Condition is Everything

December 8th, 2011,

It shouldn't take long for a budding marble collector to discover the chief rule of marble collecting: Condition is everything.

As an untutored new collector, I learned this lesson the hard way. Once the collecting fever took hold, I craved old marbles. The more the merrier. I can remember driving hours to buy giant lots of marbles. I would grab handfuls and look at them as I drove home. Condition was an afterthought to me. I was too excited admiring and discovering the variety and beauty of these little glass globes.

Gradually, as I was exposed to all the styles and makers, my excitement died down. After so much admiring and discovering and sorting, I began noticing a factor common to most of the marbles I paid (and overpaid) for: most of my marbles were pretty beat up. A handful, however, were not beat up and these were the ones I cherished. The contrast was so glaring between the pristine, mint condition marbles and the general populace of battle-scarred veterans, that I began to feel like something of a gold miner. I had sifted through an enormous amount of ore only to discover a few prize nuggets.

Had I been exposed earlier on to veteran collectors or marble shows, I might have learned the rule sooner, but eventually the light bulb finally stayed on. Having obsessed over the production and history and culture of marbles, I realized why mint condition vintage marbles are so precious. Not only are they as beautiful as the day they were made; they also are miraculous survivors.

Consider the doomed life of the average glass marble. To survive in mint, like-new condition it must by some series of miracles be spared its natural fate as a toy marble. Not only was it cheap to buy, it was sold to boys for a game that was played in the dirt and whose object was to violently strike other marbles. It would be a minor miracle if they managed to stay unblemished for a week, much less 30, 70 or 100 years or more.

But some did survive, tucked away in closets and attics, some even in their original boxes. Others were tossed into jars of older marbles and never played with, as the game of marbles lost its appeal.

And so every marble collector learns very quickly from buying up lots of marbles in the "wild" that most old marbles are damaged from play and from the vicissitudes of rough storage.

When you finally get a mint condition marble and compare it to a damaged one, the differences are stunning. The damaged ones, for all their faded glory, simply cannot compare to the glistening "wet" mint marble looking like the day it was made. When you finally get your hands on one and really appreciate it, then you realize these are not mere toys, but works of art.

This explains why collectors might pay, say, $80 for a single marble in mint condition, but would not pay $10 for the same marble with one small chip in it. This principle applies throughout the antiques world, but for these delicate glass beauties it is especially true.

If I had to do it all over again, I would certainly have paid a lot less for those lots of beat up marbles I was so excited to get. But I don't regret the experiences. It was an exciting and fun way to learn, but these days I am very unforgiving of damage on marbles. I still appreciate them for what they represent. Holding a damaged marble, I can almost hear the shouts of boys knuckling down and the nick of glass upon glass.

But when I hold a mint, undamaged marble, I see a fragile object of art frozen in time, born of fire and factory, spared its common fate. For sheer beauty alone they are worthy of being collected and displayed, but they are layered with so much history and nostalgia that the effect is dizzying.

I can feel the fever rising again. I need more marbles!

Incredible Marble Auction on December 3rd

November 12th, 2011,

Some amazing marbles from the collection of Paul Baumann will be auctioned December 3rd, 2011 by Morphy Auctions. Paul Baumann began collecting marbles in 1952 and wrote one of the first marble collecting books, Collecting Antique Marbles, in 1970. This was long before marble clubs and shows. Paul and his father (who collected marbles since the 1930s) are true pioneers offering up some incredibly rare gems among the 700+ lots in this auction.

The 2 1/4" onionskin peacock lutz marble with mica [right] is one of the big head turners in this auction, with an estimated sale price between $10,000 - $20,000. Its wet mint condition, along with its artistic vibrancy, makes it seem almost contemporary.

Also up for auction are not one but two original Christensen Agate "World's Best Guineas" boxes, filled to the brim and sure to fetch at least $6,000 per box. There are also several exquisite painted sulphides.

We can thank Morphy Auctions for once again posting detailed pictures of every lot in this incredible marble auction. Don't forget that you can register and bid online. Go and feast your eyes on the online catalog of this amazing marble auction.

