Glass Targets

Earl Easter · 01-01-2008, 07:12 PM

Hello All: Any one thats interested in seeing some pictures of only three of my target ball collection feel free to view. This habit is too expensive so this is all that i have. My wife won't allow me any other purchases, no not because i"am hen peckerd it's that she knows i would get out of hand, so besides that i would rather not get shut off, if ya know what i mean. So if any of you guys have any, i would at least like to look, i'am still aloud to do that. For some of you fellas that don't know what a target ball is, this is a short description and by no means bible. Before clay birds or pigeons a few older fellas like Adam Bogardus U.S.A., John Moncerieff Northern British Area, Thought it would be fun to wack these glass balls. W.F. Doc Carver, Annie Oakley to name a few shot at these glass targets in the Buffalo Bill traveling shows. They were made at 1 penny a piece and usually sold by the hundred or one dollar per box by many glass factories. Now They are worth a pile of greenbacks and going up in price
one on the internet sold for $17,000 a few months back i try to stick with the ones around $500.00 or less.
A web site if your interested is:
Target Ball Gallery

http://www.gunandgame.com/forums/att...1&d=1199232511

The Blue one in the picture is debatable weather it is French or American, The clear glass one came from underneath a bridge in a river buried in the mud from Scotland that some scuba divers found,and last but not least the amber is American with no markings. Hope you enjoy this is my new years day present to all interested. Respect to all Earl Easter. PS if photos not viewed i'll try to post in gallery section.

billy · 01-01-2008, 07:27 PM

wow !
thats cool i never thought about those before.
i knew they shot glass balls but.....

Earl Easter · 01-01-2008, 07:44 PM

Billy I just caught wind of this stuff four years ago. They claim to have made alot of problems especially with the horses, cutting into their hoofs. Lots of web sites showing
the throwers some look like wooden pistols some resemble the ground model that we may still use. Glad you like them talk to ya soon. With respect earl.....

ArkansasHunter · 01-03-2008, 11:55 AM

I found this to be interesting too, how or where did you find these to start collecting ?
How hard are they to come by ?
Nice collection you've got and thanks for shareing with us...A.H

FadingStarlight · 01-03-2008, 12:33 PM

Very pretty, but something about causing shards of glass to fall from the sky seems like a bad idea to me.

Earl Easter · 01-03-2008, 01:37 PM

Your Welcome ArkansasHunter
I got interested in fox sterlingworth shot guns a few years back so i bought a book. The name of the book, A.H.Fox "The finest gun in the world" Yes Debatable by Michael McIntosh. As i was reading on page 92 i noticed in the b&w photo two glass balls, thought those must have been some sort of targets. Well to make a long story shorter i got very interested in the shotguns and picked up a total of five that shoot better than any other ones i own.
Looking at the web site i provided checked a few of these out and started to look or search as they call it on the internet. Google, Ask.com, Yahoo Search and found some all over the world. but very expensive and hard to find. They filled them with feathers or sawdust so as when the shooter hit it, everyone, more inportantly the judges scored accordingly. Ansley Herman Fox started the shotgun business and soon found he would rather shoot trap, skeet, for Winchester Arms. And the business continued mostly without him very interesting story. So again i was on the internet and found one of his toy guns that he manufactured for kids and naturally most us guys are still kids no matter what age so i had to purchase that also. It hangs up on the wall with honor with my great grandfathers single barrel shot gun.
Right.

ShawnF · 01-03-2008, 02:03 PM

wow, i knew they used to shoot them, but did not know they were collectable. Very interesting. I think i will look into these further. thanks for the info!

Earl Easter · 01-03-2008, 02:07 PM

Picture Of That Fox Toy Shotgunhttp://www.gunandgame.com/forums/att...1&d=1199387764

Earl Easter · 01-03-2008, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShawnF

wow, i knew they used to shoot them, but did not know they were collectable. Very interesting. I think i will look into these further. thanks for the info!

Your Welcome Shawn any other help ya need Just Ask! Earl

ArkansasHunter · 01-03-2008, 03:19 PM

Earl thank you for an excellent thread...I assume in the picture you posted of your Fox shotgun those are choke tubes laying beside it ?

musicmaniac · 01-03-2008, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArkansasHunter

Earl thank you for an excellent thread...I assume in the picture you posted of your Fox shotgun those are choke tubes laying beside it ?

