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 a copper handle! And all the marbles and the pail are only $60.00 but two people are already considering it while they are buying some produce; they’re coming back! You can’t scratch around in the pail, the seller says, or pour the marbles out because you might ding ‘em!
Where do you start? If your eyes glaze over when you look in the pail, and you have no idea what you’re looking at, then you might want to check over the books which we recommend in this story. Even in this age of fast search engines and AI you still need books to peruse. If you study the pictures and read the descriptions in the books before you head to the flea market or shop next time, then it will certainly help you when you do approach the vendor or shop owner. Quick tip: never act like you know all about marbles while you are with a vendor because none of us can know all about marbles.
But if you’ve been collecting marbles for a while and you look in the lunch pail and see a “railroad” or industrial marble, a possible Master Marble Sunburst, some Alley’s, at least one blue Cairo, maybe a Snake, on a milky base, assorted Patches, and a Vitro Agate Caged Cat’s Eye then you still might want to check over our list.
Reference Books
We wrote about using references in our previous story “Rock & Roll: How to Store & Display Your Marbles” We wrote in that story that references are important for identifying your marbles, sorting them, and writing up details, and possibly even writing little ID tags for each one, so that should you pass your collection along someday then that lucky recipient would not need to start all over with the marbles. We also mentioned the books in our story about mineral marbles Fun With Mineral Marbles – The Secret Life of Marbles.
So, here are some of the books which we rely on and some others which we just enjoy going back to over and over to read and study the photographs.
Alley, L.E., III. L.E. Alley “Father of West Virginia Swirls” & Maker of Fine Tablewware 3 Generations — My Grandfather—My Father—Myself. Marlborough, MA, 2013. Our copy is dog-eared but signed by all three Alleys! We enjoy the whole book, and you will not find another Alley book with such gorgeous photographs and “insider information”. When you are trying to identify a beautifully swirled glass marble, like the orange swirl on ivory next to the large industrial marble in our feature photograph, start with this Alley book. You can read more about Larry Alley and find out how to order his book at “A Conversation with L.E. Alley III”
Barrett, Marilyn. Aggies, Immies, Shooters and Swirls The Magical World of Marbles. Boston: A Bulfinch Press Book, Little, Brown, and Company, 1994. We don’t use Barrett to identify marbles, but she has some wonderful information. If you get this book be sure to look at the “Fiberagates” by Jeffrey Gray on page 91. She writes about China and Crockery marbles and illustrates her copy with genuine China marbles; she also writes about Akro Agate and shows nice “corkscrew” or spiral marbles.
Bauer, Jaroslav, and Vladimir Bouska. A Guide in Color to Precious & Semiprecious Stones. Secaucus, NJ: Chartwell Books, Inc., 1989. We have written two stories in which we encourage you to collect some clay, rocks, gems, and mineral spheres, as well as agate marbles. And while there are some fantastic color digital images online, we believe that there is nothing like an old fashioned book to use for reference. We used this one when we wrote the mineral stories: “Fun with Mineral Marbles” and “More Fun With Minerals”
Baumann, Paul. Collecting Antique Marbles Identification and Price Guide., 4th Edition. Iola, IA: Krause Publications, 2004. This is a large 8½” X 11” book. Pages are falling out of our copy because we use it so much! Baumann not only includes excellent photographs in his book, but the text is straight forward and some of it can be found nowhere else. He has information on sulphides, stone, China, Lutz and mica, and, especially, carpet bowls and reproduction bowls. We have collected a few European Victorian bowls played indoors and in pubs, and we know of no other source which covers this topic so very well. You can check Amazon and Thriftbooks for this one, but we feel certain that it will be expensive.
Block, Robert. Marbles Identification and Price Guide Revised & Expanded 4th Edition. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, Ltd., 2002. When we started to build our collection we relied on Robert Block. He is the son of Stanley Block. His book features antique marbles, original packaging, which is critical when you find an original poly, plastic, or cardboard package of marbles “in the wild”, and such topics as the “9” slags and all about pontils. As you may know, “new old” bags of marbles do still exist. This is marble stock which never sold. We found some of these bags in Cairo, West Virginia, which came from an old mercantile store. Block’s photographs are crystal clear and they can help you tremendously.
Block, Robert S. Marble Collectors Handbook. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, Ltd., 2005. We have just about worn this one out!
Block, Robert. Marbles Identification and Price Guide Revised & Expanded 5th Edition. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, Ltd., 2012. Our copy is signed.
Block, Stanley A. Marbles Beyond Glass. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 2010. No book on the market discusses and illustrates non-glass marbles better than this one! And We would be remiss if we did not mention that Stanley A. Block founded the Marble Collectors Society of America (AMCS), in Turnbull, Connecticut, in 1975 and he served as its Chairman for forty years.[1] Stanley died in 2020 when he was 87. We’re proud that our book is signed by Stanley.
