Garrett is a nationally known marble collector and expert on
marble history. His personal collection runs to over 50,000, and he
can tell you what each one is made of, and where it came from.
He has been collecting marbles since the early 1970’s. He also has
an extensive library on marbles and a collection of marble
paraphernalia. He has written extensively on the subject.
Garrett began his presentation with a history of marbles stating
that they may have been around for the past 3000 years. They have
been found in archaeological digs all over the globe. The Mayans of
South America may have been the first culture in the western
hemisphere to have them.
The early examples were made of anything that could be shaped into a
sphere, stone, bone, or wood are a few early materials. Venetian
handmade glass marbles were made in the 15th and 16th century.
The manufacture of modern glass marbles began in Germany in the
middle of the 19th century. It was a huge industry with large
shipments being exported. At one time, the largest export of Germany
was glass marbles sold to the United States.
The German glass marbles were all hand made with a clear layer of
glass overlaid with color and sealed with another clear layer. The
glass was formed into a cane, a long cylinder of glass, and then cut
into individual sections that were then hand polished into a sphere.
These old handmade marbles are a valuable find today. Part of the
identification of a handmade marble is the pontil, a flat spot on
either end where the glass was cut with a special scissors.
The sulfide marbles are unusual and very collectable. German
artisans would carve a tiny animal and place it in the middle of a
marble. When completed, the clear glass of the marble would magnify
the miniature carving inside.
There were several US marble manufacturers during this period, but
their product was inferior to the German marbles in color and
uniformity of shape. And, the US products broke easily.
This all changed in the early 20th century when Martin Christenson
in the US invented a way to make marbles by machine rather than by
hand. He employed glass chemists to develop a superior glass for his
product. This led to the mass production of marbles in the U.S.
The golden age of marble production in the U.S. was from 1927 to the
early 1950’s, according to Chuck Garrett. Companies such as Acro and
Peltier in Ottawa, Illinois, produced what was described at the time
as a boxcar of marbles each day.
One of the more unusual products during this period was the marble
that glowed in the dark. This was produced by the addition of
uranium oxide. Unfortunately, the workers who handled this
radioactive item became sick from radiation poisoning. The amount of
uranium in each marble was tiny, but they handled thousands of them.
It was much like the watch makers who applied radium to a watch dial
so that it would glow in the dark, and later died of radiation
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Many of the original manufacturers of marbles in this country
have gone out of business. One of the most sought after
privileges for a marble collector is to be allowed access to the
site of these factories, so that they can indulge in a little
modern archaeology trying to dig up that one unique marble that
was left behind.
The 1970’s and 1980’s have seen a resurgence of handmade marbles.
These often have intricate designs on the small spheres, and can
sell for hundreds of dollars, depending on the size.
Some of the artists incorporate gold to add the flash of color that
really catches the eye. Marble artists make use of a laser to carve
the designs in some of their works of art. You won’t find these in a
circle scratched on a dusty playground for a quick game of marbles
at recess or on a Chinese checker board.
Chuck Garrett cautioned the audience that care needs to be taken
when buying collectable marbles today. Some of the valuable examples
that have become marred or chipped over the years have been reworked
to remove blemishes, and then priced as if they had never been
damaged. This process can be recognized only by an expert.
When asked what is the most he has paid for a marble, Garrett
grinned and said, “Sometimes I see one that I really want, and I’ll
pay whatever is fair. I can’t say how much just in case my wife is
listening.” When pressed by the audience if he had paid $10 for a
marble he nodded in the affirmative. When asked he had paid $100 for
a marble, Garrett again affirmed that he had. When asked if he had
paid more than $1000 for a marble, an inscrutable grin was his only
Garrett produces two marble shows a year in Decatur; one in November
and the other in April. In addition to thousands of marbles, books
on marble collecting are available and lectures are presented
throughout the show. They are free to the public.
Garrett can be contacted at 217-422-8454 for more information.
The Logan County Genealogical and Historical Society meets the third
Monday of the month at their research center at 114 N. Chicago
Street at 6:30 p.m. The public is always invited to attend the
monthly meeting where interesting historical presentations are
always on tap.
[By CURT FOX]