Las Vegas Marble Show 2011

November 8th, 2011,

The 2011 Las Vegas Marble is this weekend at the Tropicana. Saturday, November 12th is the actual show but in-room trading begins on the 9th. Details can be found at The International Association of Marble Collectors website.

You don't want to miss this show if you're in the area. It's the biggest and best in this part of the country. If your significant other is not interested in marbles, there is plenty for them to do in the Tropicana while you score some great deals on some great marbles.

Master Marble Sunbursts in Summer

September 3rd, 2011,

As we approach summer's end, I can think of no marbles better suited to celebrate the heat, light and playfulness of summer than these these aptly-named "sunburst" marbles from Master Marble Company.

All marbles look best in daylight, but these sunbursts in particular seem to come alive. Inside my house, sitting in a tray under a 60-watt light bulb, they look wilted. Taken outside, their colors burst alive in the rays of the sun.

I like to imagine that these beauties survived unblemished for 70+ years because whenever someone took them outside for a game, they saw how beautiful they were and preferred to admire their beauty rather than risk chipping or losing them in the dusty marble ring.

When I finished taking pictures of these and picked them up, I was shocked at how hot they had become in the sun. Considering their molten origins, their name, and their radiance in the heat and light of the sun, I have decided that, for me anyway, the Master Marble sunburst is the official marble of summer.

Henry T. Hellmers' Secret Batch Book of Glass Formulae

August 6th, 2011,

A unique and important book of glass- and marble-making history can now be yours in the recently published Henry T. Hellmers' Secret Batch Book of Glass Formulae, by J.W. Courter. Marble collectors who study the history of their hobby will want to secure a copy of this book. I have to say there is nothing else like it in my library.

Just as the title describes, it is a facsimile of the 400-page, handwritten glass formulae book of glass chemist Henry T. Hellmers (1897 - 1978). Hellmer worked at many glass making companies during his 40+ year career, including Akro Agate Co. from 1921 - 1930, where he helped develop, as he put it, "hundreds of colors" for their new machine made marbles. He also worked at the Cambridge Glass Company from 1930-1932, where he developed several of their famously vivid colors.

Hellmers' batch book illustrates the depth and breadth of his role in American glass making history. The book includes more than 2,300 formulae for coloring glass batches, each written in the same format in good handwriting. Hellmers not only invented many colors but also collected formulae from other companies, so dozens of glass making companies are referenced. There are formulae for lenses, crystal, even red reflectors for cars and bicycles. Of particular interest to marble collectors are the entries for the Akro Agate Co.

Of the 55 different "red opal" batch formulae in Mr. Hellmers' batch book, 17 are from Akro Agate.  There is Flintie Red for Agates (1930), Regular Carnelian Red (1927), Tiger Eye Red (1929), Red for Striping Marbles (1929), and more. Each details a once-secret batch formula.

The formulae themselves, when you consider their ingredients, are like alchemy. Each batch contains hundreds of pounds of sand and soda, and then, depending upon the color, lesser amounts of "secret" ingredients that to a layman like me seem magical. Tiger Eye Red, for example, calls for 500 lbs. of sand but only 2 ½ oz. of copper oxide and but ½ oz. of bichromate. Bone ash seems to be a common ingredient.

And the forumlae just go on and on for 400 pages, sprinkled with fascinating tidbits from the history of glass making.  On page 120, I found an Akro Agate batch formula for Lavender Opal attributed to A. Fiedler and dated 1923. Just below it is another formula, from 1916, by H.C. Hill. Anyone familiar with Akro Agate's history will recognize those two names.

Reading these, especially the formulae apparently created by Hellmers which are initialed H.T.H, I can almost picture him standing near the pot or tank with the furnace glow on his face, making sure his colors come out just right. This unique and very personal piece of history has given me a deeper appreciation for the chemistry and the people behind these gleaming little glass globes.

If you would like to get a hold of this rare and remarkable work, head over to Igneous Glassworks and pick up a copy.