Akro Friday

[wvrons]

[Chad G.]

I know you like the akro's w/ black in them Jess, a good example Ron has above, I'm playin catchup but have a long ways to go. Here's another special I just got with black, yellow and kind of a custard base to it. By the way Ron thems some "killer limeades" they're gettin to be pretty scarce now a day's especially with any appreciable amount of ox in em like those.

 

[disco005]

Fantastic Akros!  
And that Collector's Club lighter is something else. I know I've seen one before, is this the only one Ron? Or were several made?

-Jess

[wvrons]

I think the Akro club had the zippo's made two or three times.  

[disco005]

 I envy you being part of that club.
I knew I had seen it before, and remember it for the marble graphic displayed on the lighter  :\
I do wish I had been a collector back then, but I only joined the 'Lower 48' in 1999 and started collecting marbles about 2004.
When I start to think about it, even if I had started collecting earlier, I lived in Alaska. Before the internet. I probably had slim chances anyway 

[Ric]

Oxblood under blue - a blueblood, I think?

[disco005]

Nice Blueblood! 

It's my favorite day of the week! Akro Friday  

This one is a little different. A metallic corkscrew 

21/32"

[Chad G.]

"Akro" wish I had that lighter Ron has also. I had two chances at getting one on the cheap in the mid 90's but passed figuring I could get one at any time   Oop's, "HAPPY AKRO FRIDAY"  

[Chad G.]

" HAPPY AKRO FRIDAY "    ( mibs )

Phew !! there I'm done for a little while anyway.

[Chad G.]

2 hours ago, disco005 said:

Nice Blueblood! 

It's my favorite day of the week! Akro Friday  

This one is a little different. A metallic corkscrew 

21/32"

A first for me " Great mib Jess " nice pix, your little lens is working out "fantastically"    What a bargain, it paid for itself the very first pic you took !!

[disco005]

Holy cow! 
Amazing collection of Akro ware 
And I see you like the Oxblood  Very nice pics !!
 

And thank you! Omgosh, I am having so much fun re-photo-ing all my marbles, it makes them seem new again lol

[Ric]

2 hours ago, Chad G. said:

 

Thanks for showing the Akro ware! These are my favorites.

[Chad G.]

Wish I still had the stuff before my divorce, Ahh well it's twice as much fun trying to track it all down again,  Right ?? "Thanks Ric" the first piece of Akro  I ever seen was an oxblood laden short tabbed ashtray, Akro already had me right there.  99 % of the heavy laden ox. or av. or rare colors like my fav. amethyst, black  etc.. are almost unatainable any more. When you do see a good piece there is no way I would ever pay the kind of money their asking. I'll be content with a good picture in that case, I'm a collector but I'm not crazy,  gonna keep it fun. Ron has the killer stuff like everyone used to have 20 yrs ago, it was easy to find then, some beautiful stuff, and surprisingly resilient for the size and being made of glass, I've dropped more than one piece, not that they all survived but most did !!

[Chad G.]

56 minutes ago, Ric said:

Thanks for showing the Akro ware! These are my favorites.

Mine too Ric, the two cups where thrift store finds, I think I paid $5.00 for the whole oxblood tea set, plates cups, saucers, creamer, truly they had no idea of what they had. And the pumpkin came with 2 cups 2 saucers and 2 plates stuffed into a regular sized tea set also $5.00, I sold the regular tea set for $20.00 and kept the 6 Akro pieces. Two good outcomes for me, almost everything else I paid full boat for. Consequences of the bug bite I received over half a lifetime ago, one that still itches.

[wvrons]

Did someone say Akroware ?  You started it.  I have seven of the large Grandad pots, two of the orange or pumpkin colored ones. It seems the collecting of Akroware pieces has dropped way off in the last three years.  I sold six but still have five or six of the oxblood lamps, small table or bed room lamps.  For several years the Akro convention in Clarksburg by Roger and Claudia Hardy always had a large auction from collections of Akroware. It was a great place to buy Akroware at good prices.  I think that I have all but maybe two or three pieces of all the orange or pumpkin color. Those couple pieces are about $300-500.00 each, when you can find them. I remember when the Grandad pots were $400.00 each. 

 

[wvrons]

You do not see many of the bedroom dresser sets with the hair brush, mirrors and comb.  Akro made the handles for the brush and mirrors. When Bill McCaleb and myself dug those handles and pieces of them at Akro. We had no idea what they were for. The same for many of the Akro lamp parts. It took a few years to learn what they actually were. For a long time they were just assumed that Akro got them as cullet for making marbles. Then we discovered that Akro actually made them. Akro produced much more glass items than marbles. Much more than most marble collectors are aware of. 

 The Akro club is no more. It ended in(I think)2016 or 2017. 

[Chad G.]

