Marvelous Mibs Marbles Collectors Zone

Ponkochan · Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 11:40 pm Post subject:

Winnie, those last ones that you posted are gorgeous!

I know so little about these types and just trying to learn more. In my post with the pics of the poly bag and the "Camel Box" from the ebay auctions.........from what I understand they are both marbles made in Ilmenau, Germany.

I added this picture to the post above (which I should've included to start with. Smile

)

From what I understand the "Camel Boxes" have been found with markings indicating that they are "Made in Japan", "Made in Taiwan" and "Made in Germany". The one that I'm showing above was listed on ebay and the seller indicated that it was made in Ilmenau, Germany.

Elizabeth on Marble Mental's forum collects cats and has some very informative posts about them on her board. Here's one that talks about the Camel boxes. The picture that Modularforms shows of the Camel box from Germany (also from an ebay auction) appears to be a different listing than the one that I saved.

http://marblemental.yuku.com/topic/1236/t/Camel-Boxes-Timelines.html
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Lizzy

Ponkochan · Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 11:49 pm Post subject:

Here's another interesting site that shows some of the German cats/sparklers (for lack of a better word). They compare them to the newer Asian & Mexican types and say that these are German made from the 50's.

Here's the original page in German.
http://www.schwarzmurmler.de/mmk.htm

Here's the page loosely translated into English. Smile

http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_url?doit=done&tt=url&intl=1&fr=bf-home&trurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.schwarzmurmler.de%2Fmmk.htm&lp=de_en&btnTrUrl=Translate
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Lizzy

winnie · Joined: 08 Sep 2007 Posts: 111 Location: netherland

Lizzy,I've read that site a while back.
I think it's to commercial to be true,to me it looks like a big advertisement,besides that it's the only source that makes report of cat's made in Limenau.
The cat's in there advertisement looks like Japanese cat's to me.

I think the yellow ones Roger and I posted are newer ones,one can find them here to easy to be old.
Can you find them in the states aswell?
winnie

tankgrrl29 · Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 9:49 am Post subject:

i hope i'm following along with the right questions and the right pictures...i think i'm seeing 3 types being discussed, and they are all hard to find in the states. not quite so hard in canada.

i had a couple of those Ilmenau bags. i opened one and still have the other, sealed. they contain marbles like the ones in the camel box and the ones on that german site lizzy linked to. there's a version (i think roger calls them beachballs) where the colors are more on the outside. the info that they were made in germany around the 50's seems to be consistent.

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the yellows shown by roger appear (to my eye) to be related to the purple/whites that winnie shows. i have a 'set' of those, most from elizabeth and one that came from sami. i agree with roger that this type crosses the border from sparkler to cat.

here's a thread where elizabeth shows hers.....VTAndrea said she found a whole jar of them from belgium. i agree with the guesses that they are german.

http://marblemental.yuku.com/reply/4195#reply-4195

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winnie, the ones you show with your purple/white look like a 3rd type to me. do you have a lot of those? they're beautiful! i love the brown/black/white.
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Chris

"YES WE DID"

Ponkochan · Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 10:27 am Post subject:

I know that it might've been confusing not to have shown all three of these pics together in the original post.

But the first 3 pics are all from one listing that was sold on ebay. They are clearly marked Ilmenau, Germany. I've seen several others like this one sell on ebay. In fact, I bid on this but lost. Wink

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This is the one that the seller said it was marked Ilmenau, Germany. Even though they didn't show it in a photo, I can't imagine why they'd mention that in the listing, if it weren't there. I didn't save the pics but I have heard and have seen this box marked where it indicated the origin as Germany.

I agree with Chris that we are probably talking about 3 different types in this thread. My it can get confusing, can't it? hehe
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Lizzy

fat freddy's cat · Joined: 22 Aug 2008 Posts: 93

Love all the sparklers, one of my fave types. Here are some more

and some border lines

and a rare colored glass one (think it's rare as not seen any others)

these possibly have aventurine

and one more, possibly like the ones here referred to as Asian

Apart from the blue glass one (had since school), all were found on ebayUK or at local boot sales. I don't find them often. When they do turn up it is usually with cats, wirepulls, fig of 8s, swirl ones I have been told are pinch pontil Japanese and fine swirl ones I don't have a name for (look like imitation onionskins).
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Ziggyzora

winnie · Joined: 08 Sep 2007 Posts: 111 Location: netherland

I think we speak in this thread about 4 different type's.
1.The Euro sparkler,it's still not known if they are made in Germany.
2.The newer sparkler type,the yellow one, i and possible Roger posted.
3.The camel box and the bags from Limenau,Lizzy posted,from which i think they are Japanes Asian made.
4.The "German"cat eyes with the fat 4 vanes.
And thats to confusing for me,but it's my fault LOL

Tankgrrl (is Chris?).i've only 2 of the purple ones,most of them are green and blue than comes red and pink and 2 yellow ones.

Here are 2 "German"4 vanes.
Sometimes I got the feeling that you folks think they are sparkler types but they have a completly different construction.
winnie

Ponkochan · Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2009 5:28 pm Post subject:

Yes, it is confusing, isn't it? It's because we have so little documentation about foreign machine-mades, relative to their American cousins.

I think that some of these types are so hard to designate as cats and/or sparklers.........because so many of them share features of both.

Those last ones that you posted look like gorgeous cats to me...........in fact, they look kind of similar (with the "H" shaped vanes) to some of the Vitro hybrid cats.
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Lizzy

tankgrrl29 · Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 7:30 pm Post subject:

zora, your pics look great - i love your blue glass cat!

winnie, i'm not sure people confuse those german 4-vanes with sparklers, or if it's just because they're so hard to find that
some don't recognize what they are from the pictures so they guess that they are sparklers?

your last pictures of the 4-vanes are GORGEOUS!!

here are the colors i have...my blue and yellow ones don't show the blending as well in the photo
please let me know if you have extras of the colors i don't have, if you'd like to trade for something else Smile

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Chris

"YES WE DID"

winnie · Joined: 08 Sep 2007 Posts: 111 Location: netherland

If you mail me your adress i will send you a salmon and a cobalt blue one.
PS can you mail me at LOM cause i don't know how it works here.
winnie