Ravenswood Novelty Marbles - A Review Of Varieties

[Alan]

It pains me to choose to do this as this thread has been a great help to many people over the years with validated Ravenswood examples for them to compare their unknown marbles to, but:

(Unfortunately, I have chosen to remove this content due to unchecked, uncorrected behaviors by others on this board.  My apologies to those who will not benefit from this thread in the future.  I put a great deal of time into it as a community member trying to help others.)

 

[Alan]

 

It pains me to choose to do this as this thread has been a great help to many people over the years with validated Ravenswood examples for them to compare their unknown marbles to, but:

(Unfortunately, I have chosen to remove this content due to unchecked, uncorrected behaviors by others on this board.  My apologies to those who will not benefit from this thread in the future.  I put a great deal of time into it as a community member trying to help others.)

 

Also in the premium classification group are gray swirls. 

The next premium type is an opaque white based swirl ...

The next premium type is a Ravenswood version of a Coral. 

The next premium type is a clear matrix with bright blue and white swirls 

The last premium type I'll be describing is a marble that didn't jump out at me when I fist saw it. It is a very dark cobalt blue marble that appears almost opaque....

This concludes premium types that I will cover in this writing - although there are a few more that exist.

End Part II

[Alan]

It pains me to choose to do this as this thread has been a great help to many people over the years with validated Ravenswood examples for them to compare their unknown marbles to, but:

(Unfortunately, I have chosen to remove this content due to unchecked, uncorrected behaviors by others on this board.  My apologies to those who will not benefit from this thread in the future.  I put a great deal of time into it as a community member trying to help others.)

[Alan]

It pains me to choose to do this as this thread has been a great help to many people over the years with validated Ravenswood examples for them to compare their unknown marbles to, but:

(Unfortunately, I have chosen to remove this content due to unchecked, uncorrected behaviors by others on this board.  My apologies to those who will not benefit from this thread in the future.  I put a great deal of time into it as a community member trying to help others.)

 

Continuing the transparent varieties:

 

End Part IV

[Alan]

It pains me to choose to do this as this thread has been a great help to many people over the years with validated Ravenswood examples for them to compare their unknown marbles to, but:

(Unfortunately, I have chosen to remove this content due to unchecked, uncorrected behaviors by others on this board.  My apologies to those who will not benefit from this thread in the future.  I put a great deal of time into it as a community member trying to help others.)

 

 

Part V

A mix of Ravenswood greens - transparents and mostly opaques:

 

Two very nice transparent blues - which may be variants of the 4 posted in the premium group:

 

More transparents:

 

Shifting to opaques once again:

 

 

 

I found these mixed with the common Ravenswood swirls that came from the 1987 find crates. 

 

 

End Part V

[Alan]

It pains me to choose to do this as this thread has been a great help to many people over the years with validated Ravenswood examples for them to compare their unknown marbles to, but:

(Unfortunately, I have chosen to remove this content due to unchecked, uncorrected behaviors by others on this board.  My apologies to those who will not benefit from this thread in the future.  I put a great deal of time into it as a community member trying to help others.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You are free to use these photos without restriction for your personal uses but they may not be used on/in for-profit websites or publications. Contact me if you have a question.

[I'llhavethat1]

Wow, that's really interesting stuff! I sort my machine mades by "some of these don't quite look like the others" and a couple in question almost look like some that you've posted, in my opinion. I may have posted these pictures before, what do you think?

OK, been a while since I posted a pic here...let's try this again

From part II, and yes those green/red/black ones are cool too

[jlmoriarty]

Great tutorial Alan. That is a post that is real archival material. Thanks for the effort.

Any idea how many "types" you are missing?

John

[delkins]

Great marbles and photos, Alan.

-Dave

[m!b$]

Great thread! Now I wish someone would do the same with Alley and Champion

Here are some marbles in my collection that I've never been quite sure what they are. Some, or all, could possibly be Ravenswoods. The blue/green flame/swirls on the right in the first set of photos both have aventurine. One of the blue/green swirls in the second set of photos has aventurine. Did Ravenswood ever use aventurine?

[Al Oregon]

Great thread! I probably got my first groups of Ravenmswood from the same sources as you - mine about 8 years ago.

[jskirk]

That was a great thread Alan, very informative with very good pictures, Thanks for the effort. Jay

[Steph]

This will be an invaluable resource for id's. Not to mention that they're gorgeous marbles.

I expect I'll pick up on something new everytime I look at this thread, for some time to come.

Thank you so much Alan!

[Scoop]

Wow, this is cool!!! I know I have some of these in my ???? box... Maybe this focus will help me to burn their "look" into my brain... I tend to be ID challenged when it comes to certain machine made marbles, no matter how many times I see stuff about them...

Does anyone have a copy of the Ravenswood catalog that David was selling quite a while ago?? I miss David!! He used to be a regular around here, but we haven't seen him for years... It seems to me that the family he used to come east to visit is no longer here???

At any rate... He had a bunch of the old order sheets from Ravenswood. I know I have one and if no one else has one handy, I'll dig mine out... It's in a box.... somewhere.... I can probably photocopy it well enough for others to download... It'll just take a while to find it.

[RunnersDad]

Great thread Alan, Thanks!

[Alan]

Wow, that's really interesting stuff! I sort my machine mades by "some of these don't quite look like the others" and a couple in question almost look like some that you've posted, in my opinion. I may have posted these pictures before, what do you think?

OK, been a while since I posted a pic here...let's try this again

From part II, and yes those green/red/black ones are cool too

I would say that the marble on the right is a definite. The one on the left is a little hard for me to get a feel for - so I would have to withold a call on it.

