Marble Stories

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 Jar When we lived in Kissimmee, … [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 Crichton How 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 … [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 Einstein Whoever Said There Were? Well, a number of … [Read more...] about No, Virginia, 9th Century Venetian Marbles Do Not Exist

Used with permission of Dr.-Ing. Gerhard Greiner-Bär.  Sapere aude In 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 … [Read more...] about The Lauschaer Glashütte and the Origins of Modern Glass Marbles

“Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas.” Marie Curie [1] Doped Marbles & the 2% Club In our book The Secret Life of Marbles we take a look at one way the American Military used uranium-doped marbles in Cold War weapons testing. That section is called Hot Glass and Moving Targets and it is in … [Read more...] about Fenton Glass Marbles

All knowledge degenerates into probability. — David Hume [1] A Little Backstory We have a few Victorian sulfides in our collection and we recently posted Contemporary Figural Marbles in this eMagazine.  Check that post for some background on sulfides. In 2006 we first asked ourselves the question “Were sulfide marbles … [Read more...] about Were Victorian Sulfide Marbles Made in America?

The proper order of things is often a mystery to me.” - Cheshire Cat A Few Words about Words What precisely is the difference between an antique and a contemporary figural marble? Before 1890 marbles were handmade; today gorgeous glass marbles are still being made by hand. Are “contemporary” marbles those made using … [Read more...] about Contemporary Figural Marbles

I’m 100% Certain!  Somewhat…. Which facts, stories, or statistics do you know with absolute certainty about the Civil War?  You may not remember it “off the top of your head” but you can certainly get the solid facts online, right?  Yes.  And no.  For example, President Lincoln used electrical signaling with unparallel … [Read more...] about Marbles Used as Munitions in the American Civil War

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

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

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

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