Some more marbles blessed by Jesus

[swizzle]

Found these on a dig yesterday. So where do I put 'em? Display case or mason jar? Swiz

[Marbleguy]

I buy approx. 5" x 6" x 1" black display boxes with glass fronts for about $3 each at a local rock shop. The boxes have cotton bedding inside. These are perfect for displaying dug marbles. It's certain you're going to dig more marbles. The nice thing about digging marbles is you can associate the age/era the marbles were made from associated artifacts buried in the same strata. For instance I look for broken pieces of green McKee jadite that flouresces under UV light. This was made only during the 1930s. Broken pieces of Akro Agate childrens' glassware (little cups,dishes,etc) mean the 1940s.

[swizzle]

I know these aren't that old. I'd say 1950's maybe. That would match the other items that I dug out of this dump. It kinda looks like someone dumped there junk drawer here. I'd like to know more about them. The red one is probably a marble from chinese checkers and there's that ultra rare cats eye marble that everyone has a thousand of but my real interest is in the other 3. As for displaying them, I plan on using smaller smaller mason jars. If I fill up enough jars then I may use them on a shelf display across a window. Swiz

[duffytrash]

the one at 10 oclock looks like it could be a vitro conquer...the other 2 blue ones could be one of three or four companies...alley- ravenswood -champion...there are many out there that batch em into wv swirls....they common and easy to get...nice start on a collection....if you could take another pic a little farther back i could prob tell ya more....

[swizzle]

Here's a few more shots. If you can give me an idea of how to best photograph marbles I'll be glad to give it a shot. Swiz

[duffytrash]

you did good on the last set...i think theyre all champion.....nix that vitro id on that previous post...they were made in pennsboro wv....theres a chance they could be bogards from cario wv...the clearie red one ...all companies made those.....

[swizzle]

Thanx for the help. I kinda thought the red one was one for chinese checkers but I think those were more opaque. What about the really sweet one all the way to the left. lol. I think the only good cateye marble is the one flying out between the forks of a slingshot. Is there any type of marbles that look like a catseye that I should look out for or are they all basically the same. What's the difference between a champion and a bogard? Swiz

[Shortstack]

Swizzle:
Go to a discount store or a crafts store and look for a sheet of flexible poster board. They come in white, red, blue, and black. Get a sheet of the black to use as a background for photographing your marble finds. White would be too bright with flash usage, and the other colors might "bleed" to the marbles. Black would not reflect the camera's flash and should act as a light absorber and allow the marbles' colors to be "pure".

Use the sheet by placing it on a table; place the marbles on it, far enough away from all edges so the edges won't be in the pix. Then, lift the back half of the sheet into the vertical to form a backdrop. Prop it up with some books or other objects with enough weight to keep it from being pushed away by the poster board. Some simple masking tape can be used to temporarily hold the poster sheet in place for your photo session.

[duffytrash]

bogards will have a "c" or an "s' somplace in the swirl...and dip back into the marble...they made lots more transparent marbles than opaque..champions will have a thick end on one of the swirls that will wrap over the top or bottom of the marble and kinda look like a tounge...they made more opaque types than transparent types...the white on champions will be a lot brighter than bogards the bogarts go towards a grey tone....it comes with practice and handelin lots and lots of different marbles and diggin em at the plants...the glass was mostly recycled but sometimes they made their own...the red youll find on most wv swirls are tail lights from ford motor company...

[swizzle]

Seems like there's almost as much to marbles as learning bottles for the first time. I'll try to do better on the pics next time and we'll go from there. For now I'll put these in a small plastic baggy with a piece of paper saying what they are and then into a mason jar. It seems like a black t-shirt would work just as nice. Should I use a bright light with a diffuser or just the flash from my cam? Swiz

[duffytrash]

i found out that a grey sweatsirt material is the best background for takin pictures ...also bright lights w/o flash...outside in bright sunlight is the best but use the macro settin and let er fly....itll click once you start gettin some awesome pics....it took me a long time to learn and some marbles are impossile to get good pics of...if you pics turn out a little dark you can brighten em up!!!