When Congress Played Marbles

May 9th, 2013,

Congressman Simeon D. Fess (R) of Ohio takes aim at some commies and a few Germans on a sunny day in 1924.

For the curious collectors, here is a close-up of the ducks in the circle.

This photo, as well as one of senator Lee S. Overman playing marbles with the same group of boys, are among countless other digital treasures in the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog.

800 Marble Lots at Morphy's April 19-20 Auction

April 11th, 2013,

Once again Morphy Auctions is auctioning off hundreds of fantastic high-end marbles. This auction takes place April 19-20, 2013 and also includes many vintage toys.

Of special note in this marble collection are 70 sulphide figure marbles, many quite rare. An original sulphide marble box set will also be up for sale. Sulphide boxes are exceedingly rare and this one is expected to fetch between $4,000-$6,000.

As I always, I highly recommend you peruse the online catalog and feast your eyes on the excellent photography of these gorgeous marbles and marble box sets.

Update: Here is a video preview of the auction lots.

The 2013 Orange County Marble Show is Coming March 16th

March 12th, 2013,

The Orange County Marble Show is right around the corner. There will be upwards of 43 vendor tables manned by vintage and contemporary marble dealers, as well as talented glass artists selling their own creations. Expect to see many stunning and rare marbles.

This is California's only annual marble show, so don't miss this chance to see and purchase some amazing marbles.

This year's show is from 9AM to 3 PM on Saturday, March 16th, at the Howard Johnson Hotel on 222 W. Houston Ave. in Fullerton. Parking and admission is free!

For room reservations, call (714) 992-1700.

For further information, contact Rich Shelby @ santarich1947@gmail.com or by phone at 951 212 4435.

Don't forget that for two days before the official show, most dealers open their hotel rooms for trading and socializing during the evening hours. This is the best time to learn about marbles and casually socialize with fellow collectors. If for some reason you can't make Saturday's show, consider coming down for room trading on Thursday or Friday night.

Vintage Marble Ads in Early 20th Century Toy Catalogs

January 27th, 2013,

Thanks to the toy catalogs page over at www.oldwoodtoys.com, marble collectors can enjoy some real gems of vintage marble advertising.

These catalogs date as far back as 1879, but the first marble ad I could find was on page 160 of the spring 1905 Butler Bros. salesman catalog just below the toy whips. "Marbles of Every Good Sort" begins the section, first with a modest showing of American marbles—common clay and dyed clay marbles—followed by a delicious assortment of German import marbles. These include National Color Marbles (peppermint swirls), Jaspers, Fancy Figured Glass Marbles (sulphides), and other handcrafted delights that sold for pennies. As one expects, in subsequent years the American products grow as marble-making pioneers like M.F. Christensen and Akro Agate begin competing with the imports. Also, don't miss out on this page from the same year.

Fast forward to 1912, and page 98 of the Butler Bros. catalog proves that American marble manufacturing has been busy. "Commie" clays still lead the pack, followed by American Onyx (slags or transitionals), and M.F. Christensen Persian Turquoise, along with steelies, which I had assumed were made much later. Also expanding is the imported marble list, which is unfortunately cut off on the right edge, but one can make out Genuine Cornelians (agates) and Fancy Gold Band (lutz), among other marbles that today can fetch hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars each.

Come 1918, we see on page 278 of the Butler Bros. catalog that the imports have vanished as temporary casualties of that horrific "Great War" World War I. Here the American marbles reign, and we see an early Akro Agate box, along with a gorgeous cherry-stained, partitioned display case that I think I will try to build when I retire.

Page 176 of the 1924 Butler Bros. catalog shows us the imports are back, with Mexican Cornelians (agates) competing with German ones. Notice the price on a box of 25 German Cornelians is a whopping $4.00. Compare that to the amazing Counter Tray of Marbles which featured 5,300 fine assorted marbles for only $6.25! On this page we also see two Akro Agate boxes. Be sure to also see this 1927 Butler Bros. catalog page showing a similar assortment. This page from the same year mentions imported "Imitation Agates--also called crockers," what we today call Benningtons.

In this 1928 Butler Bros. catalog page we see no distinction between American and imported marbles. The first marble listed is the Onyx which is described as "Sparkling rainbow colors produced by fusing metal and glass..."

I end this with a final catalog listing from 1931 during The Great Depression, a time in which the Akro Agate Company was masterfully producing works of toy art to thrill and delight both children then and marble collectors today. This full page Akro Agate ad from the Supple-Biddle Hardware Company catalog is a treat and a testimony to the hard work, science and talent that made Akro Agate a lasting success.

Along with searching out other marble ads among these catalogs, I encourage everyone to look at the many intriguing, fun (and sometimes offensive and dangerous) toys of yesteryear. I feel myself tempted to start collecting other toys now...

Where Agates Come From

December 5th, 2012,

My favorite non-glass vintage marbles, agates, required much skill and labor to produce. Their high price reflected this. Many kids could not afford to own one. Early machine made marble producers would later try to mimic these agates of yore, in more fragile but affordable glass.

Unlike their contemporary handmade clay commies or glassies, agates were perfectly round, extremely hard, and heavy. That made them deadly accurate shooters. Shot by a pro, agates could split lesser marbles in half and then "stick" in the dirt with hardly a roll. Such marbles could withstand years, even generations, of rugged marble game combat.

I recently stumbled upon a terrific article from the June 3, 1882 edition of Scientific American, entitled Where Agates Come From. It will give you some appreciation for what went into these magnificent marbles.