David R. Wiecek 
Home: Warren, New Jersey 
Born: January 8, 1966 
Collecting Since: 1979

Specialty: Threaded colored glass, early threaded glass, 
glass with milk and coffee inclusions, Brookfield - especially CD 126, 131 and 133.

Sub-specialties: Am. Tel. & Tel. Co., B.G.M. Co., Star & W.G.M. Co.

Today, my collection consists of about 200 threaded insulators with various milk and coffee swirls, bubbles and other assorted manufacturing anomalies.

Insulator Feng Shui

Featuring David R. Wiecek
As told to Gayner "Ted" Armstrong 

How it began... 

The first insulators I ever saw up close were used as paperweights to hold down homework assignments in the 6th grade. I can still remember how they sparkled in the sunlight that flooded the classroom. My teacher recounted to me the story of how he found them at a local flea market and how much he had paid for them. He even went so far to say that someone passing him as he was exiting had offered him even more than what he had paid for the pair but he rejected the offer. This juxtaposition of the fragility and beauty of glass being used for something powerful and masculine like electricity and high voltage coupled with dollar signs stirred in me an interest. 

A year later, a story about a dump that existed behind an old church and cemetery in the town I grew up in got my sister and I looking for buried treasure. Considering the sophistication of our expeditions, which basically consisted of thrusting our shovels into the ground to unearth whatever lie beneath, we managed to find a variety of interesting items intact. Most of these were bottles. It was during these hunts that I found my first insulator. I can recall picking it up from the ground and holding it to the sun. It was an emerald green CD 162 Brookfield with a broken skirt. The concentric rings of the threading, and beauty and depth of the color once again sparked a curiosity. At the time, I didn't know what I had found or how much it might be worth, but I was determined to find out. A local library book on bottles had a section with color pictures dedicated to insulators with prices. It was within that book that I first discovered the incredible variety of shapes and colors that insulators could be found in. It was then that I realized this curiosity and stirring became a bonafide passion. I was truly hooked.

A juxtaposition of color and shape...
Color and shape is what initially got me interested in insulators and it was where I focused my attention during my early years of collecting. After attending a few local shows with 2 very supportive parents long before I had my own driver's license, I began to buy different colors as well as interesting shapes that contrasted well with others. I found that I did and still do pay a lot of attention to how different colors and shapes playoff of each other on display.

"A partial view of Dave's collection highlighting shapes and colors."

Today, I call it 'Insulator Feng Shui' but at the time I realize I was subconsciously building a collection that could appeal to anyone, regardless as to what their knowledge was about insulators or how they were used. It also helped with gaining acceptance from those around me for a hobby that would become a lifelong pursuit. I had an elaborate lighted case built that could hold about 80 insulators. I made it a rule that I would never try to own more than about 100 insulators. I knew people who had collections in the thousands and that was something I never wanted to undertake. This simple rule forced me to focus carefully on what I bought, not to get to heavily weighted in any 1 CD or color, and always forced me to carefully consider each purchase with an eye on condition. Maintaining my collection in this way has always been a challenge, especially now with the advent of EBAY and online buying. I have found that after 20 years of collecting, my 100 or so insulator rule is now somewhat obsolete, as are my opinions of specialization on any particular CD.

Highlights over the years...
I was very fortunate to have been born and raised is Spots-wood, New Jersey, a mere 4 miles from the Brookfield site in Old Bridge. I did not rigorously search the site as much as I wished for while an apartment complex was being constructed there in the early 1990s, but I did come away with many unique finds. Included among these were the embossed skirt of a Climax insulator (See Fig. C), the top of a Brookfield gingerbread man made for export to France during WWI (See 03/03 CJ) and a number of interesting solid pours, scrap glass and deformities. Looking back, I still regret not having taken pictures of the sheer volume of glass, furnace brick and foundations that were excavated during that time.

"Fragment of a CD 184 Climax unearthed at the site of the Brookfield glass factory."

