West Virginia Marble Collector's Club Show 2019 The 2019 Show was held at the Comfort Suites Hotel, Mineral Wells, WV Back to past shows/events

West Virginia Marble Collectors' Club Show 05-02-26 Mineral Wells Comfort Inn & Suites. WV Back to past shows/events

Marble King Original Operation, St. Marys, WV 1949 - 1958 . Paden City, WV 1958 - Presently in operation. Marble King was chartered and did purchase the successful marble making business from Lawrence E. Alley in 1949. They initially packaged remaining Alley marbles, as well as Peltier marbles before producing marbles on the Alley Machinery. They would soon purchase the Master Glass Machines. Marble King's engineering of the Cat Eye method of production in 1955 helped keep Marble King, as well as some other manufacturers in the marble making business. On January 6, 1958, the Marble King factory was destroyed by Fire. The surviving machinery and equipment were soon moved to Paden City, WV., where Marble King operates to this day. Click on images for expanded view/notable information. Back to Marble Identification Berry Pink, 1" Bumblebee Cat's Eye, Blue AV Cat's Eye, Cross Through Cookies & Cream, mint green Cubscout Dragonfly Girlscout Hybrid Hybrid Spiderman Spiderman Tiger/Bengal Tiger Black Widow/Wasp

Alox Manufacturing Co. Alox began business in St. Louise, Missouri in 1919. Among other items produced, they made Chinese Checker boards. They purchased marbles from an unknown WV source, that eventually went out of business in the late 1930's, prompting the purchase of their own machinery to produce their own marbles. After the marble manufacturing shutdown of WWII, somewhere between 1946 and before 1950, Alox never resumed production . Alox produced Opaque, translucent and transparent swirl types, along with clearies, opaques and striped, or brushed Patches. Click on images for expanded view/ notable information. Back to Marble Identification Swirl, Transparent Swirl, Transparent Swirl, Transparent Swirl, Transparent Swirl, Translucent Swirl, Opaque Swirl, Transparent Swirl, Transparent Swirl, Transparent Swirl, Transparent Swirl, Transparent

