I have not lost my marbles

Who doesn’t like marbles? Most people have memories of playing with or collecting marbles when they were kids. Some people were really into formal marble games and some people just like marbles for nostalgic reasons or they enjoy them as a form of glass art. I still occasionally buy an assortment of marbles from companies that will sell small quantities to the regular consumer.

My husband was into collecting old postcards at one time, and since he knew I liked marbles, he bought me a couple of vintage bumble bees (a particular style of black and yellow marble), and I was tempted to start collecting, but I decided since I have no experience with or in-depth knowledge about collecting vintage marbles, I was more likely to buy pretty glass with no way to know if I was getting a good deal.

I do have some older marbles (1950s era) and I have tried to keep them separate from the newer ones, but I’m afraid some of them have ended up mixed in with some of the more modern marbles in my collection.

Here are some random facts about marbles you may not know.

-    Hand made marbles from the late 1800s and early 1900s were made in large quantities in Germany and Austria. The most common marbles from this time period are called “swirls” which mean they have a swirling or twisting pattern of various colored stripes either on the surface of the marble or under a clear outer layer of glass.
-    Most old hand-made marbles have “pontil” marks, or a spot on opposite sides where the marble was cut from a multi-colored glass rod that was heated up and shaped into a sphere. If a marble only has one pontil mark, it was probably the first marble from the rod or the last one.
-    Sulfides are antique clear marbles with animal or other white figures inside the core of the marble.
-    Modern machine-made marbles are either solid opaque with swirls or solid colors, clear “puries” or “clearies”, or cats eye marbles with a distinctive shape inside a clear outside layer of glass.
-    There are some makers of hand-made modern marbles who create beautiful works of art in glass, kind of like mini paperweights.

Whether you played marble games when you were young, or just had a “collection”, I’m sure marbles remind everyone of a simpler time.

To view my glass images, please visit my website and check out my glass gallery:
https://mary-bedy.pixels.com/



Comments

  1. I do love your marble and glass photos. Glass has a fascinating play with light and reflection.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Linda. Yeah, I have a fascination with glass as well. Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I Am An Artist

Epiphany.....or Not

Halloween OR The not-so-subtle Put-Down