Dear Jack:
Am sending you some data on the "choke
coil" as covered by the letter from Frank Shore in the October 1979 column.
These were extensively used in the early 1900's in some areas. With the
development of modern lightning arresters they proved to be more of a nuisance
than any system protection value. I recall that the birds especially liked the
larger sizes as good places within which to build their nests.
I do not have an
E.S.S. Co. catalog, but I am sending print copies of selected pages from a 1925
G.E. catalog and a 1927 L-M catalog showing these, and they should give you the
story on them.
Otto R. Boll, NIA #130
Appleton, Wis.
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Dear Otto:
We ran an answer
to the "whatisit" question on these choke coils last month from Frank
Donnelly, but a couple of chunks of your catalog pages might be of interest to
our readers (see following two pages).
I guess I was asleep at the switch on
this item -- or you might say I "choked" up. I have an electrical
directory of that same vintage which describes these choke coils and lists 25
different companies who manufactured or sold them, including G.E., Line
Material, and E.S.S. Co.
Jack
Dear Jack:
We dug this porcelain block in the dump about 4 years ago. It looks
like a base for either a knife switch or fuse block. There wasn't anything in
the comprehensive marking lists shown in your book "Electrical
Porcelain" that showed this marking, so about a month ago we went to the
Worcester Historical Society to see if they had anything on it.
We found 1907
and 1908 directory listings for Worcester Electric Manufacturing Co., 42
Lagrange St., Worcester, Mass. Their products were listed as: Knife switches,
fuse blocks, switchboards and panelboards. We presume this may be new
information for your files.
Emma & Tony Almeida,
NIA #979 & #1166
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Dear
Emma & Tony:
Yes, this is new info for the file -- and interesting in that we
do occasionally see similar items with a marking of "W E. MFG. CO." for
Western Electric Mfg. Co., of New York -- not to mention several dozen other old
companies who made telephone or electric equipment and who had names that also
fit the initials W. E. MFG. Co. Another good example of why it's a losing game to
try to fit these initial markings to companies by guess or hunch. At least we
now know which one it is when we see the Worcester name on it.
Jack
)
