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AGATE:
A natural mineral, a stone marble desired by mibsters, as in
bulls-eye agate. Name adopted by early American marble
manufacturers to describe any and all classes, types and
styles of marbles; ceramic, as in trademarks Dyke’s American
Agates, registered Samuel C. Dyke; glass, Akro Agate,
registered The Akro Agate Company.
AGGIE: Mibster’s slang for a
marble; can be of any class, type or style, though originally
derived from the word agate (see,) as in a natural stone
marble.
AKRO AGATE COMPANY, THE: The
second American marble company to manufacture glass marbles by
machine. Founded in Akron, Ohio 1911, as a distributor of
marbles purchased from The M.F. Christensen & Son Company.
Co-founder, Horace C. Hill, embezzled money, corporate records
and copied a design for a new marble-forming machine then
being perfected by M.F. Christensen and applied for a patent
under his own name; Hill, US Patent Number 1,164,718.
In 1913, company officers purchased property in Clarksburg,
West Virginia for manufacturing glass marbles, becoming
operational in the fall of 1914. In 1915, Hill was arrested,
tried, convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison for
embezzlement. Corporate offices located Akron, Ohio; Gilbert
C. “Stubby” Marsh, President from 1911 to 1949; closed
1950.
AKRON, OHIO: US industrial center
of marble manufacturing from 1884 to mid 1940’s; location of
upwards of 30 marble factories and or corporate headquarters
for same.
AKRON STONE MARBLE COMPANY, THE:
(1892-1898) Located in Boston, Ohio, near Akron. Owned by
Samuel C. Dyke, converted an old grist mill on the Cuyahoga
River to grind stone “there convenient and in abundance.”
Similar in appearance to limestone marbles (also see,)
manufactured from shale in dull gray and bluish gray colors.
ALBRIGHT COMPANY, J.E., THE: John
E. Albright, manufacturers of ceramic marbles, located in
Ravenna, Ohio, near Akron. This company was the last
manufacturer of ceramic marbles in the United States. A
diagnostic of these ceramic marbles being near perfectly
spherical. Used the Solomon Smith ceramic marble machine (also
see.) Also a distributor of glass marbles manufactured by The
Christensen Agate Company.
ALBRIGHT & LIGHTCAP COMPANY, THE:
John E. Albright and John J. Lightcap, manufacturers of
ceramic marbles, located in Limaville, Ohio, near Akron. A
diagnostic of these ceramic marbles being near perfectly
spherical. Used the Solomon Smith ceramic marble machine (also
see.)
ALOX MANUFACTURING COMPANY, THE:
ALLIES: Mibster’s slang for a
marble, often a shooter.
ALLEY AGATE COMPANY, THE:
conflicting accounts of this company appear in various
published works by marble dealers – primary research
materials have yet to be examined.
ALLEY GLASS MANUFACTURING COMPANY,
THE: conflicting accounts of this company appear in
various published works by marble dealers – primary research
materials have yet to be examined.
AMERICAN CORNELIAN MARBLES: An
reddish, opaque, hand-gathered, machine-made, glass marble
manufactured by The M.F. Christensen & Son Company between
1905 and 1914. In one long continuous run in the fall of 1914
between September 24 and November 10, the company produced
2,318,605 American Cornelians. The formula for this glass came
from J.H. Leighton (see,) is a very old formula know to
Venetian glass masters in the Renaissance and possibly back
thousands of years previously. Collectors call these
beautiful marbles “bricks,” a term coined by collectors
during the old days of the hobby when they referred to all
machine-made marbles as “West Virginia Trash.”
AMERICAN MAJOLICA MABLES: A term
seen in the historic record, mainly retail/wholesale catalogs,
to describe a ceramic marble with a variety of different
colored shellac or glazed designs. This was a patented product
of The American Marble & Toy Manufacturing Company; Actæon
L. Dyke, US Patent Number 439,031. Were also manufactured by
other Akron, O. ceramic marble works and also manufactured in
Germany and imported to the United States.
AMERICAN MARBLE & TOY
MANUFACTURING COMPANY, THE: An incorporated company
1891-1904; the first Superintendent was Samuel C. Dyke, his
brother Actæon L. Dyke became the Superintendent in 1892,
when Sam left to start a new company. They manufactured almost
all classes, types and styles of ceramic marbles, hand-made
glass marbles from cane and hand-made, hand-gathered glass
marbles. During it’s peak this was the largest toy company
in the United States. (Should not be confused with The
American Toy Manufacturing Company of Salem, Massachusetts,
who manufactured a game called Marble Muggins.)
ANNEAL: A means of tempering a
hand-made glass marble to reduce its brittle nature and give
it added strength. Once completed, the marble is placed in an
annealing oven where its temperature is reduced slowly over a
24 hour period to room temperature. The removal of
differential thermal stress. Machine-made glass marbles are
not annealed.
ANTE: As used in the play of
marble games, where each player starts out by placing into the
ring an equal number of marbles or marbles judge to be of
equal value.
AVENTURINE:
A rare type of glass used in the manufacture of marbles, which
gives a shimmering effect when caught in the proper lighting.
Most common colors of aventurine glass are green (the more
common) and red (far more rare.)
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BANDED CROSS PATTERNS: In
reference to Carpet Bowls (see) and hand-painted Chinas (see)
where stripes or bands of color are painted in parallel lines
in one direction across the equator of the marble and a second
set of lines intersect first at right angles. In hand-painted
Chinas, usually unglazed, these cross patterns are diagnostic
of the earliest period of ceramic marble manufacturing in
Germany (1846-1870.)
Chinas, Carskadden, 1990
BANDED OPAQUE MARBLES: A
classification of hand-made glass marbles cut from canes,
where the body of the marble is of a single opaque color and
uneven colored stripes, unevenly spaced, appear on the surface
of the marble going from pole to pole. If the body’s color
appears black or even a dark transparent color so as to appear
opaque, these are called Indians (see.) Manufactured at The
American Marble & Toy Manufacturing Company of Akron,
Ohio, in the early 1890’s, with canes supplied by the
Creighton Bros. of Tiffin, O.
This marble was also manufactured in Germany and
imported to US markets, appearing in many retail/wholesale
catalogs in the 1920’s.
BANDED TRANSPARENT MARBLES:
Same as above, except having a single color transparent body.
BATCH:
A properly proportioned mixture of raw materials to be
delivered to a melting apparatus, a furnace, which when melted
becomes molten glass.
BATCH
CHARGER:
Mechanical means for introducing a batch to a melting
apparatus, a furnace.
BAUMANN,
PAUL:
Author of Collecting Antique Marbles in various
editions, writes extensively on the history and manufacture of
toy marbles. Does extensive primary research, uses standard
and proper footnotes, citations, quotations, references
primary materials. A professor in the sciences at Ohio State
University.
BENNINGTON: A glazed stoneware marble, or cockery, also in the historic
record as ‘cockies.’ A term used by collectors believing
these were manufactured in Bennington, Vermont, of which no
records exist and Bennington, VT authorities deny were
manufactured there, yet the term still survives in the hobby
of collecting marbles. Three types of Bennington marbles; blue
glazed, brown glazed (most common) and Bennington Fancy (see.)
BENNINGTON
FANCY: A
glazed stoneware marble, as above, glazed in multicolored
patches as if sponged.
BERRY
PINK:
Known as the "Marble King", Berry Pink was involved
with selling and marketing marbles since the early 1930's.
Realizing that he could sell more marbles then he could get
his hands on from the manufacturers, Berry started to produce
his own marbles. Marble King in Paden City, West
Virginia is his living legacy.
BERRY
PINK INDUSTRIES:
BIBLIOGRAPHIC
ECHO: A
term describing when one author, who doesn’t footnote, use
citations, or reference primary materials; references another
author as a secondary source who also doesn’t footnote, use
citations, or reference primary materials. Also, when the
first author references a passage from the works of a second
author, who originally obtained that information from the
first author, in effect referencing himself. Also when the
first author quotes his own words as they appear in the works
of a second author, giving credit to the second author as the
source. It is rare to see footnotes, citations, primary source
referenced, etc. in books on marbles.
BOSTON
and SANDWICH GLASS COMPANY:
Early marbles identification and price guides listed this
company as a manufacturer of glass marbles, attributing to
Nicholas Lutz a type of marble containing powered goldstone,
which now incorrectly carries his name (see Lutz.) Numerous
scholarly works on this company and Nicholas Lutz deny the
company or Mr. Lutz ever manufactured marbles.
BUFFED: As in a light polishing
that does not obliterate a pontil from a hand-made glass
marble, nor removes the surface of a machine-made marble.
