswood because of the colors. More input is needed for sure. Marble On!!

As Gordon Ramsay would say---Bloody Pelts--I love these big bloodies and jump on them when the chance comes. They are way too cool to pass on. Bloody H#ll or what. Marble on !!

Get-well Gina, Here are some to help you past the worst. Keep smiling, you are obviously loved.

The guardian of marbles in my home---yes , I collect pigs too.

Thanks Steph, Here is one for sale on e-bay right now---not a Parrot of course, but one of which I speak about for sure. https://www.ebay.com/itm/224540819028?hash=item3447acfe54%3Ag%3AnrcAAOSwGQBg7QKM&LH_BIN=1

"Marble Mania" by Stanley Block is still available at Amazon. It is a nice sized book with lots of great images and info on just about every type of marble that is collected. It covers from clay to contemporary and everything in between. I do not know if there is a section on European machine mades though. Good reading and well put together. Marble on!

These are different. The veneer is thicker, much thicker; the colors are not a common Vitro color—close but less pronounced or vibrant. The marbles have full coverage in most cases with no clear or whispy showing, although a few do have the recognizable Vitro clear with a wispy look. These are from 4 different lots that I have hunted over the past 25 years. I have researched these to no end with no results. Please give me your ideas on these. They are either old or newer, some of them do have an iridescence on the exterior that may be attributed to later versions such as earlier jabos—jaybos —I do not have a clue and have found no reference. I can say this—they are not common and they are very cool. Two sizes so far, 3/4'” and 5/8”. Have no fear, I do not judge and I appreciate all of your input. Thanks, Art

These frames come up for sale on e-bay once in awhile.They come filled with clearies. 5/8" will not fit but 9/16" work fine. I am working on a larger frame like this that holds 120. A nice way to display those mint on one side marbles too. A nice frame to put in the sunlight for sure.

Here are a few-red, white and blue. Have a great weekend.