Alan

I am very sorry to hear of your loss.

We haven't done this in 4-5 months - and it has been popular in the past, so lets do it once again. Look at the last marble photo post in the thread, Choose ONE color from that marble and post a marble photo of yours that matches it as closely as possible. Successive posters choose from the last post in the thread. Here we go:

Expressions of the era spawned the creation of the word "dour".

I know these marbles. They were made by a caveman that lived in the area now known as Atlanta, Georgia. He hand crafted them from precious dinosaur bone. They were discovered by Civil War soldiers while digging defensive trenches as Sherman marched in. Very rare.

Based solely on the photos - I would presume it to be of modern creation. The glass and the figure look "all wrong". I prefer to not offer specific diagnostics to avoid helping an artist clean up their game.

^ Ditto what Griff said.

They had devices on most machines to sort and catch non-round marbles. A few get through the quality control process though.

Those particular pontils normally have a fire-polished top pontil that is a little "raw" (or open) and a faceted or ground bottom pontil. I recommend that folks not underestimate the ability of these types to fool even experienced collectors. That particular artist has caused more past problems than anyone that is better know for repros today. Quite a number of people paid big dollars for his work - mistaking them for vintage. If he spent 1-2 minutes more on each piece - they would be far harder to detect. Put them in a cigar box at a famous flea market and presto. Its not if they could cause a problem - they HAVE in the past. The examples I pictured were not made to fool anyone. I'll also note that collectors have plunked down several hundreds of dollars each for machine made fakes or reproductions that were far, far less convincing.

There is an "artist" that has been making fakes/reproduction for going on 20 years (possibly longer). He was the first artist doing so that I recall - and there was quite a stir when his name was mentioned ~15 years ago. He used to turn out some very high end pieces. He sort of quietly disappeared for a while - then quietly reappeared at a non-vintage show 3 years ago (IIRC). It was the only chance I had to meet him. 100% of what was on his table was knockoffs of handmades. I was struck by three things: 1. The quality of what he made - even when he wasn't trying that hard. 2. His ability to make high-end handmade knockoffs with soft Moretti glass. 3. The presence of fairly accurate blowholes and faceted or ground pontils He occasionally thew in whimsical additions such as Lutz or mica in handmades like Indians - where you would not find such materials. To be fair - he never represented his work as anything other than torch-made by him. I had no doubts that an unprincipled person could buy one of his pieces for $15 - and resell it to an unsuspecting person for 30 times that cost. Some of his work (I will not be identifying the artist): The pink glass in this piece is almost dead-on to that found in Banded Opaques: Transparent blue core: Oxblood on opaque green: Transparent green glass core with mica:

I'll defer to those who know those specific boxes better than I do.

Fake Sulphides that I personally handled: Fantasy "Atlanta Porcelains": Scott Patrick Guineas: (Note: Scott sold them for a dollar and was clear that he made them. People other than Scott sometimes re-sold them as genuine Guineas) I purchased these from Scott at New Philly many years ago. Fake Master boxes:

Click on the photos in This thread Do they open correctly for you? If not, minimize your browser after clicking and make sure they aren't popping behind your browser. If you have a second monitor - make sure it is on.

What browser are you using? Do you have popups blocked?

David: I don't have any of the corks. I was offered nine of them by a guy that had similarly accumulated them from Roger. They were the real deal. Back in the day they were offered for $600 each. There is a guy that has been trying to sell one - but seems to have no takers. I think you and I may be the only Old School types that remember when they were referred to as Half-and-Halves. I haven't heard that term in 12 or so years.

Thanks very much. I've been considering making a box for these >1" Akros:

Where does one buy the old fashioned, thin, non-corrugated cardboard?

That circular mark is not a pontil.

That was why I ask whether it was made out of flannel. Definitely looks like PJs.

That cloth wouldn't happen to flannel - would it?

As Sue noted - it is pretty much a contemporary show. I don't think I would go unless contemporaries are something you are interested in (or unless you live nearby). That said - I enjoy the show.

Second glance says the same.

I don't own any St. Clair work - but the style struck me as reminiscent of his work. So mine is a guess - not authoritative.

I was thinking St. Clair.