Block’s Marble Auctions – Online Live Marble Auction #1154
6pm Saturday February 24,2024
www.marbleauctions.com
Trumbull, Connecticut 06611

TRUMBULL, CONN. — Block’s Marble Auctions has been auctioning marbles since 1989 and this 1,154th sale will be conducted on February 24.

The highlight of the sale is a rare statue trophy awarded 99 years ago in 1925 to one of the participants in the National Marbles Tournament in Atlantic City, N.J. The statue is copper clad plaster. The original sculpture was created in 1925 by Pietro Ghiloni, an Italian who emigrated to the United States in 1892 and worked in New York City. The statue depicts a boy kneeling down and shooting a marble. He is on a plinth with text embossed on three of the four sides. The two long sides read “The Marble Shooter at Atlantic City.” The front reads “Presented to Joseph Hines by the City of Atlantic City.” The player’s name is engraved. The sculptor’s name is sculpted on the top of the plinth. The final short side is textured. These were presented to the 64 participants in the tournament. It weighs 26.5 pounds.

This item carries local Connecticut interest because Joseph Hines was the winner from the city of New Haven Conn., and was one of two African American participants that year. The National Marble Tournament is still conducted every year in June in Wildwood, N.J. This year will mark the 101st National Marble Tournament. This statue was awarded at the 3rd National Marble Tournament. The marble tournament took place in Atlantic City from 1923 through 1928. It is known that these statues were given out at the 1925 and 1927 tournaments, and then at the 1929 tournament in Ocean City. It is not known if these were given out in 1926 and 1928, but presumably so. Very few of these have survived. At this time only about 12 are known to exist. Made of plaster and only clad in a thin layer of copper, they tend to damage quite easily. At least two are known to exist where the heads have broken off. The last time Block’s had one in one of its auctions was almost 30 years ago. The statue is 13 by 11½ by 6½ inches and graded at mint(-). It has an estimate of $2,5/5,000.

Another highlight of the auction is the marble collection of the late Jerry Biern of Rhode Island. Biern collected marbles for many decades and had one of the outstanding collections of handmade marbles. Many of those marbles are pictured in the book Marble Mania by Schiffer Publishing. About 20 years ago, he sold off the handmade collection and concentrated on Transitional marbles and marbles from the M.F. Christensen & Son Company of Akron, Ohio. These are marbles made between about 1850 and 1915. Robert Block, principal of Block’s Marble Auctions, said, “We considered Jerry a friend for more than 40 years, and we are honored that his family entrusted the sale of his marble collection to us.” One of the marbles from the collection is a M.F. Christensen & Son Company Brown Slag, circa 1912-17. The catalog lists it as “Huge Slag,” one of the largest you will find. This marble is in remarkable condition given its size and age ($900-$1,800).

The auction also includes a collection of marbles that was donated to the LANL Foundation of Los Alamos, N.M., and are being sold for the benefit of the foundation to fund its programs. For more than 25 years, the LANL Foundation has been serving the people and communities of northern New Mexico. Through programming and partnerships in the areas of early childhood, K-12 schools and districts, career and college pathways, scholarships, grants, research and advocacy, the foundation’s vision is that all New Mexicans gain the skills and confidence they need to become self-sufficient, lifelong learners. Block said, “Block’s Marble Auctions is proud to have been selected to sell the donated marble collection on behalf of the foundation. The proceeds from the collection, less a heavily discounted commission rate, benefit the LANL Foundation. One of the marbles in this auction from that collection is an End Of Day Onionskin, Germany, circa 1860-1920, 1-11/16-inch diameter. It has an opaque white core with pink skin. One narrow turquoise panel and some other turquoise scattered around the core ($275/550).

Block’s runs marble auctions every month, closing on the third or fourth Saturday of each month. For more information, www.marbleauctions.com or 203-209-7076.

Full Catalog and Bidding available at www.marbleauctions.com
432 lots of Antique, Vintage, Collectible and Contemporary Marbles
Timed online auction including rare Antique German Handmades, Contemporary Artist Handmades, a selection of Machine-Made marbles from American companies, and related items
Featuring items from the Collection of the late Jerry Biern, and items benefiting the LANL Foundation.
BLOCK’S MARBLE AUCTIONS, LLC
P.O. Box 51 • Trumbull, Connecticut 06611 • (203)-209-7076 • info@marbleauctions.com
Block’s Marble Auctions is Always Looking for Quality Consignments. One Piece or Entire Collection