What is the Marble Collectors Society of America?
The Marble Collectors’ Society (MCSA) was founded in 1975 as a nonprofit organization with the mission to educate the public about marble collecting and promote the hobby through charitable, scientific, literary, and educational objectives.
- MCSA is dedicated to gathering and disseminating information, providing services, and fostering the hobby of marble collecting, as well as preserving the history of all marbles and marble making and crafting.
- MCSA remains committed to fulfilling its responsibilities to the public as the foremost authority and reporting agency for the marble collecting hobby.
Celebrating its fiftieth golden anniversary in 2025, MCSA has been a proactive participant in advancing the marble field. Some of its significant achievements during its formative years and subsequent decades included the regular publication of the Society’s newsletter, Marble Mania; conducting various surveys; photographing and publishing color marble plates; contributing to museum and library collections, including The Smithsonian Institution, The Corning Museum of Glass, and the Wheaton Museum of American Glass; issuing price guides with updates; maintaining a library of articles and marble-related materials; creating slide presentations; researching and publishing articles on marble factories, contemporary marble artists, and craftsmen; and offering classification and appraisal services for all types and styles of marbles.
Noteworthy publications by MCSA members include Marbles as Historical Artifacts by Mark Randall, Marble Identification and Price Guide (first through fifth editions), Marble Collectors Handbook, Collecting Machine Made Marbles by Robert Block (current MCSA chair), Contemporary Marbles and Related Art Glass, and The Encyclopedia of Modern Marbles by Mark Block (current MCSA vice-chair), Marble Mania (first and second edition) edited by Stanley Block (founder and 40-year MCSA chair), Antique Glass Swirl Marbles, Antique Glass End of Day Marbles, Sulfide Marbles, and Marbles Beyond Glass.
MCSA Milestones:
- Founded in 1975 and subsequently led for forty years by chair Stanley Block, and Secretary Claire Block
- In 1976, the MCSA self-published a looseleaf binder featuring color images of identified marbles, which was distributed to new members and served as the standard for marble identification for nearly two decades
- In 1980, the MCSA self-published the MCSA Marble Price Guide
- The MCSA regularly published the newsletter Marble-Mania quarterly for 40 consecutive years
- In 1986, the MCSA produced the first videotape on marble-making during a visit to contemporary glass artist Bob Dane’s studio
- In 1995, the MCSA produced the best-selling marble reference guide, Marbles: Identification and Price Guide, with Schiffer Publishing, recognized as the definitive marble reference book
- The MCSA published numerous books with Schiffer Publishing on marble collecting types and styles
- The MCSA created a series of slide shows and videotapes on marble collecting, as well as a travelling exhibit of display-cased marbles available to museums and non-profit organizations for exhibition
- The MCSA donated marble collections to the Corning Museum of Glass, the Smithsonian Institution, and Wheaton Museum of American Glass and gathers representative examples of marbles and related items for research
- Starting in the late 1970s, the MCSA lobbied contemporary artists to sign their marbles for future identification and provenance
- The MCSA has continually lobbied the United States Postal Service for a marble-related stamp issue
The Society looks forward to expanding the online availability of news and articles relevant to marble collecting while expanding its online presence and content through the acquisition of www.MarbleCollecting.com. This includes and will expand an online reference guide, a virtual gallery of marbles and related items, how-to guides, a show calendar, and an MCSA members-only section with all membership activities online. The society will also upload all editions of Marble-Mania and continue to offer identifications and appraisals. Additionally, by acquiring MarbleCollecting.com, the Society has expanded its social media presence, posts a “Marble of the Day,” and will publish new books with Schiffer Publishing. MCSA has assumed management of the Northeast Marble Meet, including its site www.marblemeet.com, and increased outreach to contemporary artists.