This section of marble terminology, like the mother of invention, is provided as a necessity. In our case, to keep us all on the same page, as many misuses and misspellings are quickly adopted by new collectors and dealers in the ever growing hobby, spreading like a bad cold. More to come. Aggie: A marble produced from the stone agate. Aggies were common in the 3/4" shooter size due to their ability to withstand the repetitive abuse as a shooter marble in game play. You will often see Aggies riddled with subsurface moons, yet no missing surface material. This can be attributed from the higher level of silica and its molecular structure. Antique: One hundred years old, or older. Vintage, as adopted by the garment industry: Twenty-five years old, or older. Aventurine: Often misspelled as adventurine, though as fun as it may sound, there is no "D" in aventurine. Claudia: A dug patch style Akro Agate marble in orange and blue, measuring over 1", named after Roger Hardy's wife, "Claudia". This was in conjunction with the naming of the dug orange and blue corkscrew measuring over 1" from the same run and subsequent dumping. When Akro Agate authority and owner of the Akro Agate Museum Roger Hardy uncovered these marbles, the corkscrew was named after Roger as "Jolly Roger". Both Claudia and Jolly Roger marbles measure over 1". Anything smaller and certainly anything not part of this dig, is not a Jolly Roger, or Claudia. Color count: How many colors? In opposition to claims sometimes bordering absurdity, one may become long winded on this topic, prompting a dedicated, separate page seen here . Cullet: Sometimes misspelled as "Cutlet". Cullet is batch glass broken into manageable sizes for remelting in glass production. Post-production cullet, a byproduct or scrap from glass production. Egg yolk: A "yoke" is the wooden cross piece over the shoulders of two animals harnessed for pulling a plow, etc. A "yolk" is the yellow internal part of a bird's egg. Floater: As coined by Steve Sturtz, is a transparent marble with a suspended, internal mass of colors that appear to float in the matrix. Frit: Sometimes mispronounced and misspelled as "Frits" or "Fritz". Ole' Fritz had nothing to do with it. "Frit" is crushed glass particles mainly used in handmade marble production and other glass art. It is sometimes used in contemporary machine made marble production. Referred to as "Frit Sprinkled". One vintage style would be that of the Christensen Agate Co. "Guinea". The Guinea's uniqueness is a larger range of thin flakes of glass, verses modern crushed fragmented glass. Hand blown marble: A misnomer for a handmade marble. "Blown" suggests air inside. If it's hollow, it's not a marble. There are marbles with internal air pockets referred to as air trap, though the production of the mass of the marble was gathered, not blown. Hand Gathered: A marble made by collecting molten glass with a punty rod, including both hand rounded and transitional style, where the gob of glass was deposited on to a set of rollers to form the sphere. Ingot: Or, as often termed in relation to marbles, "double ingot". A misnomer. An ingot is a cast refined metal for convenience in the form of a bar or block. The proper term in relation to glass marbles is "Gob". Hence the term "Gob Sorter", and invention that advanced transitional marble types to full automation. Jolly Roger: A dug corkscrew style Akro Agate marble in orange and blue, measuring over 1", dug by and named after Roger Hardy, the Akro Agate authority and owner of the Akro Agate Museum. The accompanied dug patch style was named after Roger's wife, "Claudia". Both Claudia and Jolly Roger marbles measure over 1". Anything smaller and certainly anything not part of this dig, is not a Jolly Roger, or Claudia. Pontil: A scar, or nipple remnant on the surface of some hand gathered types and cane made glass marbles. Cane types include pinched and ground/faceted. Hand gathered Grenier were ground. Hand gathered Leighton brand, patented and exclusively used the melted style. Creased pontils are seen on transitional types as a line from the hand shearing process. These types generally display the spiraling and "9" seen on the opposite pole. Cold roll creases on modern machine made marbles are often misidentified as pontils and sometimes misspelled as "Ponytails". Very rarely will these defects resemble the symmetry observed with marbles with pontils. Ram's Head: An error marble produced by DAS brand, in which two mirrored spirals on opposite sides of the marble resemble the spiraling horns of a male sheep's head. This occurrence is exclusive to DAS brand. However unintentional, the rarer, symmetrical double spun specimens among the fray of defects are quite attractive and collectible and deserving of the naming. Shooter: Many long time marble collectors have expressed their disdain for the use of the term "shooter" for marbles over 3/4". As old as tournament marble competition, as set by tournament rules, a shooter must be 3/4", or smaller in size. The question of "What about larger sizes", will often arise. The best answer is to label it as the actual measured size. Terms such as "Big Boy" (Marble King), and "Boulder" are commonly used, as well as very large marbles measuring well over 1" are often referred to as "Toe Breaker". Some confusion, and the commonality of larger than 3/4" marbles being referred to as shooters, may be due to the fact that some later vintage brands, as well as retailers of Vacor de Mexico and other imported marbles, included a 1" machined marble in retail sets and labeled the package as containing "one shooter". Steelie: Hollow, steel marble. Identifiable by an 'X' seam on one hemisphere. If it's solid and heavy, it's a ball bearing. Tank wash: Not a marble washed in a tank. The "tank" being the crucible, the "wash", in concept, being the firing of the crucible and removal of old glass with new in preparation for a new run. However, this is somewhat of a misnomer, redundant in principle and not a real thing other than a term devised to grant authorization of marble production at companies' expense. The process of running out the old glass with new is precisely what happens at the beginning of any run, so a tank wash is an unnecessary procedure that no one would knowingly do. There is a certain level of credence to the claim at the point in time when JABO, Inc. would load a tank with new base glass to a running machine and allow contract run investors to play during the time it took for the industrial glass to run out, being displaced by the new base glass. So, it's not really a washing of the tank, but rather the old glass merely running out. Not only does this apply to JABO, Inc marbles, this also applies to a known vintage marble run but does not detract from their value. Transitional marbles: Hand gathered, machine rolled marbles. The incorporation of a machine roller devise was a transition from the traditional hand gathered and hand rolled marbles. Later, fully machine made marbles were produced. Not all hand gathered marbles are transitional. M.F. Christensen invented and used the process. Early Akro Agate, Christensen Agate and Peltier Glass also began briefly with transitional style before full automation quickly followed. This type will exhibit a smoothed over creased pontil. Excluded are Grenier and Leighton, the latter often referred to as Navarre. These did not utilize a roller mechanism. For more information, see the gallery section "Hand gathered marbles". Expanded view images will include additional information. Vintage: Twenty-five years old or older. A standard originally set by the garment industry. Wet Mint: So perfectly smooth and flawless, it looks wet. ... more to come. Marble Terminology

Playrite Marble and Novelty Playrite began marble production in what is now Ellenboro, WV in 1945 and ran through December 1947. Playrite used the same brand machinery as some other WV swirl companies, as well as having the same sources for materials. This, along with business dealings with other swirl companies and more notably, the liquidation of their remaining inventory packaged in Jackson brand mesh bags, has left us with an extremely difficult task of identifying them from those other brands. We are unable to provide verifiable specimen photos at this time . Back to Marble Identification

