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American Handmade Glass Marbles
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American Handmade Glass Marbles
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James Harvey Leighton 1849-1923 James Harvey Leighton was a third generation American glass master and the originator of the American glass toy marble. Below is a brief description on how this occurred over 100 years ago in Akron, Ohio.
Some marbles and glass artifacts that were found at the S.C. Dyke & Co. factory site. Collection of Brian Graham The S.C. Dyke and Company By the year
1890, Sam Dyke at his factory in downtown Akron, Ohio, was producing over one
million clay toy marbles a day. He had only been in business since 1884, when he
first manufactured little brown jugs in order to slander Grover Cleveland’s
run for the Whitehouse. These enterprising efforts were soon busy at turning out
common clay marbles as well as fancy stoneware marbles for the children of
America to enjoy. Sam Dyke had a habit of building on his successes, and was
always trying to push the envelope. Sam
had a brother named A.L. Dyke, who owned a news, tobacco and candy store in
downtown Akron. It wasn’t long before A.L. Dyke realized that his brother was
making a small fortune at the marble business, so in January of 1890, he found
himself a potter named Victor Morton, and opened up his own fledgling marble
company a short distance away. It is interesting to note that the gentleman that
A.L. hired to run his new company, had already owned a shop in the nearby town
of Middlebury, that was a competitor of Sam’s. Victor Morton
produced stoneware novelties and toys for children, but
wasn’t making toy marbles at his company that was called Morton &
Estey. If
Sam was going to have competition from his brother A.L., he needed to turn up
the heat and stay ahead of the game. He had to be innovative or he would risk
loosing market share with the wholesale houses that he had been selling to. The
following article appeared in the Akron Daily Beacon, September 24, 1890. S.C.
Dyke Plans for Enlarging His Akron Marble Works.
Several years ago S.C. Dyke, of this city commenced the manufacture of
marbles upon a [?] stove, he doing the work himself. By close attention to
business Mr. Dyke has been able to increase his trade to such an extent that
S.C. Dyke & Company now employ over 100 girls and have agents upon the road
traveling throughout the United States.
The works are located upon Main Street and have been greatly increased
in size within the past few months. The company will not be content with the
manufacture of common marbles but are now perfecting plans for the manufacture
of a fine quality of glass marbles. M r. Dyke will go to Germany very soon and
look over the German establishments for the purpose of gaining pointers. Akron
now holds the largest marble works in the world and with manufacturing glass
marbles, the works will be greatly enlarged and employment given to hundreds of
idle hands. By
November of 1890, Sam had moved ahead with his plans to add a glass marble
department to his factory on Main Street in Akron. It turned out that he didn't
need to go to Germany after all. There just happened to be someone in the US
that could show him how to do it. The following article appeared in the Summit
County Beacon, November 24, 1890 – 1:2,3
Some marbles and glass artifacts that were found at the American Marble and Toy Manufacturing Co. factory site. Collection of Brian Graham NOW ITS GLASS FIRST GLASS MARBLES EVER MADE IN AMERICA TURNED OUT
IN THIS CITY THIS MORNING AKRON TO-DAY INTRODUCES AN INDUSTRY INTO THE UNITED
STATES
The first glass marbles manufactured in the United States were to-day
turned out by S.C. Dyke & Co., at their large marble factory on South Main
street, between Mill and Market Streets. A BEACON reporter called on Mr. Dyke at
his office this morning, and that gentleman informed him that the actual work
was begun this morning, although a few were completed last Tuesday. The company
has a furnace with eight crucibles, in which the materials for making the glass
are melted and the glass made. The white sandstone used in the making of the
glass is procured in Akron. He said it would be several days before any headway
could be counted upon as the glass workers would have to be taught their task.
While he would be able to procure any number of glass workers, it would
impossible for them to take up the making of marbles at once as they would be
inexperienced in that class of work. An expert glass maker has been secured and
is teaching those who are to be in that department how to mold glass into
marbles.
In each crucible is a different colored glass for making different
colored marbles by mixing the various colors, marbles of mixed colors are made.
Not only are glass marbles made here, but glass goose eggs, for ornamental
purpose are blown. They are perfect in shape and will be made up into all the
fancy colors. It is necessary to keep the fire in the glass furnaces burning
continually as it would ruin everything if the fire was allowed to go down.
It is certainly remarkable the demand there is for marbles. There are
about 175 employed in the marble factory and the last two weeks' payroll
amounted to over $1,300. Two persons are keep busy packing and shipping the
goods, which are sent to all parts of the United States. Mr. Dyke is also at
present the only manufacture of clay marbles in the United States which are
turned out at the factory by the wagon load. Two molding rooms are filled with
girls, who take small chunks of clay and fill a bottom mold. after which they
place a corresponding mold over the top and running it back and forth over the
under one the marbles are turned out nice and smooth. Then they are placed upon
a drying pan, put upon a rack and allowed to stand until they are sufficiently
hard to be put into the pots that are placed in the kilns. One kiln holds about
75 bushels of marbles and three days are occupied in laying, burning, and
drawing the kiln. After the kilns have been drawn, the marbles are turned into
large bins. From these they are taken and put into a large tin band, holding
about two quarts, which is placed on a piece of sheet iron nailed over a table.
Here the coloring liquids are poured over the marbles and after being shaken
together they are turned out in number of different colors. They are then placed
in small pasteboard boxes and then placed in boxes ready for shipment.
Mr. Dyke is to be commended in his undertaking and there is no doubt as
to the venture being a success. The “expert glass maker” referred to in the article was James Harvey Leighton.
Some marbles and glass artifacts that were found at the Navarre Glass Marble and Specialty Co. factory site. Collection of Brian Graham James Harvey Leighton received a US patent for the hand-tool and process that he invented in 1890 while working for Sam Dyke in Akron, Ohio. There is no strong evidence to indicate that Mr. Leighton commercially made glass marbles prior to his involvement with Sam Dyke. This process would be used off-and-on in the United States until around 1910. Leighton’s marbles were made in the onyx style and are referred to by collectors as melted pontil marbles. Contrary to popular myth, Mr. Leighton did not manufacture marbles with a ground or faceted pontil. To view some of the marbles that Mr. Leighton made in one of his many Ohio factories, see The Navarre Glass Marble and Specialty Company.
Some marbles and glass artifacts that were found at the Barberton Glass Novelty and Specialty Co. factory site. Collection of Brian Graham |
