But the center's two composite-surfaced marble-shooting fields no longer draw youngsters firing taws at aggies and mibs the way they did less than 10 years ago. Still, the nearly 400 lots in the Morphy sale are expected to bring prices that show that marble-collecting, if not shooting, is still popular.
They include such common designs as swirls, multicolored "Joseph's Coat," and layered onion skins, with presale estimates starting around $150. But several lots have four-figure presale estimates, particularly for sulfide specimens.
Made in Germany from the 1850s to the 1930s, sulfides feature a figure encased in the center, made of porcelain but earlier thought to be made from sulfur; hence the name, according to the online site www.marblesgalore.com. An amber-glass dog sulfide marble has a presale estimate of $1,200 to $2,000, for instance; a large painted ram specimen is expected to bring $3,000 to $4,000; and a green "rearing horse" sulfide marble has a presale estimate of $3,000 to $5,000.
The top item in the auction is a boxed set of 15 marbles made in the mid-1920s by the Christensen Agate Co. of Ohio, which was founded in 1925 and destroyed by a fire around 1927. Comprising 11 clear and four cobalt "guinea" marbles characterized by a splotchy pattern, the set has a presale estimate of $9,000 to $12,000.
Morphy is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. seven days a week at the gallery at 2000 N. Reading Rd., Denver, Pa. For information, call 717-335-3435.
Fine art at Fuller's. Also on May 21, Jeffrey Fuller's Fine Art Auctions will offer more than 180 lots of paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, photos, and art glass beginning at noon at the gallery, 730 Carpenter Lane. Online bidding will also be available that day at www.liveauctioneers.com.
Among the top items are several European paintings, notably a harbor scene by Benito Quinquela Martin titled Rincon de la Boca, which Fuller expects to sell for $15,000 to $20,000, and an impressionist scene of Paris' Sacré Coeur done in 1955 by Claude Venard, which has a presale estimate of $4,000 to $6,000. Other top lots of artwork include an Andy Warhol screen print, Flash, ($4,000 to $6,000); a Robert Indiana Hope screen print ($3,000 to $5,000); and an untitled Morris Blackburn dockside scene ($1,000 to $1,500).
Contemporary glassware in the sale includes three glass vases by William Morris ($6,000 to $8,000, $3,000 to $5,000, and $1,000 to $1,500) and a 1983 Dale Chihuly handblown glass "Seaform" piece (also $3,000 to $5,000).
Previews are from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday through next Friday, with a reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, and 9 a.m. to sale time May 21. For information, call 215-991-0100.
Contact David Iams at daiams@comcast.net.