Buffing greatly increases a dull or rough marble’s
appearance, making it bright in color once again. In some
cases can reduce the value of a marble in collectors’
circles. Also see Polished.
BRUISE MARK: A sign of damage
appearing under the surface of a marble, usually in the shape
of a crescent moon. It is caused by an impact and usually
reduces the value of the marble. Also called a Sub-Surface
Moon.
BULLSEYE MARBLE: Refers to both
China marbles and natural agate marbles. On hand-painted
Chinas, the bullseye was a popular design feature, three types
of bullseye are common; A.) a single solid dot or ‘eye, B.)
a single band or ring, 3.) thin, concentric rings. Also
natural agate marbles where the striations appear at one pole
in different bans of color ending in a single dot in the
center. Among the most coveted of all marbles for shooters by
young mibsters. Manufactured primarily in Germany, also Japan,
also the California Agate Company during the 1920’s.
BUTLER BROTHERS CATALOG: A retail
catalog containing ads for marbles; a valuable source for
studying marbles.
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CAIRO NOVELTY COMPANY, THE:
CAMBRIDGE, OHIO: Second site of
The Christensen Agate Company (1925-1930,) also see.
CANE: Also “cane marble”; a
glass rod used in the manufacture of hand-made marbles. All
the design features and colors are rolled in layers into a
glass rod, appearing something like a candy cane. Attached to
a punty rod (see) the end of the cane is placed into a furnace
where it softens. It is then manipulated with hand-tools until
a sphere is formed on the end of the cane. The marble is then
cut from the cane.
CARDINAL REDS: A named, red
colored, hand-gathered onyx marble manufactured by The Akro
Agate Company.
CARNELIAN: A type of natural
agate stone marble, made of chalcedony, with a reddish waxy
appearance, a highly coveted shooter marble by young mibsters.
Also, a named glass marble manufactured by The Akro Agate
Company. Also, CORNELIAN, archaic spelling, a named glass
marble manufactured by The M.F. Christensen & Son Company,
of Akron, O. (1905-1917) called a “brick” by collectors as
it resembles the color of a red brick (see American Cornelian
Marble.)
CARSKADDEN, JEFF: Author of
numerous scholarly books and essays on the subject of ceramic
marbles.
CATS-EYE MARBLE: Second only to
the hand-gathered onyx marble (see) in length of time in
continuous production, the Cats-Eye was introduced in Japan in
the 1950’s and is still one of the most commonly produced
marbles in the world today. The Cats-Eye marble being
mass-produced by so many companies, over such a long period of
time, in five basic colors, with little effort given to making
them appear different, helped to turn young mibsters away from
the games of marbles. The game “For Keeps” lost it’s
fun, when everyone had identical marbles to ante up. While
collectors perceive subtle differences in these marbles, they
are often seeing a simple range in variation possible from the
same runs, yet differences are still of the slightest
magnitude. Unlike the hand-gathered onyx marbles produced from
1850 to 1930 in which no two marbles are alike, often likened
to snowflakes, the Cats-Eye marbles are an expression of the
manufactures loosing touch with their market. American
manufacturers allowed the monotonous production of identical
marbles to cause indifference with the young mibsters of
America, who were previously enthralled by the wide varieties
of types and styles of marbles available to them. Today more
marbles are sold in Mexico City in one month than are sold in
an entire year in the United States and the manufacture of
glass marbles in the United States for the toy industry is a
part time occurrence by one company.
CERAMIC MARBLE:
A marble manufactured of ceramic material; common clay,
stoneware, vitrified stoneware or porcelain. First
manufactured in the US in 1884 by Samuel C. Dyke, of Akron,
Ohio; US Patent Number 432,127; at the Akron Toy Company; the
first fully mass-produced toy.
CERISE AGATES: A named, red
colored, hand-gathered onyx marble manufactured by The Peltier
Glass Company. Cerise,
French for ‘cherries’.
CHALKIES: Commonly listed in
marble glossaries, describing an unglazed clay marble, or one
from limestone or gypsum. Your author has never run across
this word in the US historic record.
CHAMPION AGATE COMPANY, THE:
Founded in 1938 in Pennsboro, West Virginia, as of 2003 they
are still manufacturing marbles.
CHIP: the spot where a piece has
broken off the surface of a marble, usually from being hit.
Small chips are sometimes called "flakes". A barely
visible chip is sometimes called a "pinprick",
"pinpoint", or even a "flea bite".
CHINAS: A ceramic marble
manufactured of porcelain. A popular type of marble
manufactured in Europe; Germany exported to the United States
in large numbers, which sometimes highly decorated, striped,
pre-dates American manufacturing. Highly decorated varieties
are rare and very valuable. Also manufactured in Akron, Ohio;
also widely used for industrial purposes. Matthew Lang of
Akron, Ohio, injection molding, US Patent, East End Marble,
Akron, Ohio. Also see Polished Marbles, Ceramic Marbles,
Commies.
CHEMIST: Term found in the
historic record for glass-master who designs and batches glass
formulas and batches same. Term is now archaic.
CHISTENSEN & SON COMPANY, THE M.F.:
World’s first machine-made glass marble company, of Akron,
Ohio (1905-1917.) Martin Frederick Christensen (1849-1915)
invented the first machine to manufacture glass marbles, US
Patent Number 802,495. Charles F. Christensen (son,) Manager
from 1910-1917.
CHISTENSEN AGATE COMPANY, THE:
America’s third machine-made glass marble factory; 1925-1927
marble works in Payne, Ohio; 1927-1930 marble works in
Cambridge, Ohio. Corporate offices in Akron, Ohio; President
W.F. Jones; Manager, Howard. W. Jenkins, inventor of
marble-forming machines US Patents; Glass-master (chemist)
Arnold Fiedler.
CHRISTENSEN, CHARLES FREDERICK:
(1876-1922) Son of Martin F.; partner, shareholder and manager
of The M.F. Christensen & Son Company (1910-1917.)
CHRISTENSEN, MARTIN FREDERICK:
(1849-1915) Immigrant from Copenhagen, Denmark 1867; worked
drop forge steel industry; founder Drop Hammer Forging Company
(1890-1895); The M.F. Christensen Company (1895-1898);
invented first practical steel ball bearing machine US Patent
Numbers 632,335 and 632,336 in 1899; invented first machine to
manufacture glass balls, marbles US Patent Number 802,495 in
1902; invented modern marble auger (helically grooved cylinder
marble-forming machine,) design of which was stolen by Horace
C. Hill and patented under his name, US Patent Number
1,164,718; US
Federal Courts recognized and credited M.F. Christensen with
the invention of said Hill machine in the 1929 court case of
The Akro Agate Company vs. The Peltier Glass Company.
CLAMBROTH: Milk glass
marbles in solid color having many thin outer swirl lines of a
different color or colors running from pontil to pontil.
CLAY MARBLES: Also see Ceramic
Marbles. Marbles made of ceramic materials, can be plain,
dyed, painted or glazed.
CLEARIE: Mibster slay for a glass
marble made of any single transparent color, Also see Purie
and Crystal.
CLOUD: A hand-made glass marble
of German origin in the style of an End of Day marble, however
the colored flecks on the surface of the marble are not
stretched or elongated, giving the appearance, some say, of
clouds floating across the surface of a marble.
COMIC MARBLE: A machine-made
glass marble manufactured by The Peltier Glass Company, of
Ottawa, Illinois from the late 1920’s to the early 1930’s.
A patented product granted to George W. Angerstein USPN
1,972,854 licensed Peltier, these marbles carry a stamped
image in black of popular cartoon characters like Betty Boop
and Hollywood actors like Tom Mix. These are very collectable
and valuable marbles in the hobby. However, in recent times
these marbles have been reproduced using modern techniques
where the images are not as permanent.
COMMIES: Common clay marbles,
also called commas in the historic record. First manufactured
in the United States by Samuel C. Dyke in 1884, US Patent
Number, 432,127, and all manufactured in the US around Akron,
O. from 1884 to World War II. These can be dyed or painted
different colors or plain showing the color of the clay used.
These were the very first fully mass-produced toys. They sold
retail for upwards of 30 commies for a penny. Sometimes the
term also by collectors to describe stoneware and porcelain
marbles.
CONTEMPORARY ART GLASS: Modern,
hand-made glass marbles or spheres made by studio glass
artists. These marbles are primarily made in the old German
style of hand-made glass manufacture and as of this writing
none are made in the traditional American style.
