This month's cover picture, from the August 1940 issue of The National Geographic Magazine, paints a vivid portrait of the Jeffery-Dewitt Company. I searched for this issue several years after Roger Lucas had found it and Carol printed in black and white in Crown Jewels of the Wire. (December 1993, p. 24) I was not aware that the original was in color and pleasantly surprised when I found my copy in a Houston resale shop. I brought it to the August 1996 meeting of the Lone Star Insulator Club meeting where it sparked Spencer Howard's curiosity, who purchased his own copy and who is responsible for printing the cover copy and submitting it to Crown Jewels of the Wire. 

The picture was made around the time that William (Bill) Stinson purchased the plant from Champion Spark Plug Company. Stinson made changes to make the near bankrupt Jeffery-Dewitt company profitable again. The cover picture illustrates the changing Jeffery-Dewitt of this era. 

1) Notice that the two young ladies are holding standard pin and cap suspension insulators. By the time that photographer Volkmar Wentzel snapped this picture the company had abandoned its larger spider suspension design which Jeffery-Dewitt made its early reputation on and which ultimately produced a high rate of failure due to a design flaw. 

2) There is only one "Bronco" style deadend glazed in the traditional JD blue glaze. The ruddy chocolate glaze was becoming the standard glaze although I have found JD blue glazes on insulators marked as late as 1945. 

3) Also of interest is the large multipart insulator in the far left of the picture. This insulator has been unreported to this time although Bob Stahr believes that some of these are in service in the Chicago area. Listed by Elton Gish as M-3380 it apparently is a two piece giant produced by the casting method championed by the Jeffery-Dewitt company. Again it must be noted that the large uniparts characteristic of early JD production are missing from this picture. 

4) The most exciting discovery in this picture is the U-819 helical insulator. In the black and white picture which appeared in Crown Jewels of the Wire, the insulator is so dark that it is indistinguishable. This was an experimental design that was researched by both Jeffery-Dewitt and Lapp. Although one Lapp porcelain post insulator using the helical design has been found, no Jeffery-Dewitt product has been located, although several squatty U-820 spirals have been found. Both the U-8l9 and the U-820 were intended to reduce contamination, but more cost effective methods were found that made these designs unprofitable. It is very gratifying that it can be affirmed that Jeffery-Dewitt actually manufactured the helical design.

In conclusion, the picture also shows an odd assortment of bushings, small pin types, deadends, and large substation insulators. The gleaming steel caps are refreshing as compared to the discolored caps that collectors find when these are taken out of service. Moreover, this picture demonstrates the new Stinson regime that made the company profitable again and led to a lucrative buyout by the Line Materials Company in 1950 which continued to produce insulators using the JD logo until the fire that destroyed the plant at Kenova, West Virginia in 1952.