wvrons

After many request. The Alley book is published and ready for sale. Details how to purchase below in following post of pictures. The book took a lot of time and effort. It contains 144 pages with color photos. It contains detailed Alley family history and items produced. Including marbles,dishes,game pieces,glass animals,etc. It is not a book of all or only Alley marbles. It does not contain a marble price guide. The values change to much to be accurate. With this book you can gain more appreciation for Alley marbles and things he produced. Order direct from Larry Alley with info below.

I did enjoy talking to him. Take care of yourself,wishing you the best Nancy !

The brown orange and gray are not easy to find.

Are they all Alley ? Number 1 Alley,#2 Alley maybe,#3 possible Alley?,#4 Alley,#5 Alley,#6 definite alley. Need more pictures or views to be sure.

Nice to see you again at Canton. I got to see some of your recent cane marbles,outstanding. None of us are getting any younger. A fact of life we will not escape.

I just spent the last two or three hours comparing patchs dug at Sistersville and patches dug at Clarksburg. It has been over a year since I studied them this close. I did find more than I thought that was different than any Akro which I had. But again I did find a large number that was the exact same. I would sure like to give credit to Alley for these patches but I am just not comfortable enough yet to identify Alley patches for people. Someday more information will happen. Until then the patches did come,more than one time,by more than one person,from the Sistersville Alley site no doubts. After all these years I now have a picture of the buildings which Alley occupied in Sistersville. A lot of things has taken years to get answers to,obtain or see. But with effort,time and more information,more details will be known about these patch marbles from Sistersville. Maybe Alley did copy several of the Akro patches that close? If I have a choice I would like them to be made by Alley if they can be separated from other makers patches.

All through this post and others,i can find the remarks,it has been said that you cannot go by what is found at a dig site for identification. I have heard that statement probably every month for 15+ years. Now all of a sudden because these were dug at Sistersville,they are suppose to be made by Alley at Sistersville ? What other evidence is there that Alley made a patch marble ? I said and agree if a marble from a dig site is all there is for evidence,then that is a place to start for identification. But what if that same marble is also at another companies dig site in much much larger numbers ? If you believe that all marbles found at a dig site were made there,then these could be Alley. But when I saw so many different ones and big numbers that in my opinion most or all match Akro. Something did not seem right to me. So I got more marbles from sistesville,i compared them side by side to Akros that I dug. They matched,if I mix them I could not separate them for sure. There is a few single number of odd balls but that is usual. I go with numbers,and for me a way to many of these patches from Sistersville matched Akro exactly. So I changed my mind. If these were made by Alley there is problems in identifying a big portion of Akro patches. Are they Akro or are they Alley. I have a few gallons of dirty dug patches that I will sell you if you want Akro or Alley,but you decide what they are or where they came from.

Sistersville patches dug by different people at different years.

Yes I changed my mind about Alley patches and I may change it again with new information,just as I have stated in this post earlier. I have always been willing to change and plan to stay that way. With the information and what my eyes have seen as of today,I do not believe Alley made a patch type marble. I cannot and would not sell or id any patch marble as an Alley. If there is some new information again I am listening. No pot shot,it is for everyone. Everyone has a right to their opinion. It is just how the opinion is expressed sometimes that does not go over well. Sometimes it seems things are hidden or disguised as to bring on confrontations. Some people call it stirring the pot. It is not all done by one lone person. If you feel guilty maybe you are. My question is still what evidence is there that Alley made a patch type marble ? I will ask this until someone gives me some evidence or reasons which I am not aware of that Alley made a patch.

I have another question? What evidence is there that Alley ever made a patch type marble at the Sistserville location or any other location?

I will say it again one more time. Just because a marble is found at a site does not prove it was made there. But I still believe it is a place to start working on a identification. A dig site can be one of several tools used in finding a correct identification of a certain marble. Unless I read the original first statement or question wrong. Galen does not believe that large amounts(how ever many that is)of one companies marbles can be found at another companies site. He said personally he does not believe it happened. That is what I disagree with,and he knows I do not agree,so I felt it was as he says a pot shot. Nothing in this post is any thing new or any new information. I do not give many pot shots,i have taken more than my share. If you pass them out then expect it to come back. When my eyes have seen many times other companies marbles that do not belong at that site,i will disagree with the first statement. There are marbles at many sites that were not made there,as has been stated many times above. It still all goes back to the numbers,expierence,research and answering the question why ? If something looks a out of place,then why? As usual all this got off the original question or topic and digging marbles got drug into it. When the original post had nothing much to do with how marbles are dug ,why and what is found. I may have missed something but I thought the original question was,do you believe large(what ever that is)amounts of one companies marbles and or cullet can be found at another companies site? Depending on what numbers you are talking about,i do believe it. One marble in 10,000 is not large,but is 1% or 10% or 25% of the total, large ? One last time, i have seen good amounts of one companies marbles and cullet also at another companies site.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!!!!!!!! Blow out the candles,have your cake and eat it to ! Thank both of you for all the years of effort and work. It is time to relax and be proud of what you did. I did get to be part of the Amana marble shows a few times. No doubt what you did has benefited all marble collectors in one form or another. I have been part of organizing shows for a few years. It is impossible for me to imagine what all you have witnessed over the thirty six years. A job well done. Thank You !!!!!!!!!!!

