Bob,
 
Here are some of the common sources on marbles and I have added "notes" to  
advise people on what I think about those sources:
 
Barrett, Marilyn
1994 Agates, Immies, Shooters, and Swirls; The Magical World of  Marbles. 
Boston: A Bulfinch Press Book
 
Note: This is an excellent reference book that repeats much of the same  lore 
found in other books. The photographs are high quality and the lens came  
closer, which improves identification of the variations. This books goes more  
into the contemporary artists, but provides less photographs of the original  
packaging and company histories. There is a good discussion on Rolley Hole and  
other tournaments. This book has a good reference section and makes an attempt 
 at defining the terminology. There is no attempt at using archaeology for  
contextual interpretation.
 
Baumann, Paul
1970 Collecting Antique Marbles. Des Moines, Iowa:  Wallace-Homestead Book Co.
 
Note: This is an early book on marble identification and introduced much of  
the repeated lore on ancient and contemporary use of the balls. The quality of 
 the photographs is not as good as later books and only passing mention is 
made  of the 20th century types. He clearly was an avid collector of 19th 
century  marbles. This is a classic and should be included in any reference 
collection. 
 
Castle, Larry and Marlow Peterson
1989  Collectible Machine-Made Marbles. Ogden, Utah: Utah  Marble Connection, 
Inc.
 
Note: This small publication is quite useful for field identification of  
20th century marbles. It lacks the often repeated lore and introduces good  
information on the transition from hand made to machine made marbles. Although  
this book focuses on collecting and the market, it does not emphasize pricing.  
It lacks references or professional attribution to sources. 
 
Dickson, Paul, "Kids and Collectors Are Still Knuckling Down To Business,"  
Smithsonian (April 1988)94-103.
 
Note: This is an excellent source on the history of marble tournaments and  
contemporary marble artists. I recommend obtaining a copy of this article as  
good background material.
 
 
Ferretti, Fred
1973 The Great American Marble Book. New York: Workman Publishing  Company.
 
Note: This is a good source for the marble games played by 20th century  
children. Most important are the definitions of marble shooting and strategies  
played in various locations around the United States and a few in other  
countries. Although it is probably out of print, I recommend obtaining a copy  for 
any reference library. This book contains little on artifact  identification.
 
Grist, Everett
1993 Everett Grist's Big Book of Marbles; A Comprehensive  Identification & 
Value Guide For Both Antique and Machine Made  Marbles.Paducah, Kentucky: 
Collector's Books
 
Note: This is equal or better than Randall and Webb's book on marbles. The  
color photographs are high quality and the coverage of original 20th century  
containers is better. There is repeat information on the lore of marbles, but  
excellent information on the manufacturers and individual glass artists. One  
observation that comes out of this study is that lots of companies made 
marbles  that are so similar as to render distinction between Akro Agate (for 
example)  and Christensen Agate Company marbles pretty much impossible. This is a  
companion book with Randall and Webb for any reference library.
 
Grist, Everett
1990 (also 1988 and 1984) Antique & Collectible Marbles;  Identification and 
Values. Paducah, Kentucky: Collector Books.
 
Note: This is a less expensive and smaller version of Grist's 1993 book.  
There is the usual lore, but this book focuses on antique 19th century marbles  
and almost makes no mention of 20th century varieties. Of course, the prices 
are  always out of date, but the antique stores religiously price according to 
what  Grist prints. I recommend the 1993 book as a better source.
 
Grist, Everett
1992 Everett Grist's Machine-Made & Contemporary Marbles. Paducah, Kentucky: 
Collector Books.
 
Note: This is the machine-made sequel to Grist's 1990 book on hand made  
marbles. Although the photographs are not as good as his 1993 book, this is one  
of the better discussions of 20th century marbles and their original packaging. 
 I recommend this copy, even if you obtain his 1993 book because it is a 
useful  guide for field and lab work. This is purely a collector's reference book 
and  lacks any lore or source information.
 
Mogilner, Alijandra (ed.)
1986  A Children's History of Marbles In Old Town San Diego. San  Diego: 
Racine & Laramie Ltd. (2737 San Diego Avenue, San Diego, CA  92116)
 
Note: This little ten page booklet is a nice reference provided to tourists  
visiting Old Town State Historic Park in San Diego. Alijandra Mogilner edited  
various sources to write this simple guide and it is quite popular with  
children. It is not useful for archaeologists.
 
Morrison, Mel and Carl Terison
no date. Marbles Identification and Price Guide. This little  booklet is not 
professionally done and the color photos are too small to be of  much use for 
archaeology. This is entirely a review of 19th century non-machine  made 
marbles. The value of this publication is the photograph of "General  Grant's 
Marble Game," which provides insight into adult use of the game.
 
Randall, Mark E. and Dennis Webb
1988 Greenberg's Guide To Marbles. Sykesville, Maryland: Greenberg  
Publishing Company, Inc. 
 
Note: This is an excellent source for learning about the marble industry  and 
contains information on companies, marketing, and technical manufacture.  
Although Randall and Webb briefly mention archaeology as a source, they never  
provide descriptions of features from historic sites or what was found in those  
contexts. There are many color plates and illustrations. 
 
Smith, Linda, "Lost Marbles," Country Home (April 1991)90-95,  146.
 
Note: This is a very nice magazine article with high quality color photos  of 
19th century marbles, photos of 20th century containers, and some basic  
information on games. It provides an address for the Marble Collector's Society  
of America.
 
Armed with these sources, everyone on HISTARCH could become a marble  expert. 
I should note that the big problem with all these books is they lack  
archaeological context. This could be a great thesis for someone to track down  the 
archaeological contexts and actually quantify the types by time, ethnic  group, 
economic class, landform, and correlate the material with  ethnographic/oral 
history. It simply has not been done across the nation and a  lot has changed 
since Baumann started his work.
 
Ron May
Legacy 106, Inc.