My first job out of college was with AT&T. I had included insulator collecting on my resume in the area of personal interests. I think that the conversation during my interview that this innocent bullet item generated may have helped me land the job at the telecommunications giant. At this time, I am employed at Lucent which traces it roots back to AT&T and Western Electric. I live in Warren, New Jersey on the same street as the AT&T corporate archives about 8/10th of a mile down the road. While I had free access there as an employee, I had the thrill of holding actual Hemingray and Brookfield letterheads with correspondence about orders and the development of new insulator designs. I was also able to thumb through lab books detailing experiments on different prototypes and some unusual pictures and insulator blueprints.

I once owned a 7 piece insulator mold for a CD 230.2 Armstrong insulator. It was one of 2 available from the same flea market the teacher in grade school bought the first insulators I ever saw in person. I remember they were $35.00 each and I successfully haggled to get one for $32.00. I can also remember how heavy it was to carry to the car and how I regretted trading it a year or so later for now relatively common colored glass. 

When I was in college, I was asked to speak before a group of bottle collectors. After the meeting, I was invited to the house of an attendee to look at some insulators he wanted to get rid of. One was a CD 152 patented Hemingray with a heart shaped token embossed into the dome with the name "Frank Malony - Muncie Indiana" on it. To this day, this is one of my most prized pieces.

"My most prized piece." 
(looking from dome downward)

I have appeared on a cable television program dedicated to my insulator collection and the hobby of insulator collecting. The host was so interested in the history of insulators that he extended the program to a full hour. That was the first time this had ever happened on this program.

I was a co-host of the National in Allentown in 1989 with Frank Edgar & Doug Williams. I think that was one of the last Nationals organized by a few individuals and also one that I still get compliments on over 10 years after it was held. Hosting a national was a huge overwhelming undertaking and one that I am very proud to have been an integral part of. I think I was the youngest National Show host ever at the age of 23. Unfortunately this experience coupled with the responsibilities of home ownership and marriage a few years later, caused my interest to wane during much of the 1990s. There were a number of years that passed when I didn't buy a single insulator or attend a single show.

During my lean years of insulator collecting, I developed an interest in vintage balloon tire bicycles from the 1930s-1950s as well as Americana like Howard Johnson's restaurant china. I am still actively involved in these areas of collecting and they provide some diversion from being so focused on a single hobby that can sometimes lead to burnout.

"A rare example of an art deco style 1937 Monark Silver King bicycle
 parked beneath a June 1923 Parisian poster featuring a scene 
combining Dave's interests in electricity, insulators and bicycles."

Cover Photo

Looking forward... 
Fortunately for me, the Internet explosion created new avenues to search for insulators like EBAY. This basically has given me the ability to hunt for insulators anytime day or night without leaving the house. This, along with the daily banter and correspondence among collectors on the www.insulators.com website re-ignited my interest in insulators at a time when my collection was close to being offered up for sale. My collection has since doubled in size and has seen a number of upgrades, swap-outs and checker playing on the shelves all to maintain that 'Insulator Feng Shui'.

The core of my collection today remains primarily as it was with a focus on color and shapes. More recently, I have more deeply and narrowly focused on mold, embossing and color variations of the CD 126, 131 and 133 Brookfield. These were an early passion and still are. My only regret here is that I did not pursue these more actively in my earlier days when I held and passed up the opportunity to purchase some very rare olive amber and purple ones. To maintain display harmony, I have built new smaller display cases and have more in the works. 

I will always appreciate the supportive family and loved ones in my life that nurtured and shared my appreciation of insulator collecting. Without them, I would not be where I am 23 years later. I have always been somewhat of a quiet collector but am working to forge closer friendships with collectors from whom I have built my collection and knowledge base. I am actively involved in studying and documenting mold and embossing variations and am sharing this information with other collectors. In the highs and lows of my collecting experience, 2002 was a very good year and I am looking forward to more of the same in 2003 and beyond.

David Wiecek