French Target Balls

Balls 1 and 3 are thought to be variations of ball No. 2, marked "Van Cutsem" on one side, "a St. Quentin" on the other. In the spring of 1994, thousands of these French balls were reportedly uncovered in the basement of an old estate. While they constitute the most common ball in the world, the good news is that these are very attractive balls and a great addition to a beginning collection.

Several photos of rare French and German balls are courtesy of glass expert Horst Klusmeier of Germany.

French Target Ball 001 French Target Ball 002 French Target Ball 003
1. Deep cobalt blue, overall diamond pattern with vertical rib pattern on center band. 2. Marked "Van Cutsem" on one side, "a St. Quentin" on the other. 3. Deep cobalt blue, overall diamond pattern with plain center band.
French Target Ball 004 French Target Ball 005 French Target Ball 006
4. A very common ball in blue, but very hard to find in this 7-Up green. 5. This light amber ball with large squares is embossed around the center band "MOLENAT A CORBEIL." This is the first and only amber ball to come out of France. Molenat is practically a suburb of Paris now. 6. A truly magnificent French ball: Two fairly deep grooves are on this ball. One runs horizontal around the middle, the other vertical from one side of the neck to the other side. This way the whole ball is divided into eight equal pieces, which are embossed alternately with diamonds and five-pointed stars. The vertical band is embossed "CAMBRET / RUE DE LA CHARITE 13 / LYON." At present, this is the only example of this ball.