CONVERSE, EMILE P.:
The ruinous and spiteful President of the Navarre Glass Marble
& Specialty Company. Devised a stock scheme selling two
sets of stock to shareholders, ran the company into debt, used
the funds from the second set of stockholders to prop up the
former stock company, was found out by the second set of
stockholders their existed a pervious set of stockholders,
etc. J.H. Leighton attempted to sell the company to a New York
concern to manufacture glass-faced brick. Received a good
offer from the New York concern, equal to the debt owed.
Converse turned down the offer because he didn’t want to
sell the land. Left the original stockholders, mostly citizens
of Navarre, O., in financial ruin. Three years later,
spitefully applied for a patent on an improvement on J.H.
Leighton’s hand-tool for making glass marbles, a detail,
which existed on Mr. Leighton’s hand-tool, but not
previously disclosed in his patent. Co-Patentee with Jeremiah
Leiter of US PNo. 733,013.
CORKSCREW MARBLE: A name given by
collectors to a type of machine made, automatic gob feed
marble with down-stream (see) manipulation of variegated
design features appearing as though they form a corkscrew
around the marble. A marble named “Prize Name” by The Akro
Agate Company; collectors describe many sub-classes of this
type of marble.
CRACKLED:
Glassware having a
surface, which was intentionally cracked by immersion in water
and partially healed by reheating. Similar to frying marbles
on a kitchen stove then crackled by immersion in water, see
Fried Marbles
CREASE PONTIL TRANSITIONAL: A
class of marbles invented by authors of identification and
price guides in an attempt to explain why some onyx marbles
had pontils and some were pontil free. This category as
described is not supported by the US Patent record, the
historic record, the arts of glass making and seems to be
invented by authors who could not otherwise explain for the
existence of an onyx marble with a pontil-mark. Crease Pontil
Transitionals are foreign-made, hand-gathered, machine-made,
glass, onyx marbles with a poor shear-mark (see.) Also see
Transitional.
CROCKIES:
A stoneware marble, usually glazed, a term often found in the
historic record, rarely in use at present.
CROCKERY:
Same as ‘Crockies,’ a term more often used in present
times.
CRYSTAL: As in a ‘crystal ball
marble.’ It is a clear glass marble, void of color. Once
manufactured with some amounts of lead to increase clarity.
However, EPA regulations now forbid the manufacture of glass
using lead in the United States
CULLET:
Waste or broken glass, sometimes re-used or recycled into a
new batch of glass.
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DAY TANK:
A large furnace designed to hold one color of molten glass,
most often used for the manufacture of industrial marbles.
DEAD DUCK: As used in the play of
marble games, whereas a target marble or “duck” (see) is
positioned in such a way as to make it an easy shot.
DEAD LEAD: As used in the play of
marble games, a turn is not over or finished until all the
marbles in the ring have come to a complete stop, dead stop,
as if “dead lead.”
DIAMETER: In the hobby of marble
collecting, marbles are measured in a straight line stretching
from pole to pole. The manufacturers of machine-made marbles,
listed the size of their marbles as #00, #0, #1, etc. Marble
price guides list sizes in 1/32nd” increments.
Occasionally collectors list the size of their marbles in 1/64th”
increments. When a marble is listed, for example, as being
9/16th” this is a measurement of its diameter.
DING: Concerning the condition of
a marble; a sign of slight damage, a mark appearing on the
surface of a glass marble cause by impact. (Also see Moon,
Sub-Surface Moon, Bruise Mark.)
DIVIDED CORE: A hand-made glass
cane marble, primarily manufactured in Germany, also
reproduced by today’s studio glass artists; separate colored
stripes or bands that run from pole to pole in the interior of
the marble.
DIVINING: A humorous term;
process used to determine the origins and dates of a
marble’s manufacture by staring intently into the marble to
divine its past. This process is rarely reliable. Enlightened
answers from this process sometimes appear on ebay
advertisements and chatboards.
DOGHOUSE:
A boxlike extension
or wing on a glass furnace through which a batch, the raw
materials for making glass, or floaters, the introduction of
another color, etc., are introduced into the furnace.
DOWNSTREAM:
"Downstream" manipulation relates to gob feeder
technology, whereas a charge of glass is manipulated after it
leaves the orifice of a gob feeder, before it is sheared and
before it falls into the forming wheels of a marble forming
machine. The Akro
Agate “Prize Name marble (corkscrew) is an example of
downstream manipulation. The term “upstream” manipulation
(see,) and downstream manipulation are used by the inventors
of the gob feeders and are a defined class of glass
manufacturing equipment by the US Patent Office.
DRAWING:
Related to the construction of glass cane. See Cane. US
Patent Glossary, Classification, Glass; “Forming stock,
generally sheet or tube, by utilizing the self-cohesiveness of
glass in a plastic condition to effect an operation similar to
a "taffy-pull." As it relates to marbles, the means
of stretching a glass cane to the size of marble desired.
DUCKS:
As used in the play of marble games,
another name for a target marble, often seen in the historic
record.
DYKE
& COMPANY, THE S.C.:
Marble company in Akron, Ohio (1888-1892;) credited by the
press with being first to manufacture marbles in the United
States; manufactured ceramic marbles; first company to produce
glass marbles (hand-made) in the United States. President,
Samuel C. Dyke.
DYKE, SAMUEL COMLEY: (1856-1924)
First to mass-produce a toy, clay marbles, in 1884 at The
Akron Toy Company; US Patent Number 432,127, molding device
most often used in the industry to manufacture ceramic
marbles; owner of a number of marbleworks in Akron, Ohio;
first US company to manufacture hand-made glass marbles, The
S.C. Dyke & Company in 1890; first to manufacture stone
marbles in the US, The Akron Stone Marble Company; later
became leading figure in the electrical insulating industry;
US Industrial Ambassador at-large, President William McKinley;
later assisted in the formation of the National Marbles
Tournament, its honorary chairman and shot the first marble in
the first National Marbles Tournament in 1923.
DYKE, ACTÆON L.: Older brother
of Samuel C.; in 1889 went into competition with Sam
manufacturing ceramic marbles; joined with Sam to incorporate
The American Marble & Toy Manufacturing Company
(1891-1904) becoming largest toy company in the United States.
Ended partnership with brother Sam in 1892 becoming manager of
said company until it burnt down in 1904, left Akron soon
after to parts unknown, leaving debt and legal complications.
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EARLY, JOHN F.:
Originally from the Akron area, persuaded by the corporate
officers of The Akro Agate Company to move to Clarksburg, West
Virginia to manage their marbleworks. Invented and patented an
improvement on the Hill Machine (marble-rollers, or marble
augers,) US PNo. 733,013. Left The Akro Agate Company to start
The Master Marble Company with other dissatisfied and
disgruntled employees. The corporate officers of The Akro
Agate Company brought suit claiming Early, et, al. could not
use the his patented invention at his new marble works.
Lawsuit dismissed in favor of the defendants. Later removed to
Median, Ohio near Akron to raise dairy cows.
EARTHENWARE MARBLES: See clay
marbles.
END-OF-CANE: A hand-made glass
marble made from cane originating in Germany, that collectors
perceived as the first or last marble manufactured from a
cane. The important diagnostic feature being, the interior
stripes of color at the core to not reach to and falls short
of one of the marble’s poles.
END OF DAY:
A hand-made glass marble with a design feature showing a
pattern of colored flecks or spots that sometimes can appear
stretched or elongated, running across the surface of the
marble that begins at one pole, but does not continue to the
other pole. So named under the mistaken belief these were the
last marbles manufactured during a day’s work.
ENGLISH: As used in the play of
marble games, the act of putting backspin or sidespin on a
marble. Being able to put “English” on your shooter allows
one to play a much more controlled game, make more complicated
shots and increasing the odds of winning.
EXPERIMENTALS: Almost all
marbleworks made experiments from time to time in an effort to
design better and more pleasing marbles for market. These are
normally small runs. Occasionally a good, marketable product
results and is then duplicated hundreds of millions of times
over. Normally, the results of experimentation, if otherwise
in perfect condition, are distributed among the employees.
This is different from those marbles considered whimsy (see.)
A term often used by collectors for an otherwise named marble
that shows some extreme in the “range of variation”
possible (see.) ie; an experimental Popeye.
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FACET:
Agate marbles ground by hand will upon close inspection reveal
numerous tiny flat spots or “facets.” Also sometimes seen on
hand-made glass marbles where the pontil was ground smooth.
FIEDLER, ARNOLD: Glass-master
extraordinaire and ‘chemist,’ responsible for the
spectacular sophisticated colored marbles produced by The
Christensen Agate Company (see.) Was employed by The Akro Agate
Company, before being recruited to become the glass-master at
The Christensen Agate Company in 1925.