Block, Stanley A., Ed. Marble Mania®. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 2010. This one is also signed by Stanley.
Bonewitz, Ronald Louis. Rock and Gem. London: Dorling Kindersley Limited. Smithsonian Institution, Rock and Gem American Edition, 2008. We recommend that you collect a few rocks, minerals, and gems as you go along. We have found some badly worn “California Agates” in a number of old clutches of marbles that we have gone through. Some of our finds are Victorian. And if you do collect rocks and minerals you will quickly learn that one of the problems, or some collectors would say lots of the fun, is that the seller has no idea what he or she is selling! We have never walked away from a mineral or rock which we like and want because the seller could not identify it, but it can be both challenging and frustrating trying to understand what it is we’ve bought! At one time we had over 100 identified rocks and minerals in our collection! We have found some great mineral marbles at garage sales and flea markets which were unidentified. And even in “rock shops” some employees have no idea what is in all of the bins[2]! So, a book like Rock and Gem is critical. You can get an updated copy of this book for about $30. Also, check out our stories “Fun With Mineral Marbles and “More-Fun-With-Minerals”.
Everett Grist’s Machine-Made and Contemporary Marbles. Paducah, KY: Collector Books, 1995.
Everett Grist’s Big Book of Marbles A Comprehensive Identification & Value Guide for Both Antique and Machine-Made Marbles. Paducah, KY: Collector Books, 2000. This is a nice big (8½” X 11”) book with lots of color illustrations. We have gone back to his images and descriptions of “New Comic Style Marbles” time again. This book also has the first photograph that we ever saw of metal marble shooters. We find small metallic clad clay marbles from time to time and this book has a wonderful image of a full set and a description. Again, this is the type book you want to pull down and look at time after time.
Flewelling, Stan. The First Nationwide Game Contest for Kids: How the National Marbles Tournament Got Started. NP: Published by Stan Flewelling, ©2023. Signed and annotated. We have conferred with Stan many times over the years and especially on our stories “What a Spectacle! National Championship & Tournament Medals” and “What a Spectacle! The Rest of the Story”.
Grist, Everett. Antique and Collectible Marbles. Paducah, KY: Collector Books, 1992. Grist’s book has itself become an antique! No, we don’t refer to this Grist book every day or every week. Still, we have been collecting for twenty years and we have always relied on this little 1992 text. When we found our first sulphide marble, for example, we checked in Grist to see if it was “official”. Of course Grist could never show all the sulphides in the wild, in museums, and in private collections, but his book was and is a tremendous help for us. Still, we have never seen a sulphide marble in blue, green, or amber transparent glass. We know that this book is for sale on Amazon for less than $6.00!
Hardy, Roger, and Claudia Hardy. The Complete Line of Akro Agate Marbles, General Line, and Children’s Dishes With Prices.Clarksburg, WV: Clarksburg Publishing Company, 1992. And Hardy, Roger, and Claudia Hardy. Akro Agate Price Guide Revised 2nd Edition. Clarksburg, WV: Clarksburg Publishing Company, 1998. As you can see from this photograph, we have absolutely worn both books out. We never take a serious antiquing trip without the books. We bought the small red Akro Agate votive in the photograph at the Hardys’ antique store, West End Antiques at 917 West Pike Street in Clarksburg. For a number of years we belonged to the Akro Agate Collectors Club. Roger is the Principal Officer and the Club was established in the mid-1990s.
Iggulden, Conn, and Hal Iggulden. The Dangerous Book for Boys. 1st Edition. NY: Collins An Imprint of Harpe rCollins Publishers, 2006. Okay, we admit we put this one in because we love history, antiques, and an old game of any sort with a description! This book does have a couple of pages about marbles. We take this book off the shelf from time to time to scan it just for fun!
Peterson, Marlow, and Larry Castle. Marbles The Guide to Cat’s-Eyes Marbles. Ogden, Utah: Utah Marble Connection, Inc., 1998. We bought this 32-page book when we started collecting and have used it ever since. Of course, the prices are out of date, but the color photographs are crisp and clear and the authors offer a good deal of information about the number of vanes in cat’s eye marbles as well as some photographs and information on poly bags.
Righter, Miriam. Iowa City Glass. NP: np. ©1981 by Dr. J.W. Carberry. Iowa City IA. We used Righter extensively in our stories “Mid-Western American Hot Glass” and “Sand, Another Four-Letter Word?”
Riley, Susan, Ed. The #1 Fun Book for Marbles World’s Greatest Marble Games. Minneapolis, MN: Compass Labs, 2002. While we have had this one for a long time, it is another one that we only refer to from time to time. We did use it when we wrote “Circles, Triangles & Holes”.
