What Are These?

[winnie]

Found these square formed (marbles?)glass objects together with round marbles of the same glass,in an old marble batch from about the 50s-60s.

What do you think they are used for, a sort of game,or made accidetally,a mistake?

winnie

[ziggyzora]

When I found mine, only 3, (in different vintage lots), thought accidental but as you have found a few in one lot that doesn't seem so likely. Could they have been made for playing jacks or stones? Not sure if the game has the some name worldwide but you start by putting one on the back of your hand then throw it up, pick another up from the floor and catch the other with it in your palm, then continue until you fail to make the catch. Blocks of colored plaster or similar have been sold in UK at least since the 1970's for this game, packaged with marbles (not commonly though). Maybe the older versions were made of glass?

[ann]

Like jax?

[PlanB]

These marbles seem to have been weathered by immersion in water.

If the water was slightly acidic and moving, as on a beach, it

may wear down the marbles unevenly and cause the odd shapes.

Just a guess.

[ziggyzora]

I considered that as well, but wouldn't they be more rounded and flat like pebbles if that was the case?

[winnie]

Jacks game that was my first thought aswell,we call it bikkelen,it's a very old game,i've nowhere read that square objects have been used,but who knows I didn't read everything.

Plan B,it's not a bad guess at all,square could that happen?

This is the batch they were found in.

Washed and cleaned LOL.

winnie

[lstmmrbls]

They actually appear to have been in a tumbler of some sort. The odd square shapes can be the result of tumbling.

[semdot]

Im going to take a flying leap...

Sombody thought of a way to make their own marbles from panes of glass. No messy molten glass. Score glass into strips and break it into cubes, then throw the cubes into a tumbler for a week. You would get something exactly like this. Not sure why they would think it was a good idea, but it would be an interesting experiment.

[winnie]

A tumbler,it might be,but for what purpose,to make marbles,could be.

The question remains why some round and others square,oh I think I,ll never know why LOL.

thanks,winnie

[orbboy]

Maybe they were made for Vases or some other decrorative purpose?

Nice group there Winnie. Love those shooter Trannies.

[Chordus]

Well-weathered squarbles?

[Alan]

They look like they are from a game ..... like mancala. Sort of that sea glass texture - probably from tumbling.

[PlanB]

If you remember those Shipwrecked german swirls that were recovered

and sold. They also had that texture. If a marble is free to roll around,

it may retain its roundness, but if wedged between something the wear may

be uneven and produce odd shapes. I don't know what would make it square, though.

[I'llhavethat1]

Are they square like cubes or square from one view only (like cylinders). The tumblers I've seen make things more spherical than cube

[winnie]

They're real square,the 6 sides are the same,and than there are round marbles with the same kind of glass in the batch.

I'm increasingly beginning to think that they're made this way for a sort of game.

winnie

[ziggyzora]

Jacks game that was my first thought aswell,we call it bikkelen,it's a very old game,i've nowhere read that square objects have been used

I had some similar to these in the late 1970's, ebay item 180692306319 (sorry don't know how to do a proper link). Also had some more beautiful ones, must have disposed of them all at some time, can't find them now.

[honeybern]

Those are square marbles from Japan! They were designed like that because they can be stacked for storage, requiring less room, a big consideration in the design of all things, Japanese .