FIGURE MARBLE: These marbles have a
small white figure inside a clear glass marble (can be
translucent greens, blues, ambers, etc. but in these colors they
are very rare.) The figure is usually an animal, like a rabbit,
dog, cat, cow, etc. but can also be human, or a religious icon.
This charming class of marbles are normally large, intended for
babies and are very collectable. The material is actually
porcelain, capable of being heated to the exact same temperature
as the molten glass, which surrounded the figure during
manufacturing. Figure marbles were manufactured in German from
the mid 19th century into the early years of the 20th
century. Referred
today by collectors as ‘sulphieds,’ because during the early
days of the hobby some mistakenly believed the figure inside was
made of sulfur. The name “figure marble” is the one that
appears in the historical record.
FIRE-POLISHING:
Heating of the outer surface of hard glass to a temperature
where that surface only melts and surface tension causes
smoothing thereof, the heating usually being by fire or flame
contact of the glass surface (US Patent Classification, Glass.)
As relates to the glass marble manufacturing process patented by
J.H. Leighton (see) collectors call the results of his
fire-polishing technique a “melted pontil” (also see.)
FLAKE: As it relates to the
condition of a marble determining value. A sign of damage, a
small portion that’s missing from the surface of a glass
marble. Smaller that a chip (see .) A flake will reduce the
value of a marble. Slang, an unreliable hobbyist.
FLAME MARBLE: A name given by
collectors to a type of marble manufactured by The Christensen
Agate Company (see.) The marbles’ colors and design featured
resemble the flames painted on the sides of old hot rod cars.
FLEA BITE: As it relates to the
condition of a marble determining value. A small mark of
imperfection on the surface of a marble, caused by any sort of
impact. Also sometimes called a pit, or pin-pick.
FLINTIE: Mibster’s slang used to
describe any stone, natural agate marble; a
term often found in the historic record, rarely in use at
present. Also, ‘flinties’ a reddish brown marble
manufactured and named by The Akro Agate Company.
FOAMER: As in a ‘marble foamer; a
term used largely by museum personnel to describe a rabid
collector of any type of artifact, one said to be so excited by
their interest as to foams at the mouth, willing to do just
about anything to get their hands on an artifact they desire for
their collection.
FOLD PONTIL TRANSITIONAL:
A class of marbles invented by those attempting to explain why
some onyx marbles had pontils and some were pontil free. This
category is not supported by the US Patent record, the historic
record, the arts of glass making and seems to be invented by
those who could not otherwise explain for the existence of an
onyx marble with a pontil-mark. Fold Pontil Marbles are
foreign-made, hand-gathered, machine-made glass, onyx marbles
with a poor shear-mark. Also see Transitional.
FOR FAIR: As used in the play of
marble games, the conditions announced at the beginning of a
game, states that all marbles put into play will be returned to
their original owners at the end of the game. The opposite of
playing “For Keeps,” where each marble shot out of the ring
becomes the personal possession of the shooter, playing “For
Fair” is a more gentle game without the negative connotation
of gambling that some equate with playing “For Keeps.”
FOR KEEPS: As used in the play of
marble games, the conditions announced at the beginning of the
game that ever marble shot out of the ring becomes the personal
possession of the shooter. It is this rule of the game that
caused the games of marbles to become so popular with young
mibsters in the United States. The term transcends into the
common vernacular of American English speech whereas its use
connotes a promise and “playing for keeps,” means one is
serious about their endeavor.
FRACTURE: As it relates to the
condition of a marble determining value. Structural damage to
the interior of a glass marble caused by any number of different
situations. Does not refer to a marble with missing parts. A
fracture reduces the value of a marble.
FRESSE, IRA: An employee of The
Akro Agate Company who experimented with automatic gob feed
technology in the early 1920’s, applied for two US Patents
1,529,947 and 1,529,948 in 1922. Like all early US experiments
with gob feed technology, these efforts were not successful. Had
these patents actually worked they’d have been the most
valuable patents in the world glass industry earning many
hundreds of millions of dollars in royalty fees. The first
practical automatic gob feeder, applied for in 1925, by Ernst
Peiler, patent purchased by a trust of major US glass companies
in 1926, known as The Hartford Empire Co.; first adapted to the
manufacture of marbles in 1927 at The Christensen Agate Co.
under contract with Hartford who patented same. The Akro Agate
Company licensed its first gob feeder from the Hartford Empire
in the fall of 1928. Both Fresse gob feeder patents were voided
in the Federal Courts.
FREESE IMPROVEMENT: A term used by
some collectors under the mistaken belief that due to Freese
receiving a patent it must have worked. Mistakenly believed by
some collectors that the Freese patents had something to do with
eliminating the shear-marks on a machine-made marble to make
them smoother or more spherical, which is actually a function of
a marble forming machine and not a gob feeder, of which Fresse
patented. Also, mistakenly believed by some collectors to have
something to do with off-setting the helically grooved cylinders
of a marble forming machine.
FRESSE, PRE-: The term
“Pre-Fresse” is used by collectors to identify a design
feature appearing on Akro Agate Company “Prize Name” marble
(called Popeye by collectors) that resemble tiny feather -like
features on the demarcation-line between two colors of glass.
Collectors perceive this as a diagnostic feature revealing the
marble’s date of manufacture as previous to Ira Fresse’s
invention of The Akro Agate Company’s gob feeder, or pre 1922
and that Popeye marbles manufactured with the Fresse gob feeder
do not carry these same feather-like features. The problem with
the term (besides the fact the Fresse gob feeder didn’t work,
never produced marbles and its patent was voided in federal
courts) as presently used by collectors, a marble with a Pre-Fresse
design feature is a gob fed marble made almost 5 years before
the first successful use of a gob feeder and almost a decade
before The Akro Agate Company obtained a working gob feeder.
FUDGING:
As used in the play of marble games, this is another word for
cheating.
FURNACE: For the manufacture of
glass marbles, operated at near 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Used
to hold crucibles of molten glass, or see “day tank” to hold
large volumes of one color of glass, or see “automatic gob
feeder” or see “hand-gathered.”
FRIED
MARBLES:
A process of heating a glass marble in a frying pan on a kitchen
stove, then immersion into water to produce a crackled effect.
Also see Crackled.
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GAFFER:
An term used in the historic record to describe a
master-glassworker.
GAME BALL / GAME MARBLE: An
opaque marble of any single solid color, also called puries
(see,) as used in Chinese Checkers, etc. as board pieces. Also
see Clearie.
GATHER: The means to remove a
charge, an amount of molten glass, picked up on the end of a
punty rod from a furnace.
GATHERING BOY: A job title,
normally held by an adult, responsible for fetching a
‘gather’ of molten glass on the end of a punty and
delivering it to the glassworkers tending the marble machines.
GERMAN SWIRLS: Among the most
common German hand-made glass marbles made from canes,
sometimes called German spirals or candy-stripes in the older
days of the hobby. There are three main types; the most common
are ‘latticinio’ cores (those with fine net like threads
of colored stripes,) ‘solid core’ and divided core, also
see listed.
GENERAL GRANT BOARD: Also General
Grant Game, also known as solitaire (see.) The name based upon
the story that General Grant, during the Siege of Vicksburg,
remained in his tent drinking bourbon and playing this
solitaire game, which uses marbles as game pieces.
GLIMMER:
Also called mica and snowflake; the German word for mica; a
hand-made glass marble of one color transparent glass,
containing mica that glimmers and sparkles in the proper
light. Both the terms ‘Glimmer’ and ‘Snowflake’ are
used in the historic
record though rarely if ever used at present. Also see
Mica.
GOB: A marble sized portion of
molten glass delivered either by the hand-gather process or by
an automatic gob feeder. As Described in the US Patent
Classification Glass; A
discrete portion of molten glass (a) delivered by a feeder or
(b) gathered on a punty or blow pipe.
GOB
FEEDER VARIATIONS:
Totally Automated Machine-made Glass Marbles may be
divided by the types of "upstream" (also see) and
"downstream" manipulation (also see) acted upon the
charge of glass that is fed to the marble forming machine by
the "gob feeder". The terms gob feeder, up stream
manipulation, and downstream manipulation are used by the
inventors of the gob feeders and are a defined class of glass
manufacturing equipment by the US Patent Office. Attempts have
been made in the past by marble collectors to discern these
differences without the aid or knowledge of the existing US
Patent record and hopefully the full disclosure of this
information will help to further the knowledge of this class
of toy marbles and industrial spheres. Because this topic is
so complicated and involves many multi-page patents, we will
try to address these differences in our US
Marble Patents section.
