Jump to content

M F C: Show And Tell?


Steph

Recommended Posts

There is another piece of the puzzle that may have been overlooked for possibly both MFC and CAC - the Cambridge Glass Company’s color palate ---

From: A brief History of the Cambridge Glass Company

by the National Cambridge Collectors, Inc. ---

“During the early to middle 1920s a variety of opaque colors

were brought into the Cambridge line, most being produced for

only one to three years. Later in the 1920s transparent colors

became very popular, replacing the opaques.

The 1930s were prolific years. Colors such as Carmen,

Royal Blue, Crown Tuscan, Heatherbloom and Forest Green

were developed and brought (by the) Cambridge Factory to

market.”

Look at the colored Cambridge glass pieces on eBay. Many colors seem dead on when compared with marbles from that time and region.

If marbles were traded among companies why not colored glass stock?

Oops! Another thought --- Could a scoundrel buy some damaged pieces of colored Cambridge glass and make some really exotic marbles?

Big Indian -- no braid

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pretty sure the MFC palette was made at MFC.

I'm also under the impression that it was intentionally kept simple. Until Horace Hill absconded to Akro with the glass recipes and plans for the machines, there wasn't much competition for MFC's marbles.

And then WWI struck and closed MFC's doors before Akro had much time to get things right and really make things hard on MFC

if I understand correctly

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pretty sure the MFC palette was made at MFC.

I'm also under the impression that it was intentionally kept simple. Until Horace Hill absconded to Akro with the glass recipes and plans for the machines, there wasn't much competition for MFC's marbles.

And then WWI struck and closed MFC's doors before Akro had much time to get things right and really make things hard on MFC

if I understand correctly

Cohill's MFC book has a partial recipe for PT glass on page 77. But I doubt that's an unique color. You see turquoise glass in antique glass from all over the world. And here's a couple formulae, on pg 14-15 of the book, or pg 34-36 of the .pdf format:

http://ia600409.us.archive.org/28/items/recipesforflintg00lond/recipesforflintg00lond.pdf

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would like to see some info on the pump balls, they say you can still find them in old toilets and wells. Brian is just riding on the fact that he got to dig at the mfc site, he has no authority on MFC, there is no expert on MFC although he likes to act like one with the few limited pictures he tosses out at us.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would like to see some info on the pump balls, they say you can still find them in old toilets and wells. Brian is just riding on the fact that he got to dig at the mfc site, he has no authority on MFC, there is no expert on MFC although he likes to act like one with the few limited pictures he tosses out at us.

Not sure why you think that about BG.

Brian knows more about MFC than anyone. He has access to the information collected by Fred Wright, a marble historian who in the 1960's investigated the MFC factory site and interviewed at least one top MFC employee; he has/had access to a lot of MFC documents and marbles left in their main office in Akron, he can pass as an experienced archeologist as well as a trained glass artist capable of re-creating glass and marbles from scratch, using original formulae and historically accurate tools.

Brian's a big-wig at the American Toy Marble Museum in Akron and also runs the Canal Fulton Glassworks.

He may not be as forthcoming as we'd like about sharing his vast knowledge on this board, but that's his business, and we should be happy with whatever cuppy cakes he cares to throw at us.

I've been patiently waiting at least 8 years for his promised book on MFC:

http://akronmarbles.com/books_on_akron_marbles.htm

  • Award 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

lol....it's just sometimes hard to get excited about marbles. Lately I am more interested in tall, thin, well educated, long haired females...hahaha

There is no big mystery as to what MFC manufactured. The archaeological record supports the sales literature beautifully.

I'm not glossing myself...but I easily have over a thousand hours of unique marble related research under my belt - none of which involved reading an existing marble book in print or collecting the damn things. The history, story, and technology behind the subject is what interest me the most....I can actually care less about the marbles themselves....lol

My largest example of PT coloured glass was excavated at Navarre....this is where Leighton showed MFC certain colours of glass and also where the MFC machine was first tested.

mfc_trial.jpg

We have all seen dug football rejects right? Here's one from Navarre along with a very rare orange machine made marble....the earliest documented machine made marble in existence :-) Peter had a large opaque orange example just like this. This color is the same recipe as oxblood...I have made it before.

BTW....MFC did not make red slags...lol This is one cuppy cake I am sick of telling. The MFC book has been rewritten, but we keep finding new information! Last year I acquired two new images of Harry Heintzelman and other workers at the MFC plant.

Thank you Hansel for everything you have shared with me - I have been lucky enough to see all of your wonderful artifacts with my own eyes. I would love to be locked in your marble library room!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good to see that this MFC subject has also shown there to be a cross-disciplinary friendship although I wonder why so often and so tangentially the specter of the 'exotics' is raised with never even a remote attribution. Is their creation such a guarded secret that it borders on 'national security?' For those not fully aware I speak of the marbles shown on the cover of Baumann's 4th Edition. David

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Brian and Hansel's knowledge and contributions to the hobby are invaluable and much appreciated. They are two of just a very few people whose marble knowledge can be compared to pioneer Fred Wright of Kokomo, Indiana.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...