COVER

Reprinted from "Crown Jewels of the Wire", April 2000, page 2

At the national show held in Scottsdale, Arizona last summer, a reunion of HEMINGRAY ROYALTY took place.

In the background is a light purple CD 732.2. It was located by a collector in Ohio in 1993 on the roof of a home in Cincinnati believed to have belonged to the patentee, George Floyd. (See CJ, June 1993.) The insulator was manufactured by Hemingray, for it is embossed with the Dec. 19 1871 patent date for threading. . . even though the insulator is threadless. It is owned by John McDougald. 

On the left is an unembossed Hemingray No.1 style, CD 131.4, in a royal purple. It is a three piece mold design, as are the other two pieces pictured. A Colorado bottle/insulator collector located the piece originally and it is now owned by Mike Bliss. 

On the right is the most recent royal piece to enter the hobby. Don and Elaine Bayes acquired the insulator from a friend who found the piece in Missouri along an old telegraph line. The insulator is now in a new collection, having being auctioned last fall. Amount paid exceeded $22,000! A true ROYALTY!

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