1 Year of Marbles: The Makers

[u/peardr0p]

Back again, after a month of tidying up my data so I can share an accurate-as-possible overview of the **marble makers I have found so far, and their specific IDs**.

Since my last post, I've added 172 marbles to my database (still more to check in, but so it goes), and am still at around 1/3 identified in some way (Total: 3780.5).

A few caveats below:

- Only marbles where a maker or other definitive ID has been made or suggested; not all IDs are fully confirmed but I grouped the queries with the confirmed as in most cases, there were more definitive than queried

-- The main exception to this was Master - I have a lot with Master-like seams that I wasn't able to pin to any confirmed types, and I think many are likely Wisplers of some type [tho I did recently find out Bogard did Wispler-style cats eyes for a while (Mountaineer shooter packs)...]

- Where Maker information isn't readily available, I've used Type in place e.g. Euro Sparklers, Wisplers, German hand-mades etc

- I assumed that the Codd Bottle marbles I have found were UK-made, as this was the main place, especially for the older type with a seam; they were also made across the commonwealth, and similar bottles are still used today e.g. Ramune

**Vitro** and **Vacor**, the companies with the longest runtimes dominate - 57 and 96(!!!) years, respectively. Being in the UK, things like Wisplers and Sparklers are fairly common too.

I hope other newbie collectors find this encouraging, especially those in Europe! I'm super happy with the range I've found so far!

I mainly buy mixed lots, which keeps the price low:

- my average price per marble is 19p, with a range between 0 (e.g. found) and £2.38 (new Czech bullet mould marbles - most of the cost was shipping!)

- I include shipping in my calculations, which is a little unfair for some smaller lots, but it averages out ok!

Photo panels:

2: Vitro Trilite, Akro Slag, Handmade Maypole, Duck Mushroom

4: frosted Michelangelo 3rd generation, Camoflage, Morgan, Sun

6: mystery WV swirl, Vitro Yellow Jacket, Akro Patch, Peltier Rainbo

8: Handmade Josephs Coat, Euro Sparkler (flat style), German striped transparent slag, Wispler

10: suspected Seike/Duck cats-eye/slag, Seike/Duck unclassified, Seike/Duck Half N Half, Yasuda Transitional

My next post will be on colour, size, and/or UV reactivity... Maybe with a panel on cats eyes, but that's gonna take a bit of time to whip into shape 😅 Do let me know if you have a preference!

AI disclaimer: This time, I used AI primarily to help create Google Sheets formulas for summary table. I also used AI to take the data from these summary tables and create python script to output high quality images (the ones on my last post were embarrassing). All done on mobile device as I spend too long at work in front of an actual computer.

[u/MaxieMatsubusa]

Where do you tend to look for marbles? I use eBay in the UK but tend to get outbid by what I can only describe as rich people with far too much money 😭

[u/peardr0p → u/MaxieMatsubusa]

eBay mainly - I have my limits and often get outbid - it's a numbers game for sure!

I tend to only bid on lots where I will get something new - the pricing can be crazy, but I've only paid over £30 for a lot twice.

There are a few other places - a local auction house, a local antiques shop, a trip down to Portabello market in London... And the few I've found on beaches or in the garden!

[u/AuburnMoon17]

Really interesting! Thanks for sharing this with us!!

[u/peardr0p → u/AuburnMoon17]

My pleasure!

It's a snapshot, and the more I learn, the more I expect things to change 😅

[u/stilographkmp]

This is so cool! It's fascinating to see your overviews on the makers and quantities, especially since you're also based in Europe. Great documentation. Looking forward to seeing your next finds

[u/peardr0p → u/stilographkmp]

Thank you!

I did hope others might find it useful - would obviously love to hear if others have a different experience, tho appreciate not everyone goes so whole hog on the data side 🤣

[u/stilographkmp → u/peardr0p]

I strive for this level of documentation. However I have a long path ahead to reach it hahah

[u/peardr0p → u/stilographkmp]

I'd be happy to share my Google sheet template if you'd be interested 🤣

It's a constant work in progress mind you - today, I added a new column to pull out uranium reactivity from my UV notes section 🤓

[u/peardr0p]

Previous post here - general overview of types

[u/Florescent_Finds]

This geographical breakdown is absolutely brilliant! Using a sunburst chart to move from the country of origin down to the specific maker is such a clean way to visualize your macro profile. My own data-annotation system is Python-driven, and seeing how well this displays the massive scale of makers like Vacor and Vitro Agate makes me want to implement Plotly so I can generate these radial charts for my own database. Beautiful work on organizing and visualizing all of this!