H89.46.28

Typical of the marbles of the late 19th century these were called Benningtons because they imitated the glaze made famous by the Bennington potters of Vermont. These however were most probably made in Oakland at the Oakland Pottery Works which distributed marbles all over the west. The glaze is variegated brown with touches of green which actually is blue glaze that has mixed with the brown from a neighboring marble while they were still wet.The brown marbles which had quite a lot of green were called fancies. They were acquired by the donor's father Alvin as a child for use in marble games. He was born in San Francisco in 1879. George H. Horton, the donor was born in 1919 in Oakland. He played with the marbles acquired by his father as well as accumulating marbles of his own. These marbles were commonly refered to by their nickname "crockies". (D. Cooper, 6/2002) There is no "Oakland Pottery Works" in the Oakland Directories for the 1880s and 1890s. As a guess, these marbles may have been made by the Oakland Art Pottery and Terra Cotta Works at 1125 East 12th Street near 23rd Avenue.

Used: Alvin Horton | San Francisco | George H. Horton | Oakland

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