what is the origin of "take my marbles and go home."?

Answer 1

It is from the game marbles:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marbles

If someone got mad and left the game, they would take their marbles and go home.

By extension, anyone who gets mad and drops out of any game or project could be said to ""take his marbles and go home."

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Cheers,
Bruce

Answer 2

My friend, Charles Nester, got mad one day when I was whipping his butt at marbles, and he said that if he couldn't win, he would take his marbles and go home. A lot of people heard him and it spread around and the saying became famous.