GOLDSTONE
MARBLES:
See Lutz
GOOSEBERRY
MARBLE: A
hand-made glass marble made from cane, generally amber in
color, resembling the Clambroth style (see) with thin white
strands, evenly spaced, running pole to pole,
GREENWARE: Refers to unfired
ceramic marbles.
GREINER, ELIAS: (1793-1895) First
to manufacture glass marbles in Germany, with his son
Septimius in the village of Lauscha in 1853; these first glass
marbles are presently referred to by collectors as regular and
ground pontil transitionals (also see) or Leighton
Transitionals (also see.)
GREINER, SEPTIMIUS: (1880-1877)
son of Elias Greiner (also see) in partnership with his father
manufactured the first glass marbles in Germany.
GROPPER ONYX MARBLE COMPANY, THE:
Of New York City, a distributor and sales agent for The
Christensen Agate Company and The Peltier Glass Company.
Often repacked marbles into boxes carry it’s own
company name.
GROUND PONTIL TRANSTIONAL:
A class of marbles invented by those attempting to explain why
some onyx marbles had pontils and some were pontil free (the
use of the term transitional). This category is not supported
by the US Patent record, the historic record, the arts of
glass making and seems to be invented by authors who could not
otherwise explain for the existence of an onyx marble with a
pontil-mark. Ground Pontil marbles are among the first glass
marbles manufactured in Germany, credited to Elias
and Septimius Greiner of Lauscha Germany (also see.)
Also see Transitional.
GUINEA:
A very decorative, colorful and highly collectable named
marble manufactured by The Christensen Agate Company.
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HAND-GATHERED &
MACHINE-MADE MARBLES: The first machine-made glass marbles
were turned out by Martin F. Christensen in 1902, immediately
prior to his application for a US Patent on the first glass
marble-machine. All the marbles manufactured by The
M.F.
Christensen & Son Company (1905 to 1917) are in
this class. The Christensen
Agate Company used this process to manufacture toy
marbles from 1925 to 1928, at which time they began using
automatic gob feeders. Also, all the marbles manufactured at The
Akro Agate Company and The Peltier Glass Company
before the introduction of automatic glass feeding component
to their manufacturing process sometime around
1930. Diagnostic traits of these marbles, usually in
the onyx style are, colored design features which resemble
number ‘nines, ‘sixes,’ tails which wrap around the
marble in various directions, commas, ‘S’s’ and
occasionally shear-marks. You can tell a hand-gathered
machine-made marble from hand-gathered hand-made marble,
because the design features will twist about the marble in
random patterns, i.e. on a constantly changing axis. A
hand-made, hand-gathered marble will show design features that
turn around the marble on a single axis. The majority of
hand-gathered machine-made marbles were manufactured for
industrial purposes.
HAND-MADE:
Usually refers to a hand-made glass marble. Diagnostic marks
and feature to look for; if from cane, two cut-off marks, one
at each pole. If hand-gathered, a pontil at one pole. Also see
Contemporary Art Glass.
HAND-MADE
& HAND-GATHERED: The
first glass marbles manufactured for the world toy market are
in this category. In 1850, Elias
Greiner of Lauscha, German received permission from the
Emperor’s ministers to manufacture this new class of glass
goods. Herr Greiner made these marbles with ‘marbelshears,’
a tool previously invented by his Step-brother to make
artificial animal eyes and glass buttons. The typical
diagnostic feature being marbles of the onyx style, referred
to as “artificial agates and precious
balls,” colored “marbled, agate, amber, lapis lazuli,
topaz, etc.,” and having a regular ground or finely facetted
pontil. Other diagnostic design features resemble
number ‘nines, ‘sixes,’ tails which wrap around the
marble as if turned on a single axis.
The
first glass marbles manufactured in the United States for the
toy market are in this category as well. In 1890, James
Harvey Leighton manufactured glass marbles at The
S. C. Dyke & Company, receiving a US
patent for the hand-tool and process he invented in 1891.
Leighton’s process turned out glass marbles at a rate three
times faster than the German “marbelshears” and where
manufactured in the United States until 1908. Leighton’s
marbles, also in the onyx style, referred to as “immies”
or “imitation agates” in the historic record. These
marbles are similar in design to those mentioned above as made
by Elias Greiner of Lauscha, German; having a diagnostic
pontil referred to by collectors as melted or pin-point
pontils.
This
class of toy marbles also includes ‘End of Day,’
‘Clouds’ and Sulphides that were manufactured in Germany
until the around WWII, and some contemporary art spheres
created today could also fall into this classification.
HAND-MADE
MARBLES FROM CANES:
These marbles are easily identified by two cut-off
marks, one at each axial pole.
The
first record of toy marbles manufactured from canes comes from
an application submitted by Elias Greiner of Lauscha Germany
to the Emperor’s ministers in 1855, seeking permission for
their manufacture. These marbles are known to collectors as
German Swirls, Joseph Swirls, Onionskins, Lutz, and others,
were believed manufactured until the 1930’s.
Also
falling into this class are those marbles collectors call
Indians, Banded Transparents, Banded Opaques and the likes.
These were first manufactured in the United States at The
American Marble & Toy Manufacturing Company in
1892 and continued for a about a year. American retail
catalogs show these same marbles as “imported” also, and
archeological evidence from Lauscha, Germany shows these were
indeed manufactured there too. It is not entirely clear who
was copying who in this case. Maybe better trade catalogs will
come to light that better show exactly what styles were made
when and by who they were made.
This
class also includes a majority of the contemporary
art spheres created today from prefabricated glass canes.
There is a second
method of making cane marbles that employs a bench mounted
press that looks like a big pair of pliers. This method is
also treated under hand gathered pressed glass marbles because
the marbles are formed by squeezing or pressing. There are
only a few toy marbles made with this technique and they look
nothing like regular cane marbles that collectors are familiar
with. Some examples of these are the odd marbles identified as
Czechoslovakian by collectors. The majority of the type made
by this process are made of transparent monochromatic glass
and are utilized as bottle stoppers in "Codd"
bottles. It is known that Germany produced many of the bottle
stopper marbles made by this method.
HEATON
AGATE COMPANY, THE C.E.:
HEISTING:
As used in the play of marble games, concerns a method of
shooting a marble whereas a player holds their shooting hand
on top of their other hand. This allows the shooter to obtain
a height advantage. It is not a technique allowed in the game
of Ringer (see) and tournament play where one knuckle of the
shooting hand must remain firmly upon the ground at all times
while shooting. It is a technique often used in the game of
Rolley Hole (see) and has special advantages from shooting
over long distances to shooting over an obstructing marble.
HISTING:
As used in the play of marble games, when a player lifts their
knuckle off the ground while shooting; specific to the game of
Ringer (see) whereas one knuckle of the shooting hand must
remain firmly upon the ground at all times while shooting;
“histing” is an infraction of the rules. It carries the
penalty of a lost turn.
HUNCHING:
As used in the play of marble games, similar to “histing”
(see) when a player lifts their knuckle off the ground while
shooting, but in this case the player also moves their hand
forward assisting to propel the marble forward. It is a common
action used by new players who’ve yet to fully learn the art
of holding and shooting a marble. Hunching is an infraction of
the rules in the game of Ringer (see) and carries the penalty
of a lost turn.
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IMMIE:
Term that appears in the historic record as mibster’s slag
for a marble made of glass, which imitates the look of a
natural agate marble.
INDIAN: A hand-made glass marble
made from cane, dark base glass (can be opaque, translucent or
transparent, though appears black, with stripes of bright
colors applied to the surface of the marble. Sometimes found
misshapen, as though hurriedly manufactured.
Manufactured by the Creighton Brothers at The American
Marble & Toy Manufacturing Company in Akron, Ohio in
1894. Also made by the Germans, because of its lower cost
production than their other swirl type cane marbles enabling
them to better compete for American market share during the
machine-marble age. The more spherical and the greater
amount of colored stripes, the greater the value. (Also see
Banded Opaque.)
INDUSTRIAL MARBLES: The vast
majority of marbles manufactured since the beginning of the 20th
century are for industrial purposes. The first industrial
ceramic marbles manufactured by The Standard Toy Marble
Company (also see) used for water filtration. The first
American industrial glass marbles used as furniture casters
beginning in the 1890’s, these were large molded glass
marbles; The M.F. Christensen & Son Company, of Akron,
Ohio (also see,) manufactured the vast majority of its glass
marbles for industrial purposes, lithography grinding balls,
pump value balls, etc. opening up a whole new market for
marbles. At present glass marbles used as inert bodies for
chemical vats in the petro chemical industry; inside spray
paint cans; for the floral industry, etc. Without the demand
for industrial marbles the manufacture of toy marbles as a
sideline would cease.
