Dear Jack: 

The cover of the October "Crown Jewels" with the "Insulators Around the World" photo prompted me to write to you. My associate at work, Mr. Nathan Iyer, who knows of my insulator collecting, returned from a trip to India and presented me with 2 porcelain items. He obtained them in the town of Ahmedabad, in the central telephone building. They appear to be of recent manufacture; the markings read "1S2 / Bengal Potteries / 1972-73". I thought these might be of interest to you and our fellow collectors. 

All the best, 
Michael Dowhan 
New York, NY N.I.A. #1524 

Many thanks to Michael for loaning these to us for this report. The above drawing is by shadow profile, and the underglaze marking on each specimen is inverted on the skirt. The glaze is off-white color, and the firing rest was the unglazed pin hole (5/8" size, thread pitch of 6 per inch). 

This general style (with either recessed or extended petticoat) seems to be nearly the standard telephone pin type used for many years outside of North America. The U.S. styles also had tiny conductor grooves until we learned better about 75 years ago! 

Jack 

Lew Hohn (Rochester, NY) reported some time back of a couple of unusual items at the Capitol District Insulator Show last September. 

First, this top rest signal brought to the show by Ted Church for Lew to see. Ted found it in an antique shop. Lew says, "Everything about it points to Thomas." Maybe so, Lew, but my new crystal ball says it's a Canadian Porcelain Company item. 

Lew also picked up a white U-344A by Pittsburg at the show and thinks that one is a little hard to find. I think that's an understatement; I haven't ever heard of a white specimen of this general style. 

Dear Jack: 

I found this white crock (not shiny) F. M. Locke 1893 along an old trolley line between Oil City and Franklin, Pa. It's a mystery to me, and could you tell me its use? It doesn't look too valuable. Glass turns me on. 
Ora G. Beary 
Venus, Pa. 

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Dear Ora: 

Your Fred Locke item is the porcelain base portion of a "porcelain base pin assembly", and the purpose of these types of pins was to reduce the burning (charring) of insulator pins by lightning-caused flashovers. They were made in many different sizes, since the many styles of insulators required a variety of different insulator pins for their mounting. 

After the Locke patent expired in 1910, these porcelain-base pins were made by a number of other porcelain insulator manufacturers for many years -- up into the 1920's at least, but probably into the 1930's. 

The very earliest ones made by Fred Locke are crude, unglazed and bear this handstamp with the date error as shown above. The correct date is 3/14/93 (patent #493,434). Later ones, made for Locke by Imperial, are of very good quality and bear a wordy recess-embossed marking on the bottom side. By about 1898, Fred Locke was making these in his own plant. The ones made after the Fred Locke era are all unmarked. 

This is a desirable item to Fred Locke specialists, and this early unglazed one would have a trade value in the $5 range -- or more for complete pin assemblies with this item attached. Later versions, unmarked and with either white or brown glaze, are much more common and would have much less appeal to collectors.... 

It could be that some of the porcelain pin types you've found in this same are very old types of good value. Porcelain turns some people on! I suggest that before you trade them you first check with a collector who knows porcelain values. Nothing like trading goody porcelain items for glass nothniks, unless that turns you on. 

Jack 

Charles Schmaldienst (Winooski, Vermont) reported several nice items,. one of which was a Hartford (marking H / A105) in white. can't recall of ever having seen a white Hartford before, so that's probably rated a goody for sure. 

Best of all, Charles has a U-746, beautiful mahogany glaze, and with "Pittsburg" stamped an the crown's side. No doubt about that one being a goody; I know of only two other unipart pin types with the "Pittsburg" marking, and one of those changed hands at the NIA National last summer in Reno for a tidy $75.00. It was maybe even a bargain at that level? 

Here's a portion of some correspondence which may give you some insight (& also envy) to insulator collecting in Europe. Wayne and Dolores now live in West Germany where he is the Market Manager (Europe) for P.T.T. & Public Radio Systems, a communications division of Motorola, Inc. 

Dear Jack: 

... I manage to pick up insulators from all over Europe & Africa in my "towns and travels" with my job. So far I have pieces from Norway, Germany, France, U.K., Spain, Portugal, Kenya, etc., but can find very little info on foreign insulators -- most of which are porcelain. If you know of any publications, please let me know. 

I am fairly new in the insulator collecting game but already correspond with some U.S. collectors who have contacted me, since I am the only European member listed in the N.I.A. directory [March Crown Jewels]. I am considered a real "nut" here by my colleagues for my unusual hobby. 

I get most of my pieces directly from the P.T.T.'s or by walking pole lines. I have never seen an insulator for sale here at a flea market or anything such as that. The hobby just hasn't come here yet so, you're right, competition is minimal for the pieces available.... 

Wayne Dixon, N.I.A. #1525 
Mosbacher Strasse 5 
62 Wiesbaden, West Germany