Shell, Darren. A Stone’s Throw The History of the Game of Marbles in the Upper Cumberland Region of Tennessee and Kentucky. South Bend, IN: Fideli Press, 2009. We paid $8.00 for this little book at the 2023 Rolley Hole Tournament in Hilham, Tennessee. We aren’t sure that it is on the general market. Shell has done a remarkable job! There are stories in here about making and playing marbles that we had never heard before as well as crisp sharp photographs. This book is the source of the information which we used in our story “Native American Marbles and Games” . Larry enjoyed everything else about the Rolley Hole Festival in Standing Stone State Park except Cabin #13!
Six, Dean, Susie Metzler, And Michael Johnson. American Machine-made Marbles Marble Bags, Boxes, and History. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 2006. This is the book Larry always uses when we identify marbles. It is large at 8½” X 11”. The book is full of history, historical photographs and photographs of historical primary documents. We first learned about Vitro Agate Fisher Jewel trays in this book and we finally found a 1939 World’s Fair tray! Dean used primary sources in this book including the very people who made mid-20th century marbles. You won’t find more professionally taken photographs anywhere. Dean signed and annotated the book for us. He also gave us a very important tip once when we had the honor of sorting marbles with him at a Cairo Marble Festival. He said that when you have a lot of unidentified marbles, which you want to sort, then start by grouping them by color. It is easier then to begin to note similar characteristics and to associate the marbles with their maker.
This book was our primary motivation for searching for, documenting, and collecting antique marble bags made of leather, shagreen, and those hand-made at home out of cloth. And Six set us straight more than once when we found a poly bag we did not recognize. Like several of our reference books, this book literally has a lot of miles on it! You can go to Amazon or the publisher at https://schifferbooks.com/products/amer-machine-made-marbles. The book is about $30.00.
Six, Dean, Susie Metzler, And Michael Johnson. Popular American Marbles. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, Ltd., 2007. This is the book that Jo uses every time we sort marbles! We carried this book with us for thousands of miles in our campers and looked up marbles which we found and bought in antique shops on the road. Our book is worn completely out and the prices are out of date, but we never used the book for pricing anyway. You really need this book on your reference desk and you can get it at Amazon for about $15.00.
Six, Dean. West Virginia Glass Towns. Charleston, WV: Quarrier Press, 2012. We are so glad that Six wrote this book! No, you can’t use it to identify marbles. But it is packed full of historical photographs, primary documents, and fire insurance maps of the glass houses. And the sad part is that these glass houses are by and large all gone now. Some of the sites are well known and marked, but others have essentially disappeared. We have explored towns like Buckhannon where there were once ten glass houses. We explored the Akro Agate site in Clarksburg; the Master site in Bridgeport; Ellenboro where Sam Hogue still makes handmade marbles as well as machine players; and Paden City where Dave McCullough still makes gorgeous swirls. You can read about our West Virginia travels in three stories starting with “West Virginia Here We Come!”. We used this Six book to learn more about glass canes and batons which we write about in “Mid-Western American Hot Glass”.
Whitmyer, Margaret, and Kenn Whitmyer. Collector’s Encyclopedia of Children’s Dishes An Illustrated Value Guide. Paducah, KY: Collector Books, 1993. This is an older book so be careful of the prices listed. While we almost always use the Hardys as our source for Akro Agate glassware, the Whitmyers book includes many different makers of children’s glassware. They start with Akro Agate Company but also illustrate and discuss U.S. Glass Company, Cambridge Glass Company, the very unusual McKee Glass Company children’s bake set and much more.
We’re Going Out Looking
We have been told probably hundreds of times that you don’t need a book; you can look anything up on you phone. We know people who take pictures on the phone and send them all over the world instantaneously. We’ve seen them in shops and flea markets taking pictures and looking things up. Right.
We also know that there are wonderful marble identification websites such as; Marble Alan, the West Virginia Marble Collectors Club, and so many more. We know. We use them to supplement our books.
We also know that there are many marble collecting groups online who gladly help you identify your marbles. Over the years we have belonged to a number of these groups and we have attended marble shows where we have sold marbles with friends we made online.
Still, we refuse to accept that the only references you need are in the cloud. There is simply no substitute for paper books (of course we read books ,too). You can see from the photographs that we really enjoy our books. If you haven’t tried the paper route then why not go online and invest a few bucks in some of our recommendations? And if you do have some paper references then congratulations! Welcome to the past.
References
- You can learn a lot about marbles @ https://www.marblecollecting.com/marble-community/marble-collectors-society-of-america/ (7/16/2024); Block’s Marble Auctions (7/16/2024) and Stanley A. Block, Marble Auctioneer, Collector & Author, 87Antiques And The Arts Weekly (7/24/2024). ↑
- If you enjoy collecting rocks, minerals, and gemstones, visit shops which you are unfamiliar with when you travel. Some of these shops have salespeople who are trained and deeply interested in what they are selling. They can help you find some odd and unexpected spheres. For example, we had a great time in Nature’s Own in Nederland, Colorado [https://naturesown.com/nederland]. And don’t forget to look for mineral spheres in antique st
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