Hemingray 42 - 42 

Editor's note: On page 20 of the November issue of Crown Jewels, we pictured a Hemingray CD 154 that had the numbers "42" embossed on both its front and back sides. N.R. "Woody" Woodward sent us this response:

"There is really no mystery here. The insulator is one of a not-uncommon mold set. This one just happens to have the same mold number as the style number of the insulator. The "Big Mold Number" set has always been a favorite of mine. This is apparently the first numbered mold set for Hemingray, c.1932. They are the "ice" color glass, used 1930 to 1935 production. 1933 starts the small numbers, with the Owens Illinois purchase: The O, then the O-4 and O-4. in 1934-35.

In my personal files I have a total of 41 molds of this set represented, ranging in numbers from 1 to 68."

Crown Jewels owes an apology to Woody. On page ten of the November issue we mistakenly attributed the source of some information to Elton Gish, when it was really Woody who sent the data to us. Sorry, guys.

Van Walls, the collector who owns the Hemingray 42 - 42 emailed us this note: "Got a letter from Ohio collector David Wilson. He has studied Hemingray embossings and says that the 'back' 42 is most likely a mold #. He says mold #'s first appeared in 1932."