IOWA CITY FLINT GLASS MANUFACTURING
COMPANY, THE: Operated for a short time (1880-1882,) in
Iowa City Iowa, under the Superintendence of James Harvey
Leighton. This company was said to manufacture the types of
glass marbles manufactured in Germany, Swirls and Sulphides.
While little if any proof exists to support the claim, if so
it was likely a bit of glassworkers whimsy. James Harvey
Leighton did operate glass marble works in the 1890’s and
1900’s in and about Akron, Ohio.
ISRAEL, CLINTON: Employee of The
Akro Agate Company, The Master Marble Company and The Master
Glass Company. Israel lived a long life providing many with
wonderful tales about the early years of manufacturing
marbles. Unfortunately, also the source of much misinformation
on the manufacture of machine-made glass marbles.
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JABO-VITRO COMPANY, THE:
http://www.jabovitro.com/jabovitro/index.htm
JENKINS, HOWARD M.: Machinist,
inventor, patentee and Superintendent of The Christensen Agate
Company. Jenkins’ marble forming machine patents, based upon
the two wheel M.F. Christensen machine, a more forgiving
technology when compared to the helically grooved cylinder
marble-making machines allowing a more consistently spherical
product (yet with lower production capacity.)
Three US Patents on marble forming machines granted to
Jenkins.
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KNUCKLE
DOWN:
As used in the play of marble games, knuckle down is the basic
position for a player’s hand when shooting a marble. In the
game of Ringer (see) one knuckle of the shooting hand must
remain firmly upon the ground at all times while shooting. It is
an infraction of the rules to lift your knuckle off the ground,
which carries the penalty of a lost turn. A commonly used term
in the vernacular of American English speech it means get to
work, to get serious.
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LAG: As
used in the play of marble games, specific to the game of
Ringer (see) the means used to determine which player goes
first.
LAGGING: As used in the play of
marble games, the act of choosing turns deciding which player
goes first. In the layout of the marbles court there exists a
ten-foot diameter ring and two, ten-foot, strait, parallel
lines each intersecting the ring line at one point, the lines
being ten-feet apart. The players step up to one line, known
as the “pitch-line” (see,) and in any fashion shoot, roll
or toss their marble towards the lag-line (see.) The player
whose marble comes to rest the closest to the lag-line goes
first.
LAG-LINE: As used in the play of
marble games, as described in the act of lagging, the lag-line
(see) is a ten-foot line touching the marbles ring, laying
opposite to, ten-feet away from and parallel to the
“pitch-line” (also see.)
LANG, MATTHEW: Of Akron, Ohio;
inventor of injection molded and clam shell molded ceramic
marbles; two US Patents.
LATTICINIO: Also Latticinio Core,
A hand-made glass marble made from cane, a swirl marble with
Thin stripes or ribbons of colored glass, usually white,
running through the center of the marble from pole to pole in
a slight twisting manner resembling a mesh or netting. These
are among the most common of the German Swirl types of
marbles.
LAWRENCE
GLASS NOVELTY COMPANY, THE:
LAUSCHA, GERMNAY: A village in
the former East Germany, in the state of Thüringia, known for
generations as the center of glass marble making in that
country. Manufacture of glass marbles began here in 1853, at
the time in the Austrian Empire. Also, the birthplace of the
glass Christmas tree ornament.
LEIGHTON, JAMES HARVEY:
(1849-1923) Father of the American glass marble, first to
mass-produce glass marbles in the United States. Manufactured
hand-made glass marbles in eight marble works located in the
greater Akron, O. area. Operated or assisted in the operation
of numerous other glass factories and supply companies in
Iowa, Illinois, West Virginia and Ohio. Received grounded
patent, US PNo. 462,083, for the “Manufacture of Solid Glass
Spheres.” Professionally associated with Samuel C. & Actæon
L. Dyke and Martin F. Christensen, also manufacturers of
marbles. A melted pontil is a diagnostic trait of Leighton’s
hand-made glass marbles.
LEIGHTON MARBLES: A term
currently used by collectors to describe attractive ground
pontil marbles that were made in Germany and not by James
Harvey Leighton. Leighton did not commonly use oxblood in his
marbles. This term should be reserved for the marbles that
were made by James Harvey Leighton at his numerous toy
marbleworks in the greater Akron area with his patented
technology US PNo. 462,083, of 1891. A Leighton marble should
show a diagnostic melted pontil. These marble are 100%
handmade glass marbles.
LEIGHTON TRANSITIONALS: A class
of marbles invented by those attempting to explain why some
onyx marbles had pontils and some were pontil free. They
claimed these marbles were part hand-made and part
machine-made. This category is not supported by the US Patent
record, the historic record, the arts of glass making and
seems to be invented by those who could not otherwise explain
for the existence of an onyx marble with a pontil-mark. These
are actually 100% hand-made glass marbles – the first glass
marbles manufactured in Lauscha, Germany by Elias
and Septimius Greiner (also see) .Also see Leighton,
James Harvey and Leighton Marbles.
LEHR:
The name given to an annealing oven, where a glass article can
slowly come to room temperature, giving it added strength. A necessary process for hand-made glass marbles. Also see
anneal. Machine-made glass marbles are not annealed.
LEITER, JEREMIAH J.: A practical
machinist from Canton, Ohio, co-patentee with Emile Converse
on glass marble making hand-tool, defining a previously
undisclosed feature of J.H. Leighton’s patented hand-toll.
Hired by Converse to construct said hand-tool, which assigned
to same. (Also see Converse.)
LIGHTCAP, JOHN L.: Partner in The
Albright & Lightcap Company (also see) of Limaville, Ohio,
near Akron.
LIMESTONE MARBLES: Common stone
marbles made of limestone, ground spherical in water powered
mills, mainly in Germany. Imported to the United States, 1,000
to a bag, either plain or “brightly polished.” Polished
meaning dyed, plain in natural colors varying from muted tans,
yellows, browns or olives. Diagnostic, a light acid will react
to the limestone showing a bubbling or fizzing effect. Similar
in appearance are the marbles manufactured at The Akron Stone
Marbles (also see) but these are made of shale, are gray to
bluish gray and not made from limestone.
LINED CROCKERY MARBLES: A type of
variegated stoneware with green or blue lines running through
the marble, rarer with both green and blue lines. Manufactured
by dying the clay and mixing it with un-dyed clay. An old
European marble sometimes called, “Dutch Marbles.”
Also manufactured at The Standard Toy Marble Company in
Akron, Ohio, (also see) discovered in archeological
excavations.
LITHOGRAPHY BALLS: Also
lithography grinding balls, litho balls; an industrial glass
marble used to polish limestone slabs in preparation for
etching in the print industry.
LOFTING: As used in the play of
marble games, a shooting technique whereas the player shoots a
marble up into the air in a graceful and predetermined arch.
It is a sophisticated technique used effectively only by the
most advanced players.
LUTZ: A
hand-made glass marble made from cane, which contains a
sparkling powdered goldstone. A highly desirable and very
valuable marble. In a pamphlet titled “Marbles:
Identification and Price Guide” by Mel Morrison and Carl
Terison, published without a date (1970’s?) claimed this
type of marble was the product of the famous American
glass-master Nicholas Lutz. However, this is not supported in
the historic record nor in scholarly secondary sources,
published biographies of Nicholas Lutz or the companies that
he helped make famous.
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MACHINE-MADE: A marble
manufactured by a machine. Can be made of ceramic or glass.
With glass marbles, in some cases, it is possible to see the
effects of the molten glass turning with a constantly rotating
axis. The first machine-made glass marble was manufactured by
Martin Frederick Christensen, of Akron, Ohio who perfected a
machine in 1902, awarded US Patent Number 802,495.
MACHINE-MADE
GLASS MARBLES, FULLY AUTOMATED:
All glass toy marbles manufactured after around 1930
are the result of automatic gob feeders and marble-forming
machines using twin helically grooved cylinders. First
pioneered and introduced at The Christensen Agate Company late
in 1927. This technology, developed under contract with
The Hartford Empire Company who held the patents for gob
feeder technology and adapted it to the manufacture of
marbles; upon the closing of The Christensen Agate Company in
1930, these marble making gob feeder patents were offered to
and universally used by all other American marble works. Once
these patents expired in the early to mid 1950’s German,
Japanese and Mexican marble manufacturers adopted this
technology. Some of this technology may have been given to
these foreign countries as part of the post WWII rebuilding
effort. Only a small percentage of these marbles were
manufactured for the children’s toy market.