New London Glassworks Skip history/Jump to image gallery During the JABO, Inc. Contract run era beginning in 2008, as not only a member of the first contract crew to participate in this new JABO, Inc. endeavor, Rick Hall also remained the point man of the most prolific investor group throughout the era. He, along with investors in his crew decided to strike out on their own in an attempt to make their own marbles. A machine purchase negotiation with Dave McCullough from JABO, Inc. occurred. Now having their own machine, the business arrangement with this new entity and the beginnings of a new production site in New London, Ohio, would go awry. Having to start over on his own with no machinery, Rick was undeterred in fulfilling his dream of producing his own marbles. Years had passed and by 2019, Rick, along with a friend and investor in his JABO contracts, would again negotiate the purchase of yet another machine from JABO, along with furnace block and other equipment. Site preparation and construction ensued. From the very beginning of this second attempt, it was never a question of who was the key in making this venture a success. That key individual was considered the most experienced, knowledgeable and successful marble machine operator of the day, and his name is Richard McKnight. Richard had been the lead operator, as well as becoming plant maintenance technician for JABO, Inc. He had operated for Sammy's Mountain Marbles and was currently the machine operator for Dave's Appalachian swirls, as well as shift leader for Marble King marbles. At that point in time, the dust had barely settled over the departure of Dave McCullough and Richard McKnight from JABO, Inc. The split was not an amicable one. Rick Hall's involvement as the catalyst in the split, not only created animosity from Dave, but also resulted in a rift within the marble community, leaving both Dave and Rick as well as many marble enthusiasts, on opposite sides of the proverbial fence. Rick and Richard were never much more than acquaintances during the contract run era and had not spoken since Richard's departure from JABO. With the two now on opposite sides of the fence, concerns over animosity, trust and even the feasibility of the idea seemed daunting. An approach to a dialogue would be difficult. With the help of a mutually trusted intermediary with confidence and insight into both parties and their potential to come together, these issues were largely swept to the side and an initial meeting took place, resulting in a mutual agreement to the possibilities. Richard, being the stand-up man that he is, was left but a few unresolved issues, mainly, the potential conflict of interest and possible feelings of betrayal from Dave McCullough. Richard informed Dave of the idea, to which Dave responded in agreement, requiring only Richard's preferential commitment to future scheduled operations at DAS. In October of 2021, site preparations were nearly complete, and the building of the furnace began under Richard's direction. It was commented that Dave McCullough offered tips and advice in regard to the construction of the furnace. It was an interesting "Water under the bridge" moment. On May 21, 2022, New London Glassworks produced its first test run with varying degrees of success. A second test was produced on June 18, 2022, and it became evident changes were needed in the gas delivery system. On July 4, 2022, a third run proved the gas delivery was now well within operating parameters, though other bugs would need addressed. Rick, having financed much of his new phase of his hobby, would need to take a break. However, a short test was done the following November without the direction of Richard McKnight, resulting in what Rick would describe as a failure, as well as a lesson learned, being they weren't ready to operate without Richard McKnight at the helm. Further endeavors will be recorded as the history unfolds. Click on images for expanded view/notable information. Back to Marble Identification 2022, 05-21, 5/8" Inaugural test run. 2022, 06-18, 11/16" Test run 2. 2022, 07-04, 5/8" Independence Day run 2022, 07-04, 5/8" Independence Day run (b) 2022, 11-20, test run 2023, 07-07, Mango Mikey run 2024, 5-9, 5-10, Mcknight Specials run 2024, 10-05, Potluck run 2025, 06-06, Zoey run 2025, 06-07, Lilah run 2025, 09-26, Devotion run gallery

C.E. Bogard & Sons The Bogard Company C. E. Bogard & Sons, Cairo, WV 1971 - 1983. The Bogard Company, Cairo, WV, and Nutter Farm, WV 1983 - 1986 . Reno, Ohio 1986 - 1987 Incorporated in 1967, in 1971 C.E. Bogard & Sons purchased the Heaton Agate Company, to which they renamed, C.E. Bogard & Sons. Remaining Heaton inventory in the form of labelled poly bags, were labelled over and sold as Bogard. They produced their own Cat Eye, opaque, transparent, and "Imitation Onionskins", along with Industrial marbles. Industrial paint can marbles made of glass, was a change from metal balls, largely due to the convincing by Jack Bogard, to the aerosol can industry. In 1983 Jack Bogard became sole shareholder and the company was renamed The Bogard Co. In 1983, gas prices in Cairo forced a move to the Nutter Farm, WV. Issues at the new site prompted a return to Cairo with many efficiency improvements that proved not enough to endure. In late 1986, operations were moved to Reno, OH, where bigger changes were ahead. The continued saga of Jack Bogard can be read at the gallery page JABO Inc., "Classics". Click on images for expanded view/notable information. Back to Marble Identification Cat's Eye Cat's Eye Cat's Eye Cat's Eye Uncategorized Uncategorized Uncategorized