Nope! that one is a toy! Not sure what those plastic tubes are for, but it is a toy. And a cool looking toy at that!

Earl Easter · 01-03-2008, 07:06 PM

Yes Sir: It is a toy from 1919 there about. The tubes are metal and held a wooden ball that was fired out of the barrel, no powder of course. Those tubes have springs in them, as you push the wooden ball into the tube it was spring loaded. I saw one of the exact type at a gun show in PA. It was in the original box. I said to the fella thats a nice fox toy, at that point he offered me the toy and said. No one has ever approached me with that one, please hold it and look as long as you would like, nobody ever heard of such a toy and you deserve to hold it. I asked him the value, somewhere around 5,000-6,000 dollars he said. Now mine is not worth that much its in fair condition with no box. Being that i have hundreds of antiques of all nature, this was one i purchased on e-bay for around $275.00. but imagine its worth a little more than that now. Things like that today are candidates for lawsuits, i wonder how many kids shot there eyes out with this one? Hey thanks for the interest musicman and A.H. talk to you later

FadingStarlight Thats why the glass target balls were substituted with clay pigeons.

Mooseman684 · 01-03-2008, 10:16 PM

Earl,
Other than the open necks ,those look like the japanese glass fishing floats that wash up on Alaska beaches, and Along the Pacific Coast.Some are very old,Some are very Large, and they are collectible as well...We just sold a large collection of them.
Thanks for the info on the Target Balls...
Rich

ArkansasHunter · 01-03-2008, 10:26 PM

Mooseman I started to PM you about this thread because it made me think of those jap fishing floats.
I learned about them from watching the Gold Fever show.
When I saw these glass targets I thought they were some of the floats until I read the story...Pretty cool.

Mooseman684 · 01-03-2008, 10:34 PM

They are very similar....Hand blown glass, different colors. Funny how Glass Balls have been used over the years...
Rich

Earl Easter · 01-03-2008, 11:05 PM

Right rich : They look like fishing floats that is what makes it easy to make a mistake in a purchase. The target balls in the picture measure from fat side to fat side 2 3/4" or directly in the middle and the others measure slightly larger. Some are smooth usually the older ones. But they seemed to discontinue most smooth ones for the ridged ones claiming that the shot would hit the ridges and burst better. The necks were usually sealed with wax to contain the feathers or sawdust. Charles Portlock of Boston originated the sport in 1866 and in around the year 1867 the first competitive shoots bean in the Boston area. Some lady on the internet had one up for auction it measured 13.5". She claimed it was a target ball. Not much of a problem smoking that size, it certainly was a fish float. She was selling it for $1.200. I wrote her back and i peeeeed her off, but she actually dropped it shortly from her site. I try to stick with the stamped glass target balls, the white ball in the picture is stamped N.B. Glassworks Perth but the 72dpi and small photo image are impossible to see. Made in North Britain found in the river Tay north of Dunkeld. I purchased Off a UK fella last year @$279.00 American. You would of laughed at me scramble for the conversion charts. Thanks For Viewing Talk To Ya Later

TJ80 · 01-05-2008, 04:06 PM

mooseman about how large are the glass fishing floats? when my father and i were fishing in the Queen Charlotte islands this in the summer of 07 we saw two huge green ones coming in from sea. the looked to be about 24 inches in diameter. we were going to get them but they were in the middle of a kelp bed and we didnt want to get the lines or the prop tangled up.

Mooseman684 · 01-05-2008, 06:20 PM

They run from Golf ball size up to 2-3 ft. in Diameter.
YOU SHOULD HAVE GRABBED THEM BIG ONES...They are worth a lot of money...
Oh, and some are shaped like rolling pins...Rare
Rich

TJ80 · 01-08-2008, 06:34 PM

O Man. now i am sad. lol. thats all right. we never would have been able to get them home. but thanks for the info. this year when we go ill keep my eyes pealed

