Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Personal Collections: Marbles

Not all of you may know this, but I'm a little bit of a compulsive collector. I have been since I was a child. One of my first collections started way back then, in those pale yellow, dog-eared days of my childhood... marbles. 




I used to play marbles at school, because you were allowed to. I played to win, too. I've kept every marble that I've ever won, traded, found, bought... and continue to add to my collection even now.




When I find a lost marble on the street, my excitement over it is (even to me) bizarre. I just find them so beautiful and mesmerizing in their spherical {near} perfection. I love the chips and dings. I love rolling the thoughts around in my head that a child used this toy to play, learn, and develop the dexterity of their little hands. They probably treasured their marbles, at least for a while, and maybe they spent some time with these treasures in their pockets, (germs, yes, lots of germs) waiting for a chance to pit their marble-playing skills against another kid.


I've bought marbles in vintage stores, some on eBay, but most of them are mine. Some were given to me by my Godson, Max, who loves marbles, too. Some were given to me by Keith. All of them I treasure as one of the most beautiful set of toys remaining from my childhood. 


Did you ever play marbles? Do you have a favorite childhood toy, or game, that you feel connected to?

3 comments:

-E- said...

one of my first memories is playing marbles with my grandpa, in fact.

Terriaw said...

Cool marble collection! I always loved playing with marbles. There's a jewelry seller at our local market who gives you a free marble when you stop to have a look at his handmade goods. Such a cool idea.

Brandi Hussey said...

I don't remember playing any specific toy from childhood, like marbles. But I do remember a serious and intense collection of Crayolas, though - I had bins and bins of them, and refused to throw any out when they broke. Used to drive my mom nuts because I'd insist I needed a fresh new box, even though I had a thousand at home, lol!

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