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Baltimore Heritage[1] 612-614 S. Wolfe Street (2012) Exterior View We recently had fun with the story “Limestone Marbles & The Eutaw Farm” (https://thesecretlifeofmarbles.com/limestone-marbles-the-eutaw-farm/) In that post we told you about the significant public archaeology digs in the northeast of Baltimore, Baltimore … [Read more...] about Marbles From the Caulker’s Homes: Historical Status Markers from Baltimore’s Iconic Past

Etching “Marbles” by James McNeill Whistler[1] https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2010648381/ Whistling In The Newspaper Morgue Files If you have read some of our stories then you know that we enjoy reading old newspapers at the the Library of Congress digital newspaper morgue (https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/). The site … [Read more...] about Moth Marbles & Other Brevities

  Photograph: Belongs to A.Davey, 1 September 1914, This file is licensed under the Wikimedia Commons Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license[1]. We really like this photograph! Each girl is baby-sitting a child younger than her. Look at their “geta sandals”. These are designed to keep your feet dry and it looks like … [Read more...] about Ohajiki: “Looks Like Flat Marbles to Me!”

In “Windswept”, which is the last section of our story Amache Marbles (https://thesecretlifeofmarbles.com/amache-marbles/) we noted that one man left two buckets of marbles in his camp when he was relocated with his parents at the end of World War II. Each person could carry only a small bag or two of the family’s possessions when … [Read more...] about Manzanar: A Second Look at Camp Marbles[1]

Photo Courtesy of the Library of Congress[1] Ever heard of Amache? What about the Amache Internment Camp or the Granada Relocation Center in Granada, Colorado? No? Well let us tell you a story about courage, the resilience of children, the toughness of their families, lives turned upside down . . . and marbles! Regardless of the … [Read more...] about Amache Marbles

Let’s say that you’ve just inherited a bunch of marbles from your father, a great aunt, or your grandfather. Or, you’re in a giant flea market in Chiefland, Florida, and you are offered this lunch pail which grandpaw carried to work on the train with him for forty years! The pail itself is an antique and it still has both a lid and … [Read more...] about Tips To Help You Identify Your Marbles: An Annotated List of References

Drawing by Jerry Barker, Mobile, Alabama, 2024   April 1865, at the very end of the American Civil War, was one of the most contentious and consequential months in all of American history.  On April 2nd the Confederate Capital, Richmond, Virginia, was effectively evacuated and buildings along the waterfront were burned as … [Read more...] about The Long Last Ride & A “Well-Contested” Game of Marbles

Guest Author: Caroline Janssen [Editor's Note: Here we introduce you to Caroline Janssen and her thoughtful analysis of a book, the human spirit, and the role of marbles in society.  Caroline is a professor at Ghent University (Belgium).  She has previously contributed to this magazine with her article about the history of marbles … [Read more...] about The Novel ‘Qadir’s Marbles’: If Only All Children Could Play Marbles In A Pomegranate Garden