MANUFACTURER’S DEFECT: Any
imperfection cause in the process of manufacturing, ie; air
bubbles, creases in the surface, small pieces of fire brick
suspended inside the glass, fractures, etc. these normally
would qualify the marble for the reject pile.
MARBLE KING: See Berry Pink and
Berry Pink Industries, or the link to Marble King Inc. below.
MARBLE KING, INC.: http://www.marbleking.com
MARBLE KING TOURNAMENTS: Marble
tournaments that were held by Berry Pink, aka, "The
Marble King". See also the link above.
MARBLEWORKS: A marble factory,
term often appears in the historic record, rarely in use at
present.
MARSH, Gilbert C. “Stubby”:
The corporate President of The Akro Agate Company from 1911 to
1949. Also a partner in the Wagoner and Marsh Co. a
children’s shoe store in Akron, Ohio.
MARVERING:
As related to the manufacture of hand-made glass marbles;
rolling a gather of glass on a flat plate whereby it is shaped
into a cylindrical form and slightly cooled.
MASTER
GLASS COMPANY, THE:
Founded in 1941 by Clinton Israel (see) in the marbleworks
formerly knows as The Master Marble Company. The company
closed in 1973.
MASTER
MARBLE COMPANY, THE:
Founded in 1930 by Messrs. Grimmett, Early (see,)
Israel (see,) and Moulton of Clarksburg, West Virginia, all
formerly employees of The Akron Agate Company; manufactured
glass marbles using fully automated manufacturing techniques
involving the use of gob feeders and as such was the first
marble company to start out using fully automated machinery
instead of changing and adopting same. The company closed in
1941.
MELTED PONTIL TRANSITIONAL: A
class of marbles invented by those attempting to explain why
some onyx marbles had pontils and some were pontil free, They
claimed these marbles were part hand-made and part
machine-made. This category is not supported by the US Patent
record, the historic record, the arts of glass making and
seems to be invented by those who could not otherwise explain
for the existence of an onyx marble with a pontil-mark. Melted
Pontil Transitionals are actually 100% hand-made marbles
manufactured by J. H. Leighton, as described in his patent US
Patent Number 462,083. Also see Leighton Marble, also see
Transitional.
MIB: The Latin for marble, more
often seen in the historic record than at present.
MIBS: The games of marbles, more
often seen in the historic record than at present.
MIBSTER: One who plays the games
of marbles, more often seen in the historic record than at
present.
MIBOLOGY: The study of marbles
MIBOLOGICAL: Relating to the
field of study of marbles
MICA: Called ‘Glimers’ in the
historic record. A hand-made transparent glass marble, can be
made from cane or hand-gathered, hand-made. The glass holds
small flakes of mica inside the marble that sparkle, or
glimmer in the light. The more mica in the marble the greater
the value.
MILKIES:
A translucent white glass machine-made marble.
MILLER, WILLIAM J.: Machinist,
employed by The Hartford Empire Company, developed and
patented a marble-forming machine US PNo.1,601,699, “Machine
for Manufacturing Marbles and Similar Articles,” under
contract with The Nivison-Weiskopf Company of Cincinnati,
Ohio. Machine later transferred to The Peltier Glass Company;
cause for lawsuit brought by The Akro Agate Company claiming
an infringement upon their Hill Machine patent (see Hill,)
which ruling in favor of the plaintiff, later appealed and
reversed stating the Hill machine was based upon prior art of
the M.F. Christensen machine patent.
MONTGOMERY WARD COMPANY CATALOG:
A retail catalog showing ads for marbles dating back to the
1870’s; a primary resource of great importance to the study
of marbles in America.
MOLD: As used in the manufacture
of ceramic and glass marbles. Also see Chinas, Matthew Lang.
MOLD-MARK: A diagnostic trait
used to identify ceramic and glass marbles manufactured from
molds. A slightly raised ridge circling the equator of a
marble, also often ground smooth leaving trace of grinding.
MOONIE: A semi-translucent,
opalescent white or pale light blue hand-gathered,
machine-made marble, with an interesting soft luster.
Manufactured by The Akro Agate Company and The Christensen
Agate Company.
MOON: A mark of damage in the
shape of a semi-circular chip on the surface of a marble.
Reduces the value of a marble.
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NATIONAL MARBLES TOURNAMENT, THE:
Begun in 1923 as a newspaper promotion for the Scripps Howard
Newspaper Syndicate. Held on the New Jersey shore since that
date, in various resort communities, now Wildwood, N.J., it is
today the oldest children’s sporting event in the United
States.
NAVARRE: A hand-made,
hand-gathered, glass marble manufactured using J.H.
Leighton’ patented marble-making process, US Patent Number
462,083, showing a diagnostic melted pontil, thought to be
manufactured in the small village of Navarre, Ohio at The
Navarre Glass Marble & Specialty Company, which held a
license to use J.H. Leighton’s patent. However, identical
marbles were manufactured at eight marbleworks operated by J.H.
Leighton. This company existed for only two years, was plagued
with numerous production and management problem under the
Superintendence and Presidency of Emile Converse and there are
more Navarre Marbles today in collectors’ collections than
where ever manufactured by this company.
NIVISON-WEISKOPF COMPANY, THE:
Cincinnati, Ohio, formerly a glass bottle manufacturer and
printer of labels. In 1924 contracted with The Hartford Empire
Company to build them a glass marble forming machine (See
Miller, W.J.) Marbles were presumably used as lithography
grinding balls (also see.) Later transferred the Miller marble
machine to The Peltier Glass Company (also see.) Today this
company is still in operation as a large printing concern.
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OILIES: Mibster’s slag
describing an iridescent machine-made glass marble first
produced in the late 1980’s. Most often used in the floral
industry. The term comes from the effect seen when an oil
stain spreads over a puddle of water in the proper light.
ONIONSKIN:
A hand-made glass marble made from cane, of the ‘End of
Day’ type with colored flakes that are elongated over the
surface of the marble reminiscent of the skin on an onion,
thus the name. A highly collectable and desirable marble.
ONYX: As relates to a type of
hand-gathered glass marble, can be hand-made or machine-made.
Original to the United States. Also see Leighton US Patent
Number 462,083. Registered, J.H. Leighton: American Onyx
marble. Registered, M.F. Christensen: National Onyx Marble
OPAL GLASS: Also opalescent, a
formula glass used in glass marbles, an attractive white
opaque color.
OPAQUE: A solid single color
marble being either hand-made or machine-made marble, also see
purie.
OXBLOOD GLASS: A reddish opaque
color of glass used in glass marbles. A name given by
collectors, not the manufacturers. First German use in glass
marbles manufactured by Elias Greiner in 1850. First American
use in glass marbles by The M.F. Christensen & Son Company
for a marble named Cornelian (see,) also later by The Akro
Agate Company, et al. Collectors perceive marbles with this
color of glass to have an increased value.
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PEE WEE:
Any small marble 1/2" in diameter or less. Sometimes
thought to be the name-sake of New York Yankee’s Captain
Peewee Reese, an outstanding ball player of diminutive size,
who never missed an opportunity to knuckle down in the ball
field, especially if a reporter was nearby.
PELTIER GLASS COMPANY, THE:
Ottawa, Illinois, an old glass company dating to the 1880’s,
in the late 1920’s entered into the toy and industrial glass
marble industry upon purchasing the Miller machine (see) from
The Nivison-Weiskopf Company in 1927 (see.) President Sellers
Peltier (also see) went into partnership with Berry Pink (also
see) with the later owning 51% of the corporate stock. Became
one of the largest manufacturers of glass marbles in American
history, still could not produce enough marbles to meet the
orders obtained by Pink. Stopped producing marbles for a long
period, but has recently returned with Marble King, Inc. (also
see) as their marketing agent.
PELTER, SELLERS: President of The
Peltier Glass Company (also see) Inventor of several marble
related devices.
PEPPERMINT SWIRL: A hand-made
glass marble made from cane, has bands or stripes of red,
white and blue under a thin clear surface coating.
PLUEGER, GEORGE A.: Shareholder
and employee of The Akro Agate Company, for a while in the
late 1910’s and early 1920’s employed at their Clarksburg,
WV marble works.