Peltier Glass The Peltier Glass Company, Ottawa, Illinois 1927 - 2002 Another of the early marble manufactures that initially made transitional, hand gathered style. More commonly seen and collected are their machine made Feathered Slags, Multicolor Rainbos and an array of Aventurine National Line Rainbos. Though the earlier *NLR and later Rainbo monikers are Patch and Ribbon type, many anomalous variations similar to Swirl type patterns are also seen. *NLR, National Line Rainbo. Click on images for expanded view/notable information. Back to Marble Identification Acme Reeler Cat's Eye, 1" Feathered Slag Feathered Slag NLR, Christmas Tree NLR, Christmas Tree NLR, Aventurine Bee, Black Aventurine NLR, Aventurine Bee, Black Aventurine NLR, Blue Bee NLR, Blue Bee, Blue Aventurine NLR, Blue Galaxy, Black Aventurine NLR, Blue Panther NLR, Dragon NLR, Dragon, Flaming NLR, Golden Rebel, Black Aventurine NLR, Green Goblin, Black Aventurine NLR, Green Lantern, Black Aventurine NLR, Green Rebel, Black Aventurine NLR, Hermaphrodite NLR, Liberty NLR, Orion's Belt, East Coast NLR, Poison Bee, Black Aventurine NLR, Rebel, Black Aventurine NLR, Rebel, Black Aventurine NLR, Red Zebra

Mid-Atlantic of West Virginia Ellenboro, WV 1990 - 2004 . Mid-Atlantic of West Virginia, Inc. began in 1937 as Mid-Atlantic Glass Co., producing various household glassware. It was sold and reorganized as Mid-Atlantic of West Virginia in May of 1987, still producing glassware. Their first marble production began in November of 1990. Having become a streamlined, smooth operation with state of the art machinery, It wasn't until September, 2001 that they made their first run of colorful play marbles. Things went downhill from there, mainly due to Chinese competition having cheap overhead that affected many U.S. industries at the time. They did produce another marble run of tan colored marbles. Overall production ceased in late 2004 and the last inventory sold in 2005. Click on images for expanded view/notable information. Back to Marble Identification Swirl Swirl Swirl Swirl Swirl Swirl Swirl Swirl Swirl Swirl

Champion Agate Pennsboro, WV 1938 - 2005 . Champion Agate is most known for their swirl type marbles. Early examples are often hard to discern from other swirl manufacturers of the region. Opaque two- and three-color swirls, and later, 1980's single ribbon transparent base Wirepull style. It is known there were Cat's Eyes produced in limited periods. Flat Gems were pioneered by the Champion Agate Co. in 1983 and were a staple product throughout their remaining years. Carnival Glass, or Iridescent marbles were also a first by Champion in 1984. Champion Agate's winding down of marble production would serve as a steppingstone for production manager Dave McCullough's joining JABO, Inc., to which would also incorporate the path of the Vitro Agate Co. and write an entirely new page of marble history. Click on images for expanded view/ notable information. Back to Marble Identification New Old Fashioned Swirl Swirl Swirl Swirl Swirl Swirl, Coral Swirl, Coral Swirl, Furnace Scraping Swirl, Furnace Scraping Swirl, Furnace Scraping Swirl, Furnace Scraping Swirl, Furnace Scraping Swirl, Furnace Scraping Swirl, Furnace Scraping Swirl, Furnace Scraping Swirl, Hot Wheels Swirls

Master Marble, Master Glass Master is another relatively early marble manufacture to produce their own packaging. Master Marble Company, Clarksburg, WV 1930 - 1941. Master Glass, Bridgeport, WV 1941 -1974. Master Glass basically being a reorganization of Master Marble Company, using the same brand of machinery, along with using old packaging stock, has created difficulty in identifying one, from the other. The same brand of machinery also employed by Akro Agate leaves us with additional confusion in regard to their similar Patch style marbles, though Master's earlier machined cut off system created a more acute 'V' shaped cutline, and more often, cutlines pointing in opposite directions. Along with the multitude of patch variations produced by both Master Marble and Master Glass, Master Marble additionally produced Swirls and Moss Agates, and the later Master Glass, additionally produced Sunburst and Cat's Eye marbles. Click on images for expanded view/ notable information. Back to Marble Packaging Main Mesh bag Mesh bag Countertop display World's Fair set, 1933 World's Fair set, 1933 College Collection College Collection