Letters to the Editor
Reprinted from "INSULATORS - Crown Jewels of the Wire", November 1983, page 23
Dear Dora,
Along with my subscription I am enclosing a
drawing (75% actual size) of a piece of glass a friend recently brought to me.
We local collectors have not been able to identify its use.
The glass was found
in 1968 outside a closed Western Union office in southern Illinois. Although it
is solid and two inches thick, it is clear enough to read Crown Jewels' articles
through. There are no identifying marks on the insulator. it looks like a giant
perfume bottle stopper with threads.
We are hoping that you or your readers can
tell us if this is an insulator or what it may have been used for.
Before
closing, I would like you to know that I think your publication helps keep
insulator collecting alive. Keep up the good work.
Thanks,
Luther Gunn
Springfield, Illinois
Dear Dora,
I'm Back! I have drifted away from collecting
for a while. I now realize how much fun I had, plus the nice people I've met.
Also I would like to send along some information that I have been meaning to
send for some time. This is for the hard core Pyrex collectors.
First, about the
701 (the Biggy). I have had at least two dozen of these at different times from
three different locations. What follows are some of my observations. I have
never seen one of these embossed 701, nor have I ever seen one or talked to
anyone who has seen a carnival glass one (with the exception that will be later
explained). The following are color variations I have had. These are all light
but distinct colors:
- Straw -- pretty, most common.
- Green tint -- also pretty, may
be the hardest to locate.
- Clear -- also difficult to locate.
- Stray, with a touch
of carnival iridescence. (This is the exception I mentioned before.) The
carnival is very light around the top wire groove and surrounding area.
Also for
the hard core Pyrex collector I have three through the wall tubes approximately
3/4" X 10". One of these is marked in green "Pyrex". The
other two are unmarked. They were in the wall of a sub-station building that
was build in the 40's. If any Pyrex collector wants these, I would trade for a
nice insulator.
Thank you and good collecting to all.
Tom Kasner
| 
)