marble novice Posted August 28, 2011 Report Share Posted August 28, 2011 I've been searching through threads and photos here, as well as elsewhere else, trying to gain a better understanding of cateyes, bananas, hybrids, and the like. While I thought I had a handle on the banana, the thread here on "Banana Cateyes With Aventurine" just made it all muddy for me again. (There, the center one looks like a banana, at least to me, so I'm unclear as to what makes it a cateye.) Here are the ones I have that fall somewhere in the range. If someone can confirm which shapes are which, I'd be ever so grateful. I'm thinking cateyes, but... and these, I think, are bananas... And while I have you here, what's the deal with this one; it looks like it's growing mold. Finally, are there any things to look for that are strong indicators of maker? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marble novice Posted August 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2011 I meant to add that, as you can see in the full-size version of that first photo, some of the centers are thin/flat. Does that put them in a different category or.... ? Thanks in advance for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Oregon Posted August 28, 2011 Report Share Posted August 28, 2011 Cat's-eyes are a general term for a type of marble. There are many varieites of cat's-eyes within the general grouping. Banana style cat's-eyes are one. 3-vane, 4-vane, 5- vane, etc. are other styles; cage style cat's-eyes are another with a variety of numbers of vanes; Vitro cat's-eyes with varying number of vanes and hybrid colors besides the single colors. The Mexican, Japanese and other foerign style with vanes of different colors coming out from the center including white crossthrus amd 3-way crossthrus. Neverending... The primary maker of bananas, as least when many of us hear the term, is Peltier. But then there are other cat's-eye marbles that are similar to the Peltier bananas made by Mexico and other foreign countries. And, of course, to muddy the water, not all Peltier banana cat's-eyes were 'perfect' so there are a lot of varieties even there. I posted a picure some time back of a bag of Peltier banana cat's-eyes that I opened and you could see the variations. Also, with the Japanese and Mexican 3 vane cats'-eyes, which were both one color and 3-color, there are ones with very tiny vanes and they look a lot like banana style cat's-eyes and atre probably called that by many collectors. So, that's a start - hope I answered part of your question anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Posted August 28, 2011 Report Share Posted August 28, 2011 Al's given good advice, as usual, so I will only add that if you haven't seen this thread http://marblemental.yuku.com/topic/388/Show-off-your-Cat-s-eyes#.Tlp9RF1yyi8 already, you'll likely find it enjoyable and enlightening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Oregon Posted August 28, 2011 Report Share Posted August 28, 2011 Good link Ric - that's a long one with lots of pics and examples! I think you do have to register with Marble Mental Board if the link does not work for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marble novice Posted August 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2011 Thanks, Al, that does sort of help. So, if I'm understanding correctly, then, all of these that I have are cateyes, with the bottom ones banana cateyes, right, and presumably Peltier? (Although the one that has the little greenish-type dots still has me scratching my head.) As for the marbles in my first photo, using my jeweler's loupe to get a closer look, I'm now seeing that even on what I thought were "flat" ones there's six spines each, just some are shorter/smaller/closer together, with the set of six in three color pairings. Confirm for me... When you refer to "vanes" what part of the structure are you actually referring to? Is it determined by "spines", color, or something else and is the same true for cross-throughs? (Sorry for all the questions; I'm just trying to make sure I have this straight. :-) ) Also, Al, I did a search for but couldn't find the photo of the bag of Peltier bananas you mentioned. Is it still posted somewhere here? I'd love to take a look. :-) Ric, I had wandered over to Marble Mental earlier today and found that thread. Admittedly, I only made it through the first few pages because, with the different types of cateyes and my confusion on that point, I wasn't totally clear on what I was looking at. While there are a number of different types photographed, a number of them are just that, photos, without any insight as to what term best fits them. It also appears some of the images in some of the posts have since disappeared. For instance, if you go to post #70 by "PatryD here," it says "Here is another image of the strange banana type of catseye which has a green center, coated with translucent white. Does this show it better?" and yet I see no photo, and I am registered and logged in. Some posts are comments on photos in other posts, but include no post # reference to know for certain which photo is being commented on (and, as far as I know, it may be some of the ones that seem to have gone poof). The link in post #2 to Ron's marbles looks to have once had a rather extensive gallery, but alas the photos never loaded for me. Oh well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsMopar Posted August 28, 2011 Report Share Posted August 28, 2011 Sadly to say, Patry has passed on, therefore her amazing cat's-eye pictures are lost (as far as I know). A "vane" is probably what you are calling a spine. Most folks say vane although blade has been used. (Think of the vanes as petals of a lovely flower) I think some post pictures are gone due to hosting problems or something with computer stuff or folks just didn't keep them on their system. Hope this helps some. :-) Felicia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marble novice Posted August 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2011 Thanks, Felicia, for the confirmation on vane. I was pretty sure it was used to refer to each one of the points/parts, but wanted to be certain. So now I have about a half dozen things clear in my mind when it comes to marbles, with not quite a gazillion left to go... ;-) Holly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsMopar Posted August 28, 2011 Report Share Posted August 28, 2011 You're quite welcome. LOL Holly, it gets easier, just take your time and enjoy the beauty that lies within these glass orbs. :-) Felicia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Oregon Posted August 29, 2011 Report Share Posted August 29, 2011 As Felicia mentioned, your 'spines' are my 'vanes'. Here's a picture of the 14 cat's-eyes that came out of a Peltier 'printed on bag'. I have saved many pictures of cat's-eyes and other marbles, bags, boxes over the years so I'll look to see if I can find that one of Patry's that you mentioned. In the old threads, sometimes the board was 'updated' and pics disappeared. Sometimes the poster used a host and the picture is no longer hosted or was deleted in the host server, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Oregon Posted August 29, 2011 Report Share Posted August 29, 2011 I could not find that picture but here are some collages that Ron Shaw did a few years back to give you an idea of the varieties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Oregon Posted August 29, 2011 Report Share Posted August 29, 2011 Also, a list of top 30 cat's-eyes done by Marlow Peterson in 1999 (Co-author of Cat's Eye book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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