akroorka

Thanks to all that contributed to this post. I am surprised at the lack of inquiry about the 4 ½ x4 ½ box mentioned in the advertisement. “Fancy varnished box”, “fabricoid bag”---unreal! This is the first for me to see a “rubberized cloth” bag referred to as such—fabricoid—what a cool term. Who has ever seen a fancy varnished box designed to hold marbles from the 30’s. The post is concentrated on the image and not the printed terms. Akro tin boxes were filled with a large variety of marbles, pouches, knee pads and instructions as ordered by the buyer, many were ordered as “giveaways” with advertising on the pouches. The box in the image is what it is but what about the terminology. Old ads like this, especially ones dealing with jobbers are not always accurate in the imaging but the terminology takes time to prepare and edit. I trust the letters typed or placed over the images in this case. Marble-on!!

Chad, are the yellowish images under UV or backlit? The ox looks thick and beneath the surface--very cool.

It's OK with me Bruce because I'll stand on my head to look at those two.

I cannot argue with your ID's--#5 might be a Vitro, I have some that are simliar without the white but I am far from a catseye expert. Marble--on!!

Sweet Akro egg-yolk and oxblood --the more yolk the better and your is one of the best I have seen---I can't wait until breakfast and the bacon is included in this one!! That Akro yellow is killer for sure. Keep em comin, Marble-on!!

Marbles, rocks, lamps, ashtrays, shift knobs, cullet, dinnerware, spoons, forks wall hangings, hubcaps, hood ornaments, garbage can lids, etc, etc, etc. If you even think that it is oxblood and not sure--- post it, no judgment needed unless requested. The truth is that glass collectors and many other areas of collecting referred to oxblood as a color without the stipulations that we as marble collectors expect. Most marble collectors love it in any form---tell me if I am wrong. I know that I will love to see what pops up. Please post some marbles with your various items—this is a marble board after all. Marble-on, and Oxblood-on for sure. I will start it out with some Akro oxblood dug halves and pieces along with a Vidrio Elephant ashtray. Ok, I know, Vidrio is not oxblood, more like dried blood—let’s see more.

5 1/2 inches of rain here last night and things got a little-----MUDDY.

I have a few Vitro Hybrids and blue and white marbles always catch my eye (any type). The one at the top has some amber in the base, some of the other Hybrids that I have show this but this is the only one I have with this color combination. Let’s see some more Vitro Hybrids please--- any history on these would be highly appreciated. Are they Hybrids, or were these made with purpose? They sure come in a lot of color combo’s. They are not common in my opinion. Marble-on!!!

I would never put my marbles in a dishwasher. I have hard water and the drinking glasses get etched all the time. I soak mine overnight or longer in glass cleaner with an ammonia base. I buy it concentrated so it must be diluted. Cheaper and just as good if not better than the premade stuff. I have found a few "filled marbles" this way. Folks have been known to fill the imperfections with a variety of glass repair products over the years and the ammonia flushes these out rather well. I have always thought of getting an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner to take rust spots off. Will they work for this?? Marble-on!!

The one on the left is a corkscrew that did not quite make it all around "lazy cork". It is similar to the ones that Akro put in Cardinal Red boxes. The one one the right could be a Master or an Akro. I think that the tint may be UV reaction so it is hard to say. If the light part is really white in hand, I would say Akro "hero-type" Marble-on!

Thats the first that I have heard of the WPA thing. We have a few like them and they are more special thanks to your info. Thanks for sharing that.

No such thing as stupid in marbles ID. Stupid would be like when I could not wait to check out a marble out of a delivery and I dropped it on the garage floor. Clumsy too, sausage fingers here drops a lot of marbles. "If you want to keep them neat, have carpet under your feet."

I’m with Ric. I would love to see it in the sunlight. Keep em comin Gladys, your last two posts were top notch in any collection. You must have landed a nice lot. Marble-on!

Is that one that glows married to oxblood? It reminds me of Houze glass. Take a shot out of the bags and post it. Great stuff for sure. Marble on!!

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