Historic marbles from the Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Caption: A variety of handmade clay marbles were produced between the mid-1700s and the 1930s. China marbles were probably introduced in the 1840s. The unglazed pinwheel china marble shown here was manufactured between 1846 and 1870. Benningtons, distinguishable by the circular raised spots formed where the marbles touched one another while being heated in kilns, were produced in Germany from about 1870 to 1910. Handmade glass marbles were first produced in Germany, and later in the United States, in the late 1840s and continued until the early part of the twentieth century. These include various types such as the mica, banded transparent and divided core swirls located in this display. World War I and the invention of marble producing machinery in America effectively ended the handmade marble industry. Many of the companies that produced machine-made marbles were located in Akron, Ohio, just south of the park. The American marble industry began to falter in the 1950s, as inexpensive cats-eye marbles imported from Japan became popular.

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This picture was first uploaded to the English Wikipedia by Chris_73 on 15:01, Jul 19, 2004.

image source: w:en:Image:Historic_Marbles.jpg