by Rich Harrington

Created on: February 11, 2009

It is odd the beauty of small orbs of clear glass with spirals and ribbons inside them. These are the prized possessions of our grandfathers and great-grandfathers. Some were played with, some were competed for, others were just keepsakes. Antique marbles are little works of art that were the toys of the past.

Marbles have been around probably since there were children. Marbles have been found with ancient Native American burial sites as well used by Greeks and Romans. What we find today and define as antique marbles are from the 19th and 20th centuries. They are made from stone, clay, crockery, china and glass. While stone, clay, crockery and chine marbles are interesting, the glass marbles are some of the most attractive and fascinating items.

Glass marbles have been made for a long time, but in mass production started in 1846 with the invention of glass scissors to cut the marbles off of a glass rod. There are a number of types of marbles, but what really defines the antiques marble is the use of the glass scissors. This makes a pontil or shear mark on the top and bottom of the marble. This defines that the marble was made by hand rather than machine made. This pontil was where the marble was cut from the rod of glass. There are some marbles that only have one pontil, these are from the start and end of a glass rod. They are very collectible, but rare to find.

Antique marbles usually have threads of colored glass inside clear glass. Where these threads lie within the clear glass defines the type of marble. Colored glass on the outside can also be used. It is impossble to list all the types of spirals, but basically there are lattice types (small threads twisted to form a weave like look) and ribbon (wider threads twisted by the marble maker to make a spiral ribbon pattern.

One other type of antiques glass marble is the sulphide. This is a clear glass marble with a figure in the center usually in silvery or white. The figure can be anything from an animal to historical figures. They can be quite large (2" or larger) and are highly collectible. Be aware that because of all the clear glass, they can be reground to remove the nicks so they look perfect.

One of my favorite types is the end of day or cloud marbles. These really were the end of the day of production and the remaining glass was put together to make a mish-mash of colors. The marble makers art shows through because the way they were made makes a beautiful display of colors and forms.

Antique glass marbles may have chips and nicks. The more collectible marbles are flawless, but an unscrupulous person can regrind the marble down to make it so, so it pays to know who you are buying from. Large chunks out can make a marble worthless. But I have a 2+" marble that I had reground and had the chunk flattened that I use as a paperweight. It is a beautiful item since it is practical and shows the marble markers art.

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