Birdy

I bought these marbles at an antique faire. None are identified, but I was told the pale blue could be a champion. I think the orange and white one is maybe carnelian? I am a newbie so I would appreciate help! Lots of uv reactivity. Maybe some cadmium, uranium, and vaseline glass?

4 minutes ago, The Nickel Guy said:

Learning about marbles is endless and for me it is moving along slowly but surely.

Bedsides reading a lot here, I learned quite a bit from watching Stephen Bahr on YouTube. They are super educational, great photography and are even sometime quite amusing here and there. There are pretty many videos but I look forward to even more. Here is a link.

https://www.youtube.com/@stephenbahrmarbles

 

Thanks! I’ll check them out

Hello. I am a very new marble collector, so I don’t know if this is a common one or not. I bought it because it had an interesting color that stood out from the bowl it was in in an antique market. Curious if anyone can identify it! It definitely has some swirls to it (again, I’m new so I don’t know the proper terminology) but the swirls are so tight that at a glance it could seem opaque. Interested to hear what you all think

3 minutes ago, Alan said:

If I can suggest something (for Birdy as well):

You might start a thread looking for other collectors within x hours drive from some relative popular locale.  Take an inventory and then consider creating an impromptu marble meeting.  It can be done practically anywhere.  Years ago we had a very small local group that met after hours in a comic book store run by one of the collectors.  It was relaxed, slow and a good place to bring marbles and look at marbles owned by others.  No schedule, no agenda.

I'm not a Facebook person, but I imagine that you could announce interest in several of their marble groups to build an email list.  An unmet need is an opportunity!

That’s a good idea. Maybe I can try to find pre-existing local groups as well. Thank you! It will definitely be much easier for me to learn if I have people helping teach me.

6 minutes ago, Alan said:

Nothing will come close to attending a marble show and going room-to-room looking at, handling and discussing marbles.  Looking at pics (not always good, well-focused ones) can only do so much.  SA marble in-hand and discussing it with the seller or owner x hundreds (thousands?) of marbles builds a very deep and accurate recognition of glass colors, hues, pattern, glass movement and variations in a type that cannot be had on the Internet or in a book.

This is a fair point. Do you know of any shows that you would recommend? for the record, I’m in the San Francisco Bay area. I would love to go to a show.

6 minutes ago, akroorka said:

Be carefull my friend--it may turn out to be better than you expected--you may never turn back.

Try collecting train cars instead and get less addicted.

We are all here to help with your further addiction if you choose such.

I just love this stuff!!

Marble--On!!

Unfortunately, I’m a bit of a chronic collector lol. I collect a bunch of different things, but recently I stopped collecting Furbies (the toy from the 90s) which was my main thing for like three years. I guess I am just itching to have something like that again.

Hello! I have decided on a whim that I want to start collecting marbles. I have always loved antiques and marbles in particular for their beautiful colors. Recently I bought a few at an antique fair and they were so interesting! I want to collect them now, but the thing is, I don’t exactly know where to start in terms of informational resources.

I purchased the fifth edition of the book “marbles, identification and price guide” by Robert Block. Are there any other recommended reads or resources that you have? One thing I will say is that I do have dyslexia so I am more likely to use a visual guide then I am to use something that is purely text. Thank you in advance!