The Rare Gingerbread "Mommas" CD 641, CD 641.2 and CD 645
by Bernard Warren
Reprinted from "Crown Jewels of the Wire", January 1998, page 13
French glass gingerbread insulators are one of the most easily recognized and
the most collected of all foreign insulators. Many glass collections will have
one or two of the small CD 640 "boys" or the large CD 642
"men" included because of their appealing shape. These small
gingerbread "boys" and the large gingerbread "men" have been
known to the insulator hobby for many years and, although not common, are
available to collectors.
Insulator research over the past few years has turned
up some exciting new gingerbread styles, such as the CD 643 skirtless
"boy" (no inner skirt) and the CD 644 "baby" (June 1997 CJ,
page 24). Some medium size gingerbread insulators have been discovered in
three different styles and are now collectively known as the gingerbread
"mommas." These are the CD 641, CD 641.2 and CD 645 insulators.
The
history of the French glass companies that produced these insulators has already
been presented in Glass Insulators From Outside North America by Marilyn Albers
and N.R. Woodward. Much remains to be known about the early history and
insulator production of these companies. Hopefully, time and additional research
will answer many of our questions. This article will be a simple attempt to
acquaint collectors with the various embossings, known colors and relative
scarcity of the gingerbread "mommas."
CD 641 Gingerbread Mommas
Left - ISOREX//221 - Deep olive green
Right - FOLEMBRAY/DÉPOSÉ - Yellow green
CD 641's are easily recognizable by their
solid, chunky body. Measurements are approximately 3-3/8" wide by 4-1/2" tall. The author believes the CD 641 style to be the rarest of the
gingerbread momma styles. Four of the CD 641 Folembray/Déposé are known to
exist. While the exact number of CD 641 ISOREX // 221 insulators that exist in
collections is unknown, it is believed to be equally low.
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CD 641.2 Gingerbread Mommas |
| Top Row: |
Left
- FOLEMBRAY / DÉPOSÉ // EST - yellow green
Middle - VERRERIES DE REIMS // EST - dark olive green
Right - EST (dome) - green,
yellow green |
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Bottom Row: ISOREX // EST - |
dark olive green (left)
dark emerald
green (middle)
olive green blackglass (right) |
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CD 641.2' s may be recognized by
the wide flattened dome and the more narrow, taller shape. All CD 641.2's
currently known to exist also have a large EST embossing on the dome or rear
skirt, a very distinctive characteristic. Known CD 641 and CD 645 insulators do
not have the EST embossing. EST is east in French and indicates that the CD
641.2 insulators were designed for use on the SNCF (French National Railway)
lines east of Paris. The CD 641.2's are approximately 3-1/4" wide by 4-5/8
"tall. Small size variations exist in all the gingerbread mommas, not only
between the various manufacturers but within a single company. The author has a
fat CD 641.2 ISOREX // EST that is fully 1/4" wider than the other CD 641.2
Isorex pieces in the collection.
The Folembray/Déposé, Verreries de Reims and
EST dome embossed CD 641.2' s are all rare, with only four to six specimens of
each embossing known. All three embossings have been discovered within the last
seven months. The CD 641.2 ISOREX//EST, along with the CD 645 ISOREX//25/7, are
the two gingerbread mommas most likely to be seen in a collection. Neither is
common.
Photo 3 shows a close-up of the huge EST dome embossing that exists on
one of the CD 641.2 varieties.
Photo 3. EST embossed on the dome of a CD 641.2 variation.
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CD 645 Gingerbread Mommas |
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Top Row: Left -
Right - |
FOLEMBRAY / DÉPOSÉ - yellow green
ISOREX // 25 / 7 - dark olive green |
Bottom Row: All unembossed
(Left to right) -
dark emerald green, light green aqua, dark olive green |
The most recognizable
feature of a CD 645 is the total lack of an inner skirt. The CD 643 and the CD
644 styles also lack inner skirts but both styles have an inner ridge or
shoulder where a skirt would start. CD 645's do not possess this feature. CD
645's are approximately 3" wide by 4-3/8" tall. It should be noted that
the height stated in Glass Insulator From Outside North America of the CD 645 is
4-5/8". The author has personally examined and measured over a dozen
examples of the CD 645 and all were uniformly 4-3/8" tall, embossed and
unembossed alike. It is possible that a taller mold was used to produce a
smaller number of 4-5/8" CD 645 specimens.
The CD 645 Folembray/Déposé is a
unique specimen. It is slightly larger than the other CD 645 mommas, but the
total lack of an inner skirt or inner ridge/shoulder clearly identify it as a CD
645 style.
Very little is known about production dates for French gingerbread
insulators. It is the author's belief that very few, if any, gingerbread styles
were produced after the early 1940's. The CD 640, CD 641.2 and CD 642 all exist
with the Verreries de Reims embossing, an early embossing that was replaced in
1925 by the Isorex embossing, dating all of these units to pre-1925 production.
It is hoped that additional research will turn up more information on the age
and production dates of the various gingerbread insulators styles.
All
insulators shown in this article are in the author's collection with the
exception of the CD 641 Isorex//221 (Marilyn Albers) and the unique CD 645
Folembray/Déposé (Jim Bergman).
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