PINPOINT PONTIL TRANSITIONAL: A
class of marbles invented by those attempting to explain why
some onyx marbles had pontils and some were pontil free. They
claimed these marbles were manufactured partly by hand and
partly by machine. This category is not supported by the US
Patent record, the historic record, the arts of glass making
and seems to be invented by those who could not otherwise
explain for the existence of an onyx marble with a
pontil-mark. These marbles are in all reality machine made
marbles that were hand gathered and employed an automatic
shear rather then a human hand operating a pair of glass
shears.
PINPRICK: A very small mark of
imperfection on the surface of a marble, caused by any sort of
impact. Also sometimes called a flea bite, or pit.
PIT: A very small mark of
imperfection on the surface of a marble, caused by any sort of
impact. Also sometimes called a flea bite, or pin-pick.
PITCH-LINE: As used in the play
of marble games, as described in the act of lagging (see,) for
choosing which player goes first. The pitch-line is a ten-foot
line touching the marbles ring, laying opposite to, ten-feet
away from and parallel to the “lag-line” (also see.)
PLAYTHINGS MAGAZINE: A toy
industry trade publication begun in 1903. The M.F. Christensen
& Son Company was the first American manufacturer of
marbles to advertise in this magazine. Marble King, Inc. still
advertises in this magazine today. A valuable resource for
studying marbles. Holding institutions; The New York Public
Library and The US Library of Congress.
POLISHED: Refers to a process for
improving an otherwise damaged glass marble to make it more
presentable. Polishing can remove scratches, small chips, a
rough surface, general dullness and make the colors bright
again. If a lot of work is necessary polishing can obliterate
a pontil on a hand-made marble. When a machine-made marble is
polished it will remove the top surface and any design feature
thinly veneered. Polishing a marble will reduce the marbles
original size. If the marble needs only a limited amount of
polishing and does not obliterate the pontil, that is known as
a “buffed” marble. A marble that has obviously been
polished will dramatically reduce it’s value.
POLISHED CHINA: Also, simply
‘polished.’ Considered in some quarters one of the finest
shooter marbles, as the slightly textured surface allows for
greater control and application of ‘English.’ An excellent
shooter marble for young beginner mibsters as it resists
slipping from their hands. Made of porcelain, these marbles
are manufactured in by conventional means, and while still
green, rubbed in a rotating manner over the top of an open
metal pipe, which is filed to a burr. This burr removed a
slight amount of material, causing it to become more
spherical. The marble is then fired in the conventional method
for porcelain. These marbles made be stained with color
stripes or lightly painted with designs, but not glazed.
POLISHED, BRIGHTLY:
A term sometimes seen in the historic record, as in retail
catalogs, describes a painted or dyed ceramic or stone marble.
PONTIL: Also Pontil-Mark, a
diagnostic mark left on a hand-made / hand-gathered marble.
The mark is a result of removing a finished marble from the
end of a punty. It is necessary to further process the pontil
so as remove any protuberance and bring it level and smooth
with the surface of the marble. The two methods employed to
finish a pontil are by grinding smooth as first employed by
Elias Greiner (also see) or through melting smooth with a
flame, as described in US Patent No. 462,083, James Harvey Leighton. Grinding gives the finest
quality finish. As described in the US Patent Classification
Glass; A dipstick
used to gather charges of molten glass, punty, puntil, pontile,
pontee, and ponto are local variants. Also used to describe a
cut mark on a cane made marble.
POPEYE
MARBLE: A
name given by collectors to a type of corkscrew marble (see)
manufactured by The Akro Agate Company.
POT:
A crucible, used in a furnace to hold a batch glass and hold
in a molten state for use in the hand-gathered manufacturing
process either for hand-made or machine made marbles.
POTTIES:
As used in the play of marble games, the name of a game
where mibsters aim at a hole, or “pot” dug into the center
of the marbles ring.
PORCELAIN
MARBLE:
See Chinas
PUNTY: Also punty rod, a long
iron rod with varying sized, shaped and tapered ends, used to
gather molten glass upon its end for numerous purposes, from
feeding a marble machine, or manufacturing a marble directly
upon the rod’s end, as in, see Hand-Gather.
PURIE: An opaque marble of any
single solid color, also called game marbles, or game balls,
as used in Chinese Checkers as board pieces. Also see Clearie.
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RANKIN, GEORGE T., Dr.:
Original stockholder in The Akro Agate Company, had no active
interest in and played no roll in the management of the
company, was simply an investor. A prominent community leader
and wealth physician in Akron, Ohio; trustee for The
University of Akron, President of the board of directors at
The Portage Country Club, served on numerous non-profit boards
and beneficent societies. His widow and niece became heirs to
his stock in the marbleworks and served on said board.
RAVENSWOOD GLASS NOVELTY COMPANY, THE:
Founded in 1931 in Ravenswood, West Virginia by Charles W.
Turnbull, owner operator. Manufactured toy and industrial
marbles with fully automated machinery until the 950’s.
REGUALR PONTIL TRANSITIONAL: A
mythical class of marbles invented by authors of
identification and price guides in an attempt to explain why
some onyx marbles had pontils and some were pontil free. This
category is not supported by the US Patent record, the
historic record, the arts of glass making and seems to be
invented by authors who could not otherwise explain for the
existence of an onyx marble with a pontil-mark. Also see
Transitional. These are really just hand gathered handmade
marbles that were not either ground or melted.
REJECT: Tossing an imperfectly
manufactured marble into the waste pile; in most instances
only perfectly manufactured marbles, free of any
imperfections, uniform in color and design are suitable for
marketing. With
the recent popularity of treasure-seekers digging up old
reject piles, numerous reject marbles are now finding their
way into collectors’ collection. While these maybe perfectly
spherical and free of other imperfections the colors and
design features outside the manufactures specification limit
can cause some confusing to hobbyists. Often collectors call
reject marbles, “experimentals.” (Also see.)
RIBBON CORE:
A hand-made glass marble made from a cane, with a single or
two wide bands of colored glass running through the center of
the marble from pole to pole.
RIDING A SNOOGER: As used in the
play of marble games, a “snooger” (see) is a marble that
is near the edge of the marbles ring, also called a “dead
duck” (see) that would make an easy target. However,
“riding a snooger” is a most sophisticated way of shooting
the snooger out of the ring, whereas the shooter using English
(see) can hit the snooger out of the ring, while at the same
time deflecting the shooter marble into the center of the
ring, positioned to take another shot.
RINGER: The game played at the
National Marbles Tournament with 13 marbles; invented in 1923,
as a healthy alternative to the popular schoolyard game known
as “For Keeps” which many though a game of chance like
gambling with serious moral implications.
ROUGHING:
As used in the play of marble games, it is the act of putting
a slight texture on a hard shinny marble, usually a glass
marble, by rubbing it with sandpaper or on a concrete
sidewalk, sometimes grinding it into the sidewalk on the sole
of ones shoe, so that the texture will allow the player a
better grip on the marble, greater control and more English
(see.) Also sometimes called “Sugaring” a marble, also
see.
ROUNDERS: As used in the play of
marble games, when a player walks around the marbles ring to
determine the most advantageous position to take their shot.
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SALT GLAZED STONEWARE:
A type of stoneware that is glazed by the addition of salt
that is thrown into the kiln when it is at working
temperature. The salt reacts with the silica in the clay body
and forms a glaze on the the surface of the item. Marbles of
this type were made in Akron, Ohio as well as in Europe.
Cobalt blue seems to have been only used on the American made
salt glazed marbles.
SEARS & ROEBUCK COMPANY, CATALOG,
THE: Contains ads for marbles; an excellent resource for
studying marbles.
SHEAR/SHEARING:
Processes directed to cutting or dividing a stream of molten
glass, usually to form a "gob"; associated with the
manufacture of machine-made marbles; hand-shears used to cut a
gob from a hand-gather held by a second worker;
semi-automatic, shears activated by the hand-gatherer no
second worker; shears attached to an automatic gob feeder.
SHOOTER: A marble shot from the
hand in game play with the object usually being to knock a
target marble out of play. In the United States, especially at
the National Marbles Tournament and local qualifier matches,
the regulation size of a shooter is 5/8” to 3/4". In
other counties, like in Latin America a larger marble is
normally used as a shooter.
SINGLE GATHER:
(See Hand-Gathered)
SINGLE PONTIL: (See Pontil)
SIZE: As in the size of a marble,
in relation to collectable value; generally the bigger, the
more valuable. Peewee
sizes (also see) of a half inch or less are rare and as such
more valuable. In the past when the majority of marbles
collected where hand-made, ranging in size from ½ inch to
over 3 inches, the size a marble was generally given in 1/16th
of an inch increments. With the hobby now more focused upon
machine-made marbles which generally range from 9/16< |