The ad read:
Insulater collectors, many varieties $30

The first thought in my mind, especially since “insulater” was spelled wrong in the ad, was that it was probably a box of Hemingray 42’s, Hemingray 40’s, Hemingray 45’s, Whitall Tatum No. 1’s, H.G.Co. beehives, etc.

I called the phone number that evening and the guy told me he had green, blue, clear and “opaque” ones in different shapes and sizes. He asked me to name some insulator manufacturing companies I know. So I told him Hemingray, Brookfield and Whitall Tatum. Then he said, “Yea, I know there are some of them in there.”

Again, I thought: “Yea, a box of 42’s.”

Well, I got the address and drove up to Indianapolis the next day, hoping all the way that I wasn’t wasting gas money. When the gentleman answered the door, I noticed many collections of different things. There were stuffed Mickey Mouse dolls, glassware and antique furniture. He said he had too many collections of things, and he needs to get rid of some of them.

Once again, I thought: “A box of 42’s.”

He took me to the next room and on a dining room table sat three cardboard beer boxes, like the ones they use at auctions to place little stuff in for laying in rows out in the yard.

The first thing that caught my eye were two CD 162 H.G.CO. Petticoats in ELECTRIC BLUE! I started to tremble. Then I picked up a CD 162 H.G.CO Petticoat in olive amber! Then a CD 131.4 L G T & Co (unlisted with no periods and a line under the “o”). Next came a CD 144 Foree Bain, a CD 145 unembossed straw beehive, a CD 239 Kimble 830 with a blotout underneath “Kimble” and the most beautiful CD 230 Lowex 512 in honey amber that I have ever seen with lots of bubbles making it look like real honey!

There were several CD 126 and CD 126.3 Brookfields, including one that has an arrangemnt of dates that is unlisted. Others included a CD 157 Hemingray 38, CD 154 E.S.A., CD 136 Brookfield B&O, CD 126.4 W.E. Mfg. Co. in lime green, CD 145 G.N.W. Tel. Co., CD 102 S.F. in lime green, CD 133 G.E. Co., CD 133 Good, CD 134 T-HE, CD 164 H.G.CO. “Petticoay” error, assorted good color Canadians, some wierd strains and spools and a bakelite-like foreign composition insulator.

Unfortunately, there were also three cracked CD 257 Hemingray 60-A’s. Good only for a window display. And guess what else I found?

An ice aqua Hemingray 42! Ha, I knew it!

I love those pleasant surprises after going on so many wild good chases, which I probably will have more of in the future, but hopefully there also will be the occasional redeeming box that’s “not just another box of 42’s.”