Chris Parson

Very sphere-like. 🔮 Thanks Ric.

Thanks, Ric! Right! Now I remember seeing that, with the bubble, in Stephen’s video. 👍🏼

32 mm (1,26”)

Fiery ones! And the same colours as the fine flag of my Skåne county.

There’s an online auction ending in two days and I got these pics from the seller. Anything familiar? The blue one is not 100% round. I don’t know if there is some sort of pontil thing going on there (bottom picture).

You got it!

I checked but no. But these two have some kind of glow going on.

@akroorka and @William It's just like Ric and Schmoozer say; These are most definitely not American marbles, which you by the way never come by here in Sweden. (Side note: I think I'm the only one in Sweden who owns Heaton marbles) I really appreciate your comments and together we learn. If it's one thing I have learned it's that Vacor make great "replicas". It's like when I found two Bumblebees and just knew they had to be Vacors because nothing else was really possible. It's both a blessing and a curse to have a narrow selection.

That was saddening to hear. She seem to have left something amazing and important behind, though. 💚

Sweet! Yes, I like it very much. I think I have to find more Vacor cat's eyes.

Thank you, Steph! I did not know that Vacor made cat's eyes. I keep rotating it before my eyes and I think it's interesting how there are six vanes and three colours but how one of the vanes is orange on one side and yellow on the other, with a fading blend of the two colours on top of the vane. I don't know if that was meant to be or if it's normal? Otherwise, boring logic dictates that every colour should have two exclusive vanes each.

Thank you very much! Sweden remained passive during WWII, which can be questioned every day of the week, but because of that almost everything could be kept safe. I think it's important to bring together and shed light on as many parts of history as possible. Side note: I've heard about Winnie and her efforts on the Veiligglass research but not so much more. Is she living?

I am strangely moved...

Thank you, Steph! I can't wait for the new owners to start their production.

When I find cat’s eyes here in Sweden, at second hand stores and fleamarkets, they usually have pretty weak and thin veins. This one is something else though. Found it yesterday. Diameter is about 16 mm (0,63”) I guess it’s tricky to identify but no one is happier than me if you give it a go.

I’m glad to hear that. Thank you Al! 👍🏼

Cold pressed rape seed oil from Skåne county is amazing.

Thank you kindly, sir! I’ll see you in the trade forum.

I was born in 1982 in Sjöbo municipality, Skåne county, Sweden. As a kid I had a big draw string pouch, full of marbles. There were a lot of cat's eyes but there were also my mother's stone marbles from the early 60's. No matter how beautiful a glass marble may be, it can never have the same personal value as my stone marbles. In the Roman age, marbles were made out of actual marble. These were replaced during the 18th century by the cheaper clay marble, which was used till the end end of the 1940's when it no longer could stand the competition of the stone marble who had been on the market since the 1920's. In the beginning of the 1980's the last Swedish marble factory, ”Svenska Kul- och Dockfabriken” (Swedish Marble- and Doll factory), was on the verge of being shut down. The industry was located in Stockholm and owned by the two brothers Åke and Stig Fredgård, who together with their father had started business and ran it for 56 years. According to the brothers, the competition from the manufacturers of Asian glass marbles had become too big. Svenska Kul- och Dockfabriken's marbles display booth at S:t Eriksmässan, Stockholm, in 1946. Factory interior in 1956. Employee Teodor Eriksson and his son Martin in the doorway. A man named Erland Wernersson took over the company and moved it from Stockholm to a dot on the map called Göljahult, outside of Eringsboda, in Blekinge county. I believe that it was here the company changed name to Svenska Stenkulor (Swedish Stone marbles) Erland believed that Swedish children even in the future should be able to play with genuine Swedish stone marbles. In the mid 1980's Erland made 100.000 stone marbles per day and produced 12 million marbles per year through a unique method that he inherited from his predecessors, a method he jokingly called ”the chocolate method”. More on that soon. The embryo of the stone marble was a rape seed, which is about a millimeter in diameter and completely round. The seeds were placed in a large cast iron tumbler, similar to a cement mixer, and saturated with water. Then, little by little and in stages, the seeds were slowly rolled, tumbled and shaped into marbles with a mix of plaster, cement, talc and colour pigments. The complete process took about 24 hours and the colours were added towards the end, before the marbles were laid out to dry. From one batch, Erland could get approximately 30.000 marbles. Erland, in the early/mid 1980's, with two buckets of newly made marbles. So, why was it called ”the chocolate method”? Well, the name came from the fact that the big cast iron tumblers used to belong to the historical Swedish chocolate and candy factory ”Choklad-Thule”, in the making of chocolate pralines. In my research I have come to the conclusion that the tumblers were probably purchased by the Fredgård's when Choklad-Thule expanded their facilities in the mid 1920's. Erland by his tumblers in the early/mid 1980's. I am not completely sure when Erland sold the company but in 1995 a man named Christer Johansson relocated the production to Tollarp in Kristianstad municipality, Skåne county. Christer ran the production just like Erland did, with the same process and the same ”chocolate method”. The difference was that Christer produced 6-7 million marbles per year, in comparison to Erland's 12 million. That's almost a 50% decline. In a magazine article from 1997 I have read that Christer speaks of the lacking interest in marbles and that the Swedish stone marble is fading in popularity. I had the privilege of speaking to the last owner, Lars Nilsson, who took over the production after Christer, around 2008-2010. He ran the production for 10-12 years. During his years at Svenska Stenkulor he sold his marbles online, in his factory store and at fairs and markets. He also opened up the factory for tours, arranged marble tournaments for all ages and made garden marble decorations. He has just turned 68 and have recently sold the company to new owners, who is currently starting up a new facility for the upcoming production. That is all I know so far and I will keep in touch with Lars and keep an eye out for the new owners and their production. Lars in 2016 Bagged marbles in 2016 Some of Lars' garden marble decorations.

I agree. I’ll post that in the ID section. I cant help liking the confettis. (Especially on my girlfriend’s screen print)

Just came home from the second hand store with some random marbles. Some Vacor, a couple of cat’s eyes, maybe a wirepull of sorts.

This is my 100th post on this forum so I better make it count. See this film by Chloé Zhao!

Yeah, you might as well be right. I am not completely sure.

I think I found Picassos today at the second hand store. I’ll get back with a comparison. Is it best if I do that in a new thread? @Steph