wvrons

Many people are aware of Akro glass items like the flower pots, ash trays, etc. Alley also made many other glass items along with the marbles. It was some competition with Akro. The best known Alley glass items other than marbles are the Chiquita children's dishes. The Alley factory in Glass Factory Hallow at Pennsboro WV was know by local people as the dish factory. Every child girl or boy who came by the Alley marble factory in Pennsboro received children's dishes free. The most common Alley dish sets are Chiquita. Most were sold as being Akro. There are two totally different style Alley children's dishes. One is Chiquita which the cups are more tapered down to the bottom. The other style Alley dishes are Little Orphan Annie which are more round top and bottom. Lots of these are translucent. The box sets of Chiquita when original also contained a set of plastic forks spoons and knives in a rolled cloth. Also included was a table cloth printed with Chiquita. I only know of one found so far. It is pictured below. The fork, knife and spoon set in the Chiquita box set. The Chiquita folded table cloth below. Orphan Annie Box set below. I know of four. Notice the difference in the dishes style. Alley boxed Tea for six set. I know of three. Alley Tiddley Winks box set. The glass dish in the center was made by Alley. These are not super hard to find. Alley Bubble box set. Hard to find. There is also a Alley Pastry box set. I forgot to get a picture of it. Almost if not all these box sets of dishes and sets with a glass dish made by Alley are from Pressman. Alley never put his name on any product.

Akroware can also be addictive as well as Akro marbles.

Akro lamps and the shades usually have oxblood swirl. Akro Bell. These can be clear or solid opaque colors. The clear ones to be complete need the small perfume bottle inside. Some of the opaque colored bells, certain colors are very rare. These are not marked Akro. A rare Akro item not marked Akro, but marked Heinz. It is a small green glass pickle tray. It is holing the Akro Thumb pots.

You will also find Akroware in wire holders. The wire holders were original with the glass piece. There are a big variety of these, simple to more elaborate. Above are the smallest pots Akro made, called Thumb pots. Alley also made Thumb pots almost identical in size and colors. The one key is that the Alley Thumb pots area slightly larger diameter bottom. The Alley Thumb pot bottom is the size of a nickel. The Akro Thumb pots bottoms are the size of a penny. Any Thumb pot marked on the bottom with Braun Corwin was produced by Alley. Most of these are sold as Akro. The Thumb pots are small. They are about 1 1/4 inch tall and 1 1/4 inch across the top. Both companies made opaque ones and translucent ones. Some are solid color and some are swirled. Some Akro are marked and some are not. The only Alley Thumb pot marked is the Braun Corwin. It is better if the bottom of the pot does not have the hole punched out. The opaque Alley Thumb pots are a little more rougher than Akro. The opaque Alleys are more marbleized or swirled than Akros. The most common color will be the old kitchen jade green. These small Thumb pots are still sought after. They can range in price from $20.00 to $50.00 for solid black, a very nice swirled one or nice swirl translucent ones. The rack above for the Thumb pots is only the second one I have seen. I also have a rack of Alley Thumb pots that spins in a flat circle. Watch for these, they are easily missed, they are small. Most Akro and Alley Thumb pots also came originally with small fake flowers in them. Of course the flowers are a bonus.

A few of the Akro Hands toothpick holders. Be careful buying these. Check and feel around the rim for chips. The glass is very thin on the rim edge. These are easily chipped and the value then goes down over 50%. Some Akroware items are marked and some are not. Some colors are more rare and extreme to find in certain pieces. Black color is always rare, and it is true black. Black and gray swirl is even more rare than solid opaque black. Not as much variety as marbles. But enough variety and learning to keep anyone busy a few years. Right now is a good time to buy as Akroware prices are way down compared to 2-3 years ago. #1 #2 #3

Sell or buy marbles. I have seen a lot of this over the past 25+ years. I have yet to see one compete any amount of time with ebay. I think there has been several on facebook, with some still surviving and some not. When it is new they work for a few months but seem to fall fast after that. Old ones try to get revived and people jump in for a few weeks then it is back downhill to nothing again. But even short term or time, can be a benefit to both seller or buyer. It is like marble books, marble chat boards, or marble sales sites, none will ever be perfect or fit everyone as they would like. It will be what the people participating make of it.

David was a help when I started with marbles. We shared many letters through the mail, over many years. I am so happy that I got to take him digging marbles at Akro and Ravenswood. My last email with him a few weeks ago, he said that he was having a rough time of it. He put up a long fight. He will be missed. My condolences to his wife and family. RIP Friend.

100% Alley

Mica is silver.

I think they are all Vacor.

I think the yellow and black might be Vacor. But the blue and yellow has a typical Pelt blow hole. But the ribbons twist odd and over top of each other for Pelt ? The blue and red might be CAC ? The blue and yellow may be CAC ? They both look like a cork pattern then turn into swirls.

Size helps. An official shooter is 3/4 inch. Some people call 7/8 inch and one inch marbles shooters. These larger ones are also called Boulders.

Jabo Alley Jabo

Three excellent basic rules again, Condition, Condition, Condition. Old German handmade marbles are usually graded with a little more forgiveness than machine made marbles.

All Benningtons except the last two, the purple and red.

Zero. The number one thing with marbles is condition, condition. No matter how old, new or rare, condition matters.

I agree the large ones with oxblood are Akro and very desirable is nice condition. If 7/8 and mint about $150.00-$175.00 each. I do not see any Popeye patches above anyplace.

Comments on AAM.

I am thinking machine made. I have never seen a transitional Cat Eye. The crease looks to me like a bad shear cut, even with eyelash marks on both sides of a dull shear blade. The crease is from the dull shear blade and glass just a little to cold. Most transitionals twist or turn at the pole where it was cut from the hand gather. This marble just doesn't look hand gathered to me. The blue marble above has the handgather twist, he was right handed. I do not see any twist in the original above. Maybe I am chewing on my foot also ????? But I just do not see handgathered, plus a Cat Eye design ??????????? Anyone else have pictures of 7/8 inch Cat Eye style transitionals ?

X2

Vacor

Old Roses but still nice condition for the age.

That is a common paper weight design here in the US. Probably 3 or 4 inch diameter.

Did you check to see if they glowed ? Maybe they are Blueberry Ades ?

Marbles in the wild here are empty. Nothing much for years now. Unless you want foreign to the US cat eyes, Jabos or Vitro All Reds and they sell for $20.00-$100.00 a quart.