Keith Glein
Beautiful honey amber brown float with maker's mark WP #147 'Chang Hua County'.
This Taiwanese float has a nice pie crust seal.
This float measures 7 inches in diameter.
This float has excellent provenance having come from the ex-Stu Fransworth collection.
This old authentic Norwegian glass fishing float is embossed with the 'F8' mark.
It was produced at Flesland Glassworks, Norway in the period 1937 -1951 and was used for fishing in the Lofoten Islands, Norway.
It's a lovely teal color and measures 4 inches in diameter.
'Miyako Yama Ka' kanji roller that's classified as maker's mark WP #155.
This raised cartouche has the rounded version of the outline and inside has a column of four symbols in vertical alignment.
The first three katakana symbols (from top to bottom) translate to 'Miyako'.
The fourth symbol is comprised of a double crested mountain with a upside-down '4' underneath. The upside-down '4' could be the kanji symbol 'Chikara' or the symbol for 'Ka'.
This float is the elongated type that measures 7 1/4 inches in length and 2 inches wide.
Truly a prized float for any collector.
This is a contemporary Jumbo Roller made in 1990's by a foreman of the Hokuyo Glass Co.
It's an incredibly beautiful pink colored float with pink speckles and pink swirling throughout.
It has a pure black seal button with an 'FF' maker's mark stamped on it.
This float is very heavy for its size.
Below is a narrative provided by Jerry Wightman that commissioned the production of these beautiful contemporary Jumbo Roller floats:
"I had the two piece mold made to specifications of the first jumbo I found in Hokkaido. It was made in Michigan by a tool and die maker. I shipped it to Japan where a tool and die maker put vent holes in the molds, attached a hinge, and put handles to it."
"They were blown by the foreman, who was the only one left from the old days when Hokuyo Glass made round floats. Only at the end did he bring in an air compressor to complete a full head on the sealing end."
"They took so long to make that by the time they sealed the buttons the temperatures changed somewhat causing many weird things to happen like spindles, double bubbles, and other odd stuff."
"When the first one ran into a full length spindle they sighed and apologized. Obviously, my excitement told them to carry on, and they were happy that the crazy foreigner would accept their mistakes that would never pass their production control."
"I was on the spot for the whole production and video taped it. It was like being a coin collector, getting into the government mint, and being part of the coinage. What a day!"
Rare 5 inch amber gold NW Glass Co. with amber gold swirls.
Base is marked with "NW 3 Pat No 243 3399".
This float also has remnants of a couple of barnacles.
This small 2 1/2 inch float has three big remnants of coral growth.
It also has a WP #10 Rivermouth mark.
Found in Hawaii.
Uncommon maker's mark WP #204 'Ne Ga Na' ネ ガ ナ.
Has a nice old sisal net with a pigtail.
This float measures 4 1/4 inches in diameter.
This float has excellent provenance having come from the ex-Stu Fransworth collection.
Mint green Korean float with a clear and complete stamp of WP #339 maker's mark.
This is a 3 inch float
This float has excellent provenance. It was beachcombed in the Aleutian Islands by Paul Umlauf.
Unusual tri-mold float with WP #66 'lll' hash marks on seal. There are 3 hash marks on the seal but none on the body of the float.
This float has excellent provenance. It was beachcombed in the Aleutian Islands by Paul Umlauf.
Unusual tri-mold float that has WP #66 'lll' appearing twice on top (as it normally does) and twice on the base on the float.
This float has excellent provenance. It was beachcombed in the Aleutian Islands by Paul Umlauf.
Tri-mold float with WP #331, which is a plus sign '+' and a vertical hash mark 'l'. This is an uncommon mark.
This float has excellent provenance. It was beachcombed in the Aleutian Islands by Paul Umlauf.