J. F. BUZBY PATENT 

On May 6, 1890 a patent for an insulator for use with wires on telegraph or telephone poles was issued to Joseph F. Buzby of Royer's Ford, Pennsylvania. The insulator shown in the patent drawing had a top portion with a perpendicular slot in which the wire rested and a "open communicating slot arranged at an oblique angle". The purpose of the arrangement was to allow the wire to be inserted into the angled slot, and upon gaining full entrance it would settle into the perpendicular slot. This would prohibit the line wire from escaping. This is a very interesting design, and to have a better idea of the construction, I suggest viewing the photos and drawings. The patent application also included a far fetched method of securing the insulator to the pole, rather than using a regular threaded pin. However, since the insulator has been found with a threaded interior only, I felt I would save a lot of confusion and not include that part of the patent concerning the fastener. 

Several years ago two Busby patent insulators were found in the Binghamton, New York area. About three years ago another one was found in Binghamton. If I'm not mistaken, the third one was found the site of an urban renewal project. Apparently these were used often a telephone or telegraph line through Binghamton. At the present time these three are the only ones I know of. Two are of a light greenish aqua glass, and the other is dark aqua. The threaded pinhole is very near the base, with a "swirl start" at the base of the thread. The glass between the pinhole and outside skirt area is nearly one inch thick.

These insulators are rather tall, with a height of 5-1/4 inches as can be seen in figure one, in a comparison with two other insulators.

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Fig. 1 - The size of the Buzby can be seen here, in comparing it with 
the large style Harloe and Chicago pony.

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Fig. 2 - A rare family reunion, two of the three known Buzbys. 

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Fig. 3 - Buzbys positioned at different angles. 
Notice the lip formed beneath the corners 
at the central portion. Embossing can 
be seen on the flat top panel on insulator at right. 

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Fig. 4 - Top view showing beveled corners of upper portion, 
and dotted lines at the location of the interior line wire cavity. 

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Fig. 5 - Partial drawing showing location
of embossing on the flat panel. 

This style is a rather complicated design, and I'm sure the mold maker had some fun trying to figure out how to make the mold for these. It seems the most complicated part of forming the insulator would be the angled slot for the entrance of the wire, and the inner area where the line wire rested. Another interesting feature of the insulator is the beveled corners at the upper portion of insulator, as can be seen in the top view drawing. I would assume it was designed that way to prevent breakage when coming in contact with another object. Had the corners been sharp, considerable chipping would probably have taken place. It must have proven to be designed well, for as near as I can recall, all three of those known are in excellent condition. Also, with the center portion of the insulator being round, and the top part nearly square, it forms a "lip", should a lineman insist upon using a tie wire. The tie wire could be wrapped under these corners and over the line wire for a tight hold. However, I don't believe tie wires were used on the two Buzbys I've examined, as there were no abrasions on the corners where a wire would have made contact. 

There were several different insulator patents over the years for types that didn't require tie wires. The Buzby is one of the earlier ones, the patent being applied for in 1889. There were a few similar types patented prior to this one, and several somewhat similar after it. One in particular in later years is the Purkey patent which exists in porcelain. Jack Tod has assigned to it U-186 in his Universal Style Chart. The wire entry slot and cavity for the line wire to rest is very similar in both items, the difference being that the wire enters from the side on the Buzby, and from the top on the Purkey. 

The embossing on the Buzby is located on a flat panel of the upper portion and is shown in figure five. It's rather difficult to call this side the front! On an insulator shaped like these critters, it's hard to decide what is the front and what is the back?!

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Fig. 6 - The different end positions showing the interior line wire slot. 

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Fig. 7 - Insulator at left shows the angled slot for the entrance
of line wire. One at right shows the opposite side, 
with flat panel. 

The manufacturer of these is unknown. Wendall Hunter loaned me some of his material awhile back, and in it was mentioned a glass company in Royer's Ford, Pennsylvania, the home of Joseph Buzby. I'm not certain what type of glass was produced there. These insulators could have been made in a nearby Philadelphia or New Jersey glasshouse, or in one from some distance. There is very little to go on at present, and I'm not about to make any guesses.

I'd like to say thanks to both Glenn Drummond and Joe Maurath for the patent copy of this and several other insulators, to Dieline Coleman for geographical information, and to Mike Johnson (Ohio) for allowing me to photograph the three insulators from his collection which are used in this article. Mike has been very helpful in the past in allowing me to photograph many of the insulators in his collection. 

At this time I'd also like to inform all you folks that I may in the near future get behind in my replies to letters. If you write to me and do not hear from me right away, don't lose faith! As soon as the circumstances permit, I will get back to you.