Sweet memories Ron, I know I really scored on most of mine, people simply don't have any idea what it is. The ashtray sets and thumb pots were where I got my big start on it I still hold the thumb pots and ash tray sets as #1 next come the tooth pics and then the rarer colored stuff of any size, pumpkin, amethyst, 2 & 3 color mixes (ox., av. and blue or red all on one piece) some very beautiful, quality made stuff. I traded off a lot of lemonade and oxblood pieces for mibs. Try to find them now !! only one place I know of and they're not cheap, Any one interested here's the link to the best Akro store I know of. Before covid came around at any given time 2 to 3000 pieces at this site, just like marbles everything is getting very hard to find. As a matter of fact this is the last place I seen one of those lighters like Ron has at. OOp, I just looked they have a commemorative Zippo Akro lighter, 2008, 12 years newer but still probably the only one like that you'll find. There were 3 made for the  Akro Agate Collectors club, 1994, 1995 and 2008. There are 2, 2008 left at this point. They show the full set including the one from 1995 Ron has, they used to have them all. I'll put the pic in here also. I haven't been here in a while, man a mere pittance of what used to be here only a year ago !! By the By Ron, I started the Akro ware thing on purpose just to get some more pics from yours, Great collection, never get tired of seeing it.

LINK :

https://www.ebay.com/str/akroagatearsenal?_sop=16&rt=nc&_bkw=lighter

other items

LINK :

https://www.ebay.com/str/akroagatearsenal?_sop=16&rt=nc

 

[wvrons]

I am friends with Larry Wells. I have bid against him, bought from him, and sold to him. Roger and Larry are the Akroware kings.  I have watched them bid against each other at the Akro auctions. 

[Chad G.]

11 minutes ago, wvrons said:

I am friends with Larry Wells. I have bid against him, bought from him, and sold to him. Roger and Larry are the Akroware kings.  I have watched them bid against each other at the Akro auctions. 

I believe they still have a couple thousand items but you have to Email and ask, They had so much stuff last year when I was Browsing the store it took me almost 3 hrs. to take a "quick" look at everything. I've bought quite a few things there, and they've been at the same site for must be around at least 20 yrs or better. Best place I've ever seen for Akro anything. I can't believe that's all that's left, they just quit listing so much because of the covid, 4000 is a load of items to browse, I've done it, yes a great site 

[disco005]

I definitely do not have enough Akro ware 

Your collections are amazing!

 

Special 

5/8"

[disco005]

But definitely enjoying your photos! 
I see you both have the vase with the mini hand, that really caught my attention. I wonder if that is a mold of a child's hand, very neat and unique.

[Chad G.]

6 hours ago, disco005 said:

But definitely enjoying your photos! 
I see you both have the vase with the mini hand, that really caught my attention. I wonder if that is a mold of a child's hand, very neat and unique.

It's called the "beggars hand" Jess, one of many tooth pic holders Akro made, I guess they waited till the cows where old and tough in those days, Akro made lots of different tooth pic holders, I'll take some pics of some more later. Be careful, Akro ware is highly addictive.

[Chad G.]

16 hours ago, Chad G. said:

Sweet memories Ron, I know I really scored on most of mine, people simply don't have any idea what it is. The ashtray sets and thumb pots were where I got my big start on it I still hold the thumb pots and ash tray sets as #1 next come the tooth pics and then the rarer colored stuff of any size, pumpkin, amethyst, 2 & 3 color mixes (ox., av. and blue or red all on one piece) some very beautiful, quality made stuff. I traded off a lot of lemonade and oxblood pieces for mibs. Try to find them now !! only one place I know of and they're not cheap, Any one interested here's the link to the best Akro store I know of. Before covid came around at any given time 2 to 3000 pieces at this site, just like marbles everything is getting very hard to find. As a matter of fact this is the last place I seen one of those lighters like Ron has at. OOp, I just looked they have a commemorative Zippo Akro lighter, 2008, 12 years newer but still probably the only one like that you'll find. There were 3 made for the  Akro Agate Collectors club, 1994, 1995 and 2008. There are 2, 2008 left at this point. They show the full set including the one from 1995 Ron has, they used to have them all. I'll put the pic in here also. I haven't been here in a while, man a mere pittance of what used to be here only a year ago !! By the By Ron, I started the Akro ware thing on purpose just to get some more pics from yours, Great collection, never get tired of seeing it.

LINK :

https://www.ebay.com/str/akroagatearsenal?_sop=16&rt=nc&_bkw=lighter

other items

LINK :

https://www.ebay.com/str/akroagatearsenal?_sop=16&rt=nc

 

Well those lighters lasted a total of about 10 seconds, their gone !! Maybe if you Emailed them a mess. ?? but I doubt any left at this point.

[Chad G.]

A few much loved basic Akros

[disco005]

I will take your advise on the Akro ware I spend enough on mibs.
Beauties all, Chad, your 'basic' Akros I love them! In my mind, they're all almost a hundred years old, and were designed to be children's toys. I am charmed by all of them.

Here is a new addition to my collection, there is so much going on with it I won't even try to give it an identifying name. I'm really just happy to call it mine lol.

UV, corkscrew, Eggyolk, inky Blue, and it was sold to me as an Oxblood, which I'm cool with given the opaqueness in the Black light photo, there's at least a stripe of it.