A Brief History of Marbles
By Kirsti Scott
Beach marbles found by Anne & Ky Davis.
Beachcombers love finding marbles on the beach. Whether they are glowing glass orbs, primitive clay marbles, or lumpy industrial marbles, they are on the bucket list of most beachcombers.
Egypt, 1st Dynasty (circa 3050 - 2850 BCE).
Marbles have been made throughout history, ever since humans realized that a ball of clay rolled and heated in a fire made a fun toy. They were found in ancient Egyptian tombs and the ancient Greeks and Romans enjoyed playing with clay and stone marbles as early as the 4th century BCE.
Summit of the Puy de Dôme ruins of the Temple of Mercury, terra cotta marbles found in Puy de Dôme.
The Romans likely brought their games, including games using marbles, with them when they invaded Britain and France in the 1st century.
"Children’s_Games," Pieter_Bruegel_the_Elder, 1560. Marbles made of small natural stones glazed and glazed ceramics, 1500–1900.
Through the Middle Ages, marbles remained an inexpensive and popular game. The 1560 painting “Children’s Games” by Pieter Brueghel the Elder shows kids playing with marbles.
2016 World Marble Championships tournament.
In 1588 the first World Marble Championships tournament was held in Tinsley Green, West Sussex. The grand prize was the hand of a young milkmaid named Joan. The village today still hosts the competition every year on Good Friday, though players now compete for the winner’s title and a silver trophy.
"The_Village_Champion" Thomas Fairland, 1831. "Boys Playing Marbles," André-Henri Dargelas, circa 1860.
In the 17th century, games of marbles become associated with gambling, and children were discouraged from getting involved. In Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, written around 1601, Sir Toby says “What, man, ’tis not for gravity to play at cherry-pit with Satan,” meaning it was not appropriate for someone of dignity (gravity) to engage in childish games (cherry pit, a game played with marbles) with someone as evil as Satan.
Clay marbles found on the beach in Scotland (Marylou Forrest).
The earliest marbles were made of clay. Different colors of clay were mixed to create swirls in the marbles.
Bennington clay pitcher, marble collection including a Bennington marble (Christine Solorio), Bennington marbles (Marylou Forrest).
Salt-glazed stoneware clay marbles called “Bennington” marbles were made in huge batches by many different manufacturers.
Handmade marble collection. Handmade marbles at the House of Marbles (Helen butcher).
Around 1600, water-powered stone mills in Germany began producing marbles from marble, alabaster, agate, limestone, brass, and gemstones, making Germany the center of marble manufacturing for several centuries. German glassmakers in the mid-1800s made marbles from end-of-day glass scraps using marbelschere (marble scissors) invented in 1846. Handmade marbles are still made today in modern glassworks studios around the world.
Codd bottles, Jane Eastman.
In 1872 Hiram Codd invented a glass bottle with a marble that sealed carbonated drinks.
Antique and modern Ramune bottles (Christina Sawka).
When the patent expired in the 1880s, many bottles began to incorporate this design, including Ramune bottles from Japan.
Machine-made marbles ( Dan Kosmayer).
Samuel Dyke from Akron, Ohio began to mass-produce clay marbles in 1884, and Akro Agate Company was founded in 1911 and became a major glass marble manufacturer. Their marble-making machines took small globs of molten glass and dropped them into grooved rollers to create inexpensive, uniform glass marbles.
Children playing marbles in the early 20th century.
The 1920s and 1930s are known as the “Golden Age of Marbles,” when marble popularity reached its peak, with games, puzzles, and more activities using glass marbles. In 1922, the National Marble Tournament was founded in Wildwood, New Jersey. It is held every June the week after Father’s Day.
Stop sign marbles.
In the 1920s "stop sign marbles," also known as cat's eye marbles or cataphotes, were used to increase visibility of street signs.
Industrial marbles used in fiberglass manufacturing.
In the 1930s industrial marbles used in fiberglass manufacturing along the Great Lakes were made by the thousands. These industrial marbles are larger than the average children’s play marble; they are usually light green, and some are not perfectly round, with visible creases, seams, and bubbles.
Marbles from spray paint cans.
In the 1940s, the spray paint can was invented, including a glass marble used to mix the paint when shaken.
Wildwood beach and boardwalk, around 1930–1945.
In 1922, the National Marbles Tournament was established in Wildwood, New Jersey and it is held every summer the week after Father's Day.
Cat's eye marbles (Jack Dagley).
World War II disrupted marble production, and in the 1950s less-expensive Japanese marbles took over the market. The cat's eye marble was invented in Japan around 1945 and because they were so popular, most of the U.S. marble companies closed down. Marble King, founded in 1949 still produces one million marbles a day in West Virginia. Most modern marble production is in Mexico and China, from where marbles are shipped around the world. Vacor de Mexico, in Guadalajara, Mexico, produces about 12 million marbles a day.
One of the persistent claims is that glass marbles were used as ballast on ships and ended up on beaches when ships sank or dumped their ballast. In truth, ships usually used rocks as ballast, which were in large supply and inexpensive.
Sea marbles (Kirsti Scott).
So, how do marbles end up on the beach? Like most sea and beach glass, marbles were discarded in spots along local waterways before the advent of municipal dumps and landfills. Eventually, they eroded out of landfills or traveled down rivers and ended up on the shores of oceans and seas. Once on the beach, they are tumbled by the waves for decades, until washing back up as beautiful sea glass marbles.
View a short video about how marbles are made›
Learn more about beach-found marbles and toys
Learn more about the different types of marbles, toys, and game pieces you can find on the beach and where they come from. Articles ›
