Harold Lloyd (1893 - 1971), famous silent film star comedian, stuntman, and marble collector.

[bumblebee]

I stumbled on this article from 1936 and press photo from 1933 that revealed Harold Lloyd was a serious marble player in his youth who became a serious collector as an adult. It is not every day you hear of a serious marble collector in 1933, especially a famous one.

The press photo reads as follows, and I assume the 'cat's eyes' were tiger eyes:

Quote

Hollywood has a new hobby, the collecting of agates. Harold Lloyd and his 3-year-old son, 'Bud' Harold jr., are shown with a collection of cat's eyes, bull's eyes, greenies, etc., assembled from all over the world. There are 200 rare specimens in the collection, some valued as high as $10.

I was very curious to find better photos of Harold's impressive-sounding agate collection, so I reached out to his agency in the off chance that somebody still had his collection. After a few weeks, I got a reply. Not the one I had hoped for entirely, but I was delighted and thankful for their efforts. Harold's granddaughter was the one who provided the status of his marbles, according to the rep:

Quote

I was able to find out from Harold's granddaughter, Suzanne Lloyd, that the marbles were given away as gifts years ago. They were gifted to Suzanne's cousin Cynthia Davis—also Harold's niece—and her husband Christopher Mitchum. So unfortunately we don't have access to them for photos anymore. Sorry for the disappointing news. However Suzanne and I would like to thank you and the marble collecting community for being so interested in Harold's collection and for bringing this fascinating question to us!

 

[disco005]

Very cool! Even cooler that you reached out and received a response, I love this.

[Chad G.]

2 hours ago, bumblebee said:

I stumbled on this article from 1936 and press photo from 1933 that revealed Harold Lloyd was a serious marble player in his youth who became a serious collector as an adult. It is not every day you hear of a serious marble collector in 1933, especially a famous one.

The press photo reads as follows, and I assume the 'cat's eyes' were tiger eyes:

I was very curious to find better photos of Harold's impressive-sounding agate collection, so I reached out to his agency in the off chance that somebody still had his collection. After a few weeks, I got a reply. Not the one I had hoped for entirely, but I was delighted and thankful for their efforts. Harold's granddaughter was the one who provided the status of his marbles, according to the rep:

 

"Thanks Bee" for the excellent post and research, a good thing to remember what type of cloth we have been cut from. That's some good stumblin, I believe I've heard it explained " There are no coincidences " a very convenient happenstance !! Hold on tight Harold. 😵

[Ric]

This is really cool, nice work. Thanks for posting it!

". . . some valued as high as $10." That's about $185 today.

[wvrons]

Great info and research.

[I'llhavethat1]

Awesome stuff, very interesting. 

[Al Oregon]

Nice to read old stories and have someone research current information.  Thanks for posting it.

[bumblebee]

Thanks, team! Forums like this are a last refuge for sharing "sticky" history that actually stays.

The FaceBook groups are quick and fun, but everything rolls off your front page into oblivion.

That's one reason why this old forum is so invaluable, all the work and detail and collaboration by its members to record and share our hobby's history.