Marble Stories

“Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall….” Daniel 5:5-12 “Everybody’s Leaving Town….”[1] This old truck is ready to haul one more load of scrap glass down from Pennsylvania or one more truck load of crated marbles to the rail depot. It was a misty cool morning as we climbed down the ridge … [Read more...] about Road Trip to West Virginia III

  “Almost Heaven….”   Wild & Wonderful Some of our readers live in West Virginia and they have the luxury of exploring the wild and wonderful State at their leisure. Others of us have visited many times, explored the Rails to Trails and other hiking trails, and seen mink in the wetland., We know for certain that black bears … [Read more...] about West Virginia Here We Come!

Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. “Tiles with Scenes of Children Playing”; BK-1955-328-A; Netherlands ca. 1680 – 1730; Tin glazed earthenware majolica; height c. 107 cm × width c. 80 cm; Used with Permission Wie wat bewaart, die heeft wat . Who saves, has something.  Old Dutch saying. 400 Years of Playing Marbles & Other Children’s … [Read more...] about Playing Marbles As Shown on Dutch Tiles

 “What is history, but a fable agreed upon?”---Napoleon Bonaparte On The Hunt for Marble Competition Medals We had been learning about marble competition medals, as told in the first part of this story, for many years before we ever found one for sale.  We had had no luck finding one until we visited an antique shop in Tifton, … [Read more...] about What a Spectacle! The Rest of the Story

“Not so bad – huh” Ray Snow, artist. Harrisburg Telegraph, PA, 1924. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.“Memory itself is an internal rumour.”— George Santayana, Reason in Science, 1906. 1922 Was a Long Time AgoEinstein theorized that both time and space are relative. One way each of us measures … [Read more...] about What A Spectacle! National Championship and Tournament Marble Medals

"I'd horsewhip you, if I had a horse." - Horse Feathers (1932)Five unused tickets to the one-night-only Midnight Burlesque Show La Vie Paree, Saenger Theatre, Mobile, Alabama, 13 January 1934. Balcony seats cost .55¢ with tax.“Say it Ain’t So! A Fantasy?”In the summer of 2006 we had only been collecting marbles for a couple of years … [Read more...] about Meet Me At The Rio: On The Track of Theater Marbles

“Decision making, like coffee, needs a cooling process.” George Washington[1] A $3.00 Bill & Marble PackagingIt isn’t illegal to print $3.00 bills. The United States government has never issued one so it can’t be counterfeit. Likewise it isn’t illegal to print headers that look “defeated” ---shop worn and old. There is no … [Read more...] about As Real As A $3.00 Bill!

The Transatlantic Steamship Liverpool.  Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division 2003679830“…If this life is a shipwreck, we must rescue as many as we can, and not forget to sing in the lifeboats.” Peter Gay: his viewpoint about the message of Voltaire’s story “Candide”“Down to the Sea in Ships”Did you know that an … [Read more...] about Shipwreck Marbles: Found from Wreckage

Wall tile, Harlinger, Netherlands, 1650-1700  Tin-glazed eathernware with painted decoration in blue with manganese outline, a ship.  Image ID 2007 BN2966.  Accession No. C.569:2-1923.  Victoria and Albert Museum, London Collectibles, London. [11] An Old Broken JarWhen we lived in Kissimmee, Florida, we … [Read more...] about Shipwreck Marbles: The Rest of the Story

“If you don’t know history, then you don’t know anything. You are a leaf that doesn’t know it is part of a tree.”  – Michael CrichtonHow many marbles ya’ got?When we tell people about our marble hobby and collection one or two questions invariably come next. It’s a tie between “How many ya’ got?” and the old chestnut “Have you … [Read more...] about Rock & Roll: How to Store and Show Your Marbles

Wagner & Debes. Venezia. [Leipzig: Geograph. Anstalt v. Wagner & Debes, ?, 1886] Map. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2001620482/>If we knew what it was we were doing , it would not be called research, would it?  Albert EinsteinWhoever Said There Were?Well, a number of people tell us about … [Read more...] about No, Virginia, 9th Century Venetian Marbles Do Not Exist

Used with permission of Dr.-Ing. Gerhard Greiner-Bär. Sapere audeIn the Beginning...B. Alan Basinet[1] made a significant contribution to our understanding of the setting, history, and beginnings of the Lauscha, Germany glassworks[2] . And we all recognize that Everrett Grist and Paul Baumann have become the sources to reference … [Read more...] about The Lauschaer Glashütte and the Origins of Modern Glass Marbles