I believe that I already answered the questions in my first post. Just because a marble is found at a site does not prove it was made there. But until there is other proof what other identification would you attach to it ? Again that is with numbers of marbles not one or a very few. How does any marble get identified to a maker? Original packages,is there any package that could not have been tampered with ? Original advertising or articles. We know that all those are not 100% accurate. Just like the 1940 National Geographic picture and St.Marys Alley article,on and on. Which recently came up again on Land of Marbles,now it is being hounded over here,in another hidden way. My whole point has been and still is that you get all the information you can and then you decide. If the only place a certain marble was ever dug was at Cairo and you want to believe it is CAC,fine you decided. What I get tired of is people who try to force their decisions and beliefs over,over and over. Just like the first pot shot with the first sentence at the start of this thread. I feel that all this thread was from the beginning was a pot shot at myself,some of my friends,and marble diggers. I know it is about Alley patch marbles being made at Sistersville. It is nothing new,just more and more force of a opinion. I have no hard proof that Alley never made a patch marble. But I have not received any hard proof that he did make a patch marble. If there is hard proof like I said,i am listening. I have said and say today that I do not believe that Alley ever made a patch type marble. Like I said earlier,that could change with new info. I feel this is why the thread was started,all about Alley patch marbles. But it was done under a disguise. As for marble diggers,one rotten potato can make the entire bag smell. Even with a paid written,lease,agreement,of the owner some will still think vandalism ? People always want to dig marbles but they would not like what follows. Marbles have been dug for years and will be dug in the future. The only solution diggers may have is to keep everything absolute secret. Not easy but can and has been done. Maybe good advice for myself. I also have a interest in what may surface with Galen's answers about the salters ???????

I do not post a lot like I did in the past. Because I do not have extra time to try and change peoples thoughts when they are already fixed. I do not want to or have time to argue over anything about marbles. Find the best information and all you can,then you decide. But things may change tomorrow if you are open to it ? I have posted much of this many times before. I have dug marbles since about 1996 or 1997 up until a few weeks ago. I have dug marbles at every machine made marble company site in WV except two. Some companies had more than one location. I currently have probably 12 to 20 five gallon buckets of dirty marbles from at least six or eight different sites. I have helped dig 25-35 gallons of marbles per day. I have dug marbles alongside or 75-100 different people. So I feel that I have some experience with digging marbles. But people who have done it once,at one site or never done it at all,have all the answers about dug marbles. Each and every site has its own story and each one is different. I can give the reasons but it is a lot of post or a book and much I have already posted for years. No I am not doing any book. Ask Mike Johnson if he would ever do a book again ? I am sure each site had mint marbles discarded as well as rejects. Again each site has different reasons. Some marbles were dumped shortly after being made and some were dumped years after the company ceased operations. One fact is that marble companies did buy marbles and cullet from each other. As with a lot of things around marbles it comes down to numbers or percentage. I was digging beside a woman digging at Vitro. She was about four feet from the building and three feet deep. She pulled out a handmade latticinio marble and asked what it was ? Of course just because it was dug at Vitro did not mean that latticinio marbles were made there. Every marble dug at each site does not prove it was made there. The companies did not use other companies dump sites,unless they were located at the same location. Most of these companies had to much distance between them to use the same dump site. Remember most of this was during 1930 to 1950,some in the 1960's. Most all the places where marbles were dumped,was very close to the production or warehouse building. They did not spend a lot of time effort or expense in getting them out of their way,they couldn't. Another fact is that there were marbles dumped by different companies that never did get into circulation. Again for different reasons. Sellers now days call them experimental. Some may have been but most were not experiments. I do not know exactly how each company made all their marbles. Some were made from raw ingredients in the early years and most were made from cullet. Akro's colors entirely self-generated. Why were good amounts of different glass companies cullet found all over the Akro site? Vitrolite was a major source of cullet for coloring marbles. I have found plenty of Vitrolite at every site which I have dug including Akro. The marble digging has probably solved as many questions or changed marble thoughts over the past ten years as much as any other source. Ask book author Mike Johnson where the Vitro cullet pile was located at Ravenswood Novelty ? I still have the diagram he gave me of where it was located. Yes I did dig about six Vitro cat eyes at Ravenswood. But I never said they were made at Vitro,thats crazy. I have dug Davis marbles at Cairo Novelty. The Davis marbles are different from Cairo in pattern,colors,base glass,certain Davis glow and similar Cairo's do not,etc. They were family related as with many of these company owners. According to the owners if they had problems or was short and needed marbles,they got them from someone nearby in Ritchie county,usually family relation. The Davis site is one place I never seen any other companies marbles. But it was a very small operation and short time. Maybe if we could have Archaeological investigations at marble company sites,we would have all the questions answered. I don't believe that either. But without that I will believe my eyes and what the past owners and workers have told me. Sorry but I will give some weight to the marble digs until I have something better. If there is something better I will be listening. Even hearsay,rumors,old wives tales,old wrong info in marble books,whatever,then I can decide. How many marbles have been identified from being dug? How many marbles would we have never seen or knew were made if not because of marble digs? For me marble digs who ever does it ? Is just another tool in the research of marble history. You have to go with the numbers and some common sense,until more proof becomes available. Most marble identifications come from different traits and sources not just a dig alone. Sometimes a dig will begin a identification with other items to help confirm it with time. It is not thoughts of a few people that good amounts of marbles and or cullet from one company can end up at another different company site. It is the truth. I think several of us know what you are digging at ! I will change my mind if needed with new info,show me. I have done it many times before and expect to do it in the future.

Akro Agate convention July 11/12/13 2013 Near Clarksburg WV at Days Inn 112 Tolley drive Bridgeport WV 26330 I-79 and Rt.50 east For reservations call the hotel direct 1-304-842-7371 Mention the Akro convention for special rates. Online booking agencys show the hotel full. Marbles and Akro ware in room buying and selling thursday and friday. No marble show saturday. Saturday is a large Akro ware auction. For auction partial listing and pictures www.akroauction.tripod.com

If you have been here,you can see the Champion building out the far end,looking west.