01-01-2008, 07:12 PM	#1
Earl Easter Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 2,133 Images: 20	Glass Targets Hello All: Any one thats interested in seeing some pictures of only three of my target ball collection feel free to view. This habit is too expensive so this is all that i have. My wife won't allow me any other purchases, no not because i"am hen peckerd it's that she knows i would get out of hand, so besides that i would rather not get shut off, if ya know what i mean. So if any of you guys have any, i would at least like to look, i'am still aloud to do that. For some of you fellas that don't know what a target ball is, this is a short description and by no means bible. Before clay birds or pigeons a few older fellas like Adam Bogardus U.S.A., John Moncerieff Northern British Area, Thought it would be fun to wack these glass balls. W.F. Doc Carver, Annie Oakley to name a few shot at these glass targets in the Buffalo Bill traveling shows. They were made at 1 penny a piece and usually sold by the hundred or one dollar per box by many glass factories. Now They are worth a pile of greenbacks and going up in price one on the internet sold for $17,000 a few months back i try to stick with the ones around $500.00 or less. A web site if your interested is: Target Ball Gallery http://www.gunandgame.com/forums/att...1&d=1199232511 The Blue one in the picture is debatable weather it is French or American, The clear glass one came from underneath a bridge in a river buried in the mud from Scotland that some scuba divers found,and last but not least the amber is American with no markings. Hope you enjoy this is my new years day present to all interested. Respect to all Earl Easter. PS if photos not viewed i'll try to post in gallery section. Attached Thumbnails

01-01-2008, 07:27 PM	#2
billy Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: a secret lab on the shores of lake titicaca Posts: 19,731 Images: 10 Blog Entries: 161	wow ! thats cool i never thought about those before. i knew they shot glass balls but..... __________________

01-03-2008, 11:55 AM	#4
ArkansasHunter Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: South Arkansas. Posts: 17,218	I found this to be interesting too, how or where did you find these to start collecting ? How hard are they to come by ? Nice collection you've got and thanks for shareing with us...A.H __________________ IN GOD WE TRUST NRA MEMBER

01-03-2008, 12:33 PM	#5
FadingStarlight Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Mid-Michigan Posts: 40	Very pretty, but something about causing shards of glass to fall from the sky seems like a bad idea to me. __________________ Shoot like a girl...if you can!

01-03-2008, 01:37 PM	#6
Earl Easter Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 2,133 Images: 20	Your Welcome ArkansasHunter I got interested in fox sterlingworth shot guns a few years back so i bought a book. The name of the book, A.H.Fox "The finest gun in the world" Yes Debatable by Michael McIntosh. As i was reading on page 92 i noticed in the b&w photo two glass balls, thought those must have been some sort of targets. Well to make a long story shorter i got very interested in the shotguns and picked up a total of five that shoot better than any other ones i own. Looking at the web site i provided checked a few of these out and started to look or search as they call it on the internet. Google, Ask.com, Yahoo Search and found some all over the world. but very expensive and hard to find. They filled them with feathers or sawdust so as when the shooter hit it, everyone, more inportantly the judges scored accordingly. Ansley Herman Fox started the shotgun business and soon found he would rather shoot trap, skeet, for Winchester Arms. And the business continued mostly without him very interesting story. So again i was on the internet and found one of his toy guns that he manufactured for kids and naturally most us guys are still kids no matter what age so i had to purchase that also. It hangs up on the wall with honor with my great grandfathers single barrel shot gun. Right. Last edited by Earl Easter; 01-03-2008 at 07:18 PM. Reason: Wrong Area

01-01-2008, 07:44 PM	#3
Earl Easter Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 2,133 Images: 20	Billy I just caught wind of this stuff four years ago. They claim to have made alot of problems especially with the horses, cutting into their hoofs. Lots of web sites showing the throwers some look like wooden pistols some resemble the ground model that we may still use. Glad you like them talk to ya soon. With respect earl.....

01-03-2008, 02:03 PM	#7
ShawnF Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Buffalo Wyoming Posts: 150	wow, i knew they used to shoot them, but did not know they were collectable. Very interesting. I think i will look into these further. thanks for the info! __________________ shoot low they might be crawling

01-03-2008, 02:07 PM	#8
Earl Easter Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 2,133 Images: 20	Picture Of That Fox Toy Shotgunhttp://www.gunandgame.com/forums/att...1&d=1199387764 Attached Thumbnails Last edited by Earl Easter; 01-03-2008 at 02:17 PM.