Alan

[Alan]

jlmoriarty said:

Great tutorial Alan. That is a post that is real archival material. Thanks for the effort.

Any idea how many "types" you are missing?

John

 

(Unfortunately, I have chosen to remove this content due to unchecked, uncorrected behaviors by others on this board.  My apologies to those who will not benefit from this thread in the future.  I put a great deal of time into it as a community member trying to help others.)

[Scoop]

I have one of the orange Ravenwood catalog fliers that came with the crate find and its impossible to discern what marble is what from the black and white photos.

OK, that's what I have, too.... I'm glad I didn't dig for a few hours to get it out, only to find that it wouldn't help!!! LOL

[PatryD]

Well, here are some Ravenswoods that you have probably not seen before.

David Chamberlain just saw them for the first time, Oct. 24, '07, when he stopped by here.

These were brought to me in the early '90's by Elaine King.

It is my understanding that these were a special run.

It isn't my plan to sell any of these. These do seem to be rare.

[marblesa2z]

Hi Patry, I have marbles with the electric yellow as shown in your pictures

in with my champion marbles. Did yours come from the provenance of

the 1980's find? Thanks, marblesa2z

[PatryD]

Hi Patry, I have marbles with the electric yellow as shown in your pictures

in with my champion marbles. Did yours come from the provenance of

the 1980's find? Thanks, marblesa2z

The marbles that I am showing, I was told that they were from the Ravenswood store, when they were still open.

[david Chamberlain]

Thurs. April 9, '09 1PM

Yes, what a lengthy thread. Me thinks a few alley marbles were missidentified as Ravenswood but otherwise a fine representation. When

visiting Patry back then and seeing those particular marbles she obtained from Elaine King I had my doubts. They look very much like certain

Champion marbles that I purchased from Charlie Stutsman during the early 1990s. He dug them out from collapsed boxes underneith the

structure! I am still doubtful about those.

But for anyone who has a keen interest in Ravenswood marbles from this great find in West Virginia in 1987 I still have them in spades even after

selling a 50 lb. box to Marlow Peterson and Larry Castle. I regularly offer a set of 33 different bonifide Ravenswood marbles with serious\

provenance. Make enquiries to me at dlcmib at yahoo.com. .....David Chamberlain

[JimLin]

Hi Alan, Your thread and pictures are awesome. At the marble shows I get a lot of questions about Ravenswood as they are becoming really collectable, this is going to help me with ID,s. thanks so much -Jim

[david Chamberlain]

Sat. April 11, '09

Hello again,

I really thought I'd provided an addendum to this wonderful thread of Ravenswood photographs by Alan but it doesn't seem to be here. I'll

try again cause I do have some comments.

From coarsing through and sorting and resorting Ravenswood marbles from the 50 lb. boxes out of the 1987 find I find most all of the images

provided above authentic Ravenswood marbles. I have been humbled though over time in discovering that some of my judgements have

been too circumscribed by an over reliance on this find alone. My sights have become broadened since this early immersion. There's

Ravenswood marbles out there that don't look anything like what I've come to accept.

That aside, I have to say that the photo(s) of the few flame-like Ravenswoods depicted unfortunately or fortunately are actually Alley Agate.

I've a made-up boxed set of 30 AA flames that I'm constantly upgrading.

I believe the "cafe-au-lait" lighter brown Ravenswood shown are in fact a purposeful separate variety. I also find them worthy. I have seen

enough of them in the 50 lb. boxes to deduce this. Actually, I've been over time to put together sets of approximately 13 different brown\

varieties, granted some of which were practically one or two or three of a kind. Anyway, over time I was able to only make up about 5

such sets. I consider them premiere Ravenswood marbles!

The cobalt blue one shown I do not believe is rare. I've enough of them to I think disprove this conclusion. Actually two varieties of cobalt

blue ones: Dramatically Cobalt blue and largely clear w/cobalt blue stringy strands.

I have found only one variety with what coulod be called oxblood and it is in a common translucent Ravenwood swirl but I have only found a

very few to have the oxblood in them. It is mainly subsurface and consists of very thin and light hairlike strands. You have to look hard but

the only conclusion is that it is oxblood. They're exceedingly rare.

I think I know the chap that Alan was buying from. He was famous for his box collection which unfortunately due to illness in the family

he put up for sale last year. Nice guy. He and his wife would attend Amana and I met him first at Columbus. Can't think of his name

right now.

O.K. I do provide a set of 33 different Ravenswood marbles from this 1987 find in WV. They are the real McCoy and include practically

all the varieties shown here as well as those shown in Castle & Peterson. I sold Larfry & Marlow a 50 lb. box at an early Los Angeles Marble

Show! If interested you may make enquiries at dlc mib @ Yahoo.....you know how it goes. Or call (831) 462-1983.

I have a deep affection for Ravenswood Marbles. Marilyn Barrett who wrote "Aggies, Immies, Shooters & Swirls" (1994) carried with her

a jar of Ravenswood marbles for people to guess the number of marbles during Book Signings. I have donated something like 150 of

those marbles from the jar for the Ravenswood Cemetary Marble Monument. It was an honor to have Marilyn's book dedicated to me.

Hope this has fleshed out the article/photos above and added some depth to it. David Chamberlain

[m!b$]

I have found only one variety with what coulod be called oxblood and it is in a common translucent Ravenwood swirl but I have only found a very few to have the oxblood in them. It is mainly subsurface and consists of very thin and light hairlike strands. You have to look hard but the only conclusion is that it is oxblood. They're exceedingly rare.

So the oxblood shown in Post #10 is not Ravenswood? Is it Alley then?