Anyone live near to the water where the mudlarks build their bowl-like nests of soft mud and then line them with feathers? Sometimes called Pee Wees, mudlarks are fairly large black and white flycatchers which are called Magpie-larks in Australia. We have no idea when or by whom the mudlark name was first applied to paupers … [Read more...] about Mudlarking Marbles!
Cambridge Glass Company Marbles: A Second Look
He never worked where? Our recent post about Cambridge Glass and Christensen marbles generated some very interesting responses online. We were most surprised by the reaction to the information on A. Fiedler. After complaining about misinformation in the post, one writer noted: most of the misinformation is about … [Read more...] about Cambridge Glass Company Marbles: A Second Look
More Marble Collectables
Rats! Foiled Again. We recently asked any visitor to the Blog “Rats and Knuckle Down” if they had ever seen the sculpture, casting, marble collectable, or whatever it is of two rats knuckled down to a game of marbles. Well, that figurine remains a big mystery because no one has responded. Yet. In the Rat Blog we also … [Read more...] about More Marble Collectables
Cambridge Glass Company Marbles
You Have What? There are marbles in our collection made using cullet from well-known glasshouses which are extremely popular and often older and well-established. These companies never produced marbles or have ceased their production. For example, we have a clutch of marbles made from Burmese uranium glass made by The … [Read more...] about Cambridge Glass Company Marbles
Rats and “Knuckle Down”
We have no idea if rats can knuckle down. In fact, we have no idea whether or not rats even have knuckles; at least not in the traditional use of the noun today. We do know that rats have a collapsible skeleton and can get through seemingly impossibly small holes. We have first-hand experience of rats gnawing through a … [Read more...] about Rats and “Knuckle Down”
And the Beat Goes On
Recognize this marble master? This is Dave McCullough (deceased, 2024). Former owner and operator of D.A.S. Marbles, Dave brought tons of experience and knowledge to the contemporary marble scene. His vision of color connects glass and nature through the marbles which he has run over several decades, and his work has many followers … [Read more...] about And the Beat Goes On
Bagatelle Blues
For years we have collected hand-held or table top plunger, flipper, and flip or free-roll marble games. Some people just call them pinball games. We collect the games with marbles and not the ones which use steel balls. A later game that we bought was so big that it had legs to the floor! We lost that one in a flood after … [Read more...] about Bagatelle Blues
It’s In the Bag
Grab the Marbles & Run! We really like marble bags! It wasn’t so long ago that young ‘uns for whom marbles was a game of keeps needed a bag, pouch, or their granddad’s old hand-me-down shot pouch to put their winnings in. The bag should be able to hold about 25 – 30 marbles, and there was no real requisite to what … [Read more...] about It’s In the Bag
Far-Flung in Wimauma
Wimauma is in Hawaii, right? Sounds like it should be. But, no, it’s in Florida --- about halfway down on the left-hand side. Suntree; Umatilla; Wadi Tawiyyah; Blood Mountain (Tail of the Dragon); Limaville; Buckhannon; Warm Springs; Black Hawk; Eau Gallie; Key West; Hancock; Immokalee; and Africa Town. What in the world could … [Read more...] about Far-Flung in Wimauma
One Cigarette Left: Ramblings in Oakleigh Gardens
About Oakleigh Gardens We have only lived in Mobile, Alabama, for a little over a year, but we have learned that the old city, founded in 1702 as Fort Louis de la Mobile, has dozens of historic districts and enclaves which we can explore. Incidentally, the first Mardi Gras was held in Mobile in 1703. We … [Read more...] about One Cigarette Left: Ramblings in Oakleigh Gardens
How Can Marbles Have Secrets?
Got Marbles? Do marbles have secrets? If you ask older generations about their marbles, most will remember their own childhood collection or recall that they inherited a jar or tin or box of "player" marbles from a family member. They know about their own marbles (past or present) in the context of their lives, family history and … [Read more...] about How Can Marbles Have Secrets?
Marbles From Mother Nature
We have no idea whether or not Ovid (43 BC- about 17 AD), the Roman poet, even wrote the poem Nux, which takes the viewpoint of a walnut tree. We are relatively certain, however, that the poem does mention playing marbles from mother nature such as walnuts; in fact, the boys played several games with the … [Read more...] about Marbles From Mother Nature