01-03-2008, 03:19 PM	#10
ArkansasHunter Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: South Arkansas. Posts: 17,218	Earl thank you for an excellent thread...I assume in the picture you posted of your Fox shotgun those are choke tubes laying beside it ? __________________ IN GOD WE TRUST NRA MEMBER

01-03-2008, 07:06 PM	#12
Earl Easter Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 2,133 Images: 20	Yes Sir: It is a toy from 1919 there about. The tubes are metal and held a wooden ball that was fired out of the barrel, no powder of course. Those tubes have springs in them, as you push the wooden ball into the tube it was spring loaded. I saw one of the exact type at a gun show in PA. It was in the original box. I said to the fella thats a nice fox toy, at that point he offered me the toy and said. No one has ever approached me with that one, please hold it and look as long as you would like, nobody ever heard of such a toy and you deserve to hold it. I asked him the value, somewhere around 5,000-6,000 dollars he said. Now mine is not worth that much its in fair condition with no box. Being that i have hundreds of antiques of all nature, this was one i purchased on e-bay for around $275.00. but imagine its worth a little more than that now. Things like that today are candidates for lawsuits, i wonder how many kids shot there eyes out with this one? Hey thanks for the interest musicman and A.H. talk to you later FadingStarlight Thats why the glass target balls were substituted with clay pigeons. Last edited by Earl Easter; 01-03-2008 at 07:20 PM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost

01-03-2008, 10:16 PM	#13
Mooseman684 Super Moderator Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Alaska Wilderness. Unit 13 Posts: 11,318 Images: 2	Earl, Other than the open necks ,those look like the japanese glass fishing floats that wash up on Alaska beaches, and Along the Pacific Coast.Some are very old,Some are very Large, and they are collectible as well...We just sold a large collection of them. Thanks for the info on the Target Balls... Rich __________________ You know you might be facing your doom,when all you get is a click when you're expecting a BOOM!

01-03-2008, 10:26 PM	#14
ArkansasHunter Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: South Arkansas. Posts: 17,218	Mooseman I started to PM you about this thread because it made me think of those jap fishing floats. I learned about them from watching the Gold Fever show. When I saw these glass targets I thought they were some of the floats until I read the story...Pretty cool. __________________ IN GOD WE TRUST NRA MEMBER

01-03-2008, 10:34 PM	#15
Mooseman684 Super Moderator Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Alaska Wilderness. Unit 13 Posts: 11,318 Images: 2	They are very similar....Hand blown glass, different colors. Funny how Glass Balls have been used over the years... Rich __________________ You know you might be facing your doom,when all you get is a click when you're expecting a BOOM!

01-03-2008, 11:05 PM	#16
Earl Easter Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 2,133 Images: 20	Right rich : They look like fishing floats that is what makes it easy to make a mistake in a purchase. The target balls in the picture measure from fat side to fat side 2 3/4" or directly in the middle and the others measure slightly larger. Some are smooth usually the older ones. But they seemed to discontinue most smooth ones for the ridged ones claiming that the shot would hit the ridges and burst better. The necks were usually sealed with wax to contain the feathers or sawdust. Charles Portlock of Boston originated the sport in 1866 and in around the year 1867 the first competitive shoots bean in the Boston area. Some lady on the internet had one up for auction it measured 13.5". She claimed it was a target ball. Not much of a problem smoking that size, it certainly was a fish float. She was selling it for $1.200. I wrote her back and i peeeeed her off, but she actually dropped it shortly from her site. I try to stick with the stamped glass target balls, the white ball in the picture is stamped N.B. Glassworks Perth but the 72dpi and small photo image are impossible to see. Made in North Britain found in the river Tay north of Dunkeld. I purchased Off a UK fella last year @$279.00 American. You would of laughed at me scramble for the conversion charts. Thanks For Viewing Talk To Ya Later

01-05-2008, 04:06 PM	#17
TJ80 Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Alberta Canada Posts: 26	mooseman about how large are the glass fishing floats? when my father and i were fishing in the Queen Charlotte islands this in the summer of 07 we saw two huge green ones coming in from sea. the looked to be about 24 inches in diameter. we were going to get them but they were in the middle of a kelp bed and we didnt want to get the lines or the prop tangled up.

01-05-2008, 06:20 PM	#18
Mooseman684 Super Moderator Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Alaska Wilderness. Unit 13 Posts: 11,318 Images: 2	They run from Golf ball size up to 2-3 ft. in Diameter. YOU SHOULD HAVE GRABBED THEM BIG ONES...They are worth a lot of money... Oh, and some are shaped like rolling pins...Rare Rich __________________ You know you might be facing your doom,when all you get is a click when you're expecting a BOOM!

01-08-2008, 06:34 PM	#19
TJ80 Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Alberta Canada Posts: 26	O Man. now i am sad. lol. thats all right. we never would have been able to get them home. but thanks for the info. this year when we go ill keep my eyes pealed