Marble Identification

An initial question in the mind of a collector looking at a marble is, “Who made this?”  Color, quality, size, and design often point to one manufacturer or another, and inspire names for marbles.  Marble manufacturers often name marbles themselves.

The earliest marbles were made from plain or dyed clay.  The first modern marbles were made by hand, most notably in Germany from glass or ceramics.  Eventually, marble making machines were invented and used by United States companies located in Ohio, Illinois, and West Virginia. A few U.S. companies still produce marbles today.  Marbles were and are produced in other countries--some of my favorite marbles are those made by machine in Germany. 

Suggestions:

1.  Read all the books you can find on the subject of marble collecting.

I recommend that you start with the latest Block ID Guide: Marble Collectors Handbook by Robert S. Block (2005), because of the way it is organized, and because of the expertise of the author.  The handbook is organized by type and manufacturer.  It includes pictures of many sought-after marbles, along with descriptions of types and historical information about their manufacturer and distribution.  It also includes ranges of prices realized at Block auctions, which will give you an idea of value, though the range in most cases is quite wide.

I have a list of other books, some of which are virtually on par with the guide described above (in fact some would say better) at this link:  Books on Marble Collecting  The list includes comments or reviews to help you figure out which you should consider, depending upon your needs.

2.  Go to Marble Shows (see the list in the sidebar) where you can see great selections of marbles close-up. You will meet both new and experienced collectors with whom you can share information.                                                                         

Find out what your new collector friends especially like, and how they identify them. Make notes as you learn, including contact details for those who have helped you.

3.  Visit the marble discussion forums listed and linked in the side-bar.  They are great fun and very helpful.  You can ask for recommendations there, such as the names of experts or knowledgeable collectors in a specific area of interest, such as "Akro."

• Join all of the forums. 
• Introduce yourself in each one. 
• Read through the archives (find the beginning and browse), scanning the topics to see what looks interesting.  Pay attention to the number of posts on each topic, and check out the topics with replies. 
• Also try searching within each forum.  Look for the "search" box.  Enter one or more keywords describing what you need information about, such as "Akro."  This will bring up a list of messages that contain the keyword(s} you entered.  You can then click on each message to read it, using your "back" button to return to the list of messages when you are finished reading.  After using search for a while, you will find it to be a goldmine of information and ideas about marble identification.
• Take pictures of your favorites, along with your mystery marbles, to share in the forums.  You can scan photographs.  In fact, you can scan marbles--put them on a scanner bed and use a cloth to cover them instead of the scanner cover.  Scanners work remarkably well.  If you can, obtain a digital camera, one with a macro capability that will allow you to focus your camera within a couple of inches, to take pictures of individual marbles that fill the frame.  Look for the minimum focal length. 

Each forum has a unique procedure for posting images.  For some, you will need to link to a picture that you have uploaded to a picture hosting site or your own FTP site.  Once you have your image uploaded, you will be able to enter the image address (http://... whatever.jpg).  Other forums let you add a picture from your computer directly into your message.  Learn by trial and error.  And, do not dispair if you cannot figure it out.  A great many others couldn't either.  Just post a question about how to include images--someone will chime in and give you a hand.

Participate as often as you can in the forum(s) you find most interesting.  If you have expertise, share it!

Comments

[Sharon Kokot]

Hello,
I would like to submit information on an Ohio Craft Museum exhibition and sale for your listing of marble shows.

July 15 - August 26. 2007
In the Round: Contemporary Marbles
One-of-a-kind glass marbles by 20 artist including Josh Simpson, Mark Matthews, Cathy Richardson, Geoffrey Beetem, Larry Zengel, and Shawn Messenger.

Ohio Craft Museum
1665 W. Fifth Ave.
Columbus, OH 43212 www.ohiocraft.org 614-486-4402