CD143 Withycombe Letter
by Timothy Askew

Reprinted from "INSULATORS - Crown Jewels of the Wire", July 1972, page 38

In regards to the S.C.A. Canadian Beehive on pp. 19 & 20 in the November issue:
The one you have came from me in a trade at the National Meet in Colorado last summer. These insulators are very scarce (only about 20 known). I was the one who found them. I have traded them for threadless on a one for one basis. it's hard to place a value on an item like this, but it would be somewhere between $100-$200, depending on condition. I never had a mint one; they used iron wire on them, and most are chipped near the groove.

Enclosed is a picture of a green Withycombe (on the left) and a purple one. 

They are definitely made from different molds. If you look closely, the bottom outside threads on the green one go left, and the bottom threads on the purple go right. I will give you all the info I have on them. They were patented by F. H. Withycombe in Sept. 19, 1899. He was a Montreal inventor, and his theory was that the ridges would cushion the shock of foreign bodies coming into contact with the insulator. He is also responsible for the one on which you can read Canadian Pacific Ry. Co. under the grooves, and the one with all the ridges running vertical from base to crown, CD 143 in Milhollands Book No. 2. I hope this helps.

Sincerely,
Timothy Askew