Terry W. Herron writes: Acquired a Hemingray D-513 in amber. Milholland book doesn't list this insulator in amber. Has anyone else reported having one? Found it in central Illinois.

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In reply to Terry W. Herron: Your amber D-513 is not too common, it would seem. I don't have it listed in my files, either. However, in the early 1930's the entire "D" series was advertised as being "Made in Brown and Clear Glass". Probably all except the D-990 were made in amber, and there are some still in service among porcelain that have not been noticed, no doubt! If the D- 513 was in service in the area where you got it, a search of lines and stockrooms of the utility company would probably locate others.

From Jim Woods, Galesburg, Illinois: Enclosed is photograph of two insulators. The one on the left is a CD-162 in light green with a 3/8" vertical bar on front and back. However, some of these are not truly a no name, as Milholland's Price Guide indicates. This one, plus a couple of others I've seen, has a very light outline of KCGW on one side of the skirt. I recently traded for a pair of the insulators on the right. I know of four of them. They were probably found somewhere in northwestern Illinois. They were purchased by Mike Crawford of Aledo, Illinois, at a flea market. He has since traded all four away. They are the same color as the CD-162 in the picture, with the same 3/8" vertical bar on front and back. The bar has been scribed in the mold very similarly to the CD-162. Have you or any of your readers come across this variety? Also, do you have any idea what CD number it might be?

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In reply to Jim Woods: The insulator you describe and illustrate as being similar to a CD 162 does not have a separate number assigned, since the insulator itself has never come my way. Someone sent a drawing of what must have been the same item some time ago. Your remark that it has some similarities to the ex-K.C.G.W. CD 162 is interesting. Since we have no information on any of this group, it is entirely possible they are related. Unfortunately, this is another of the areas where we just don't know anything for certain!

Eric Bloomquist, San Juan Capistrano, California, writes: I am 11 years old. I have been collecting for about a year. I have a Brookfield insulator I cannot find listed in any book. On the front Brookfield, on the back New York, on the top 8. No drip points, inner skirt, aqua. In the top of the pinhole is a piece of cork. It is 3-7/8 inches high, 3-1/16 wide, is similar to C.D. 162. How common would this insulator be?

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In reply to Eric Bloomquist: Your insulator is probably a CD 162, and a relatively common one. However, since the 8 on the crown is a shop number rather than a style number, it appears on several different styles, so we have only your guess that it is a CD 162. If it were another somewhat different style, it could be a more scarce item. The cork in the pinhole is not a part of the insulator, nor would it have been placed there in the process of regular use. It was probably put there by someone after the insulator was removed from the line.

From David and Robin Doody, Wilmington, Delaware: We want to get more information on some of our insulators. The most important one is a CD 203 HEMINGRAY-56. The glass is clear, but has the flashed on cherry red color. Would this be rare or common?

Next is a CD 134 Brookfield with crown marking. All the ones listed in Milholland's Third Revision have "W. BROOKFIELD", but this one has "Wm BROOKFIELD". We have two of these, one with the Jan 25 1870 date, the other without. Would you tell us if this is rare, or if others have been reported?

Next, a CD 252 LYNCHBURG No 2 CABLE with a backward "N" in "Made in U.S.A.". Color aqua. Have any of these been reported?

Last is a CD 102 BROOKFIELD NEW YORK with "BP embossed over Brookfield. It is about 1/2" above Brookfield, not quite centered, but is a definite BP and not a ghosting of BROOKFIELD. Following are the different embossings.

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In reply to David and Robin Doody: The CD 203 Hemingray-56 was colored red only as a collector's item. None were ever made that way to be used on the lines. Therefore, they are just as common as the person preparing them cares to make them! There are plenty of clear ones that can be painted.

In the book "Insulators with Embossing Errors", Frances Terrill illustrates on page 84 a Lynchburg No. 2 Cable with a Backward N in MADE IN U.S.A.; but she also shows the N backward in LYNCHBURG. Now, do we have two separate No..2 Cable molds with backward N's? If so, it wouldn't be very surprising, since mold engraving at Lynchburg seems to have been done very hurriedly and is crude.

On the Brookfield CD 102, even though the "BP seems very distinct, it probably resulted when the hot glass settled into the mold and picked up a part of the letters on the way down. It would not be unusual to pick up only a part of a letter, and, in fact, these markings are often so distorted that the characters are not very much like the original. It just depended on how hot the glass was and how fast it fell into the mold.

In my files, I don't show a CD 134 Brookfield with the "Wm" marking. There seem to be more of the CD 162 and 102 marked "Wm. BROOKFIELD". But even there it isn't common. This particular marking has been of interest to collectors from the first; but when those insulators were made, it would have been of no importance. "W. BROOKFIELD" and "Wm. BROOKFIELD" were the same person, and only the whim of a mold engraver was involved in the difference, no doubt. In those days makers and buyers were not as particular with details of insulator appearance as they later became. The main thing was to produce them as fast and as economically as possible to meet the tremendous demand.

While on the subject, here's a suggestion. These units with the "Wm" marking have been of much interest to many. How about some of our Brookfield specialists (and others) sending to Crown Jewels a detailed list (showing complete embossing) of "Wm" units they have? Then maybe later Dora will be kind enough to put together a consolidated list of the ones reported. How about it?