CD #266

Reprinted from "INSULATORS - Crown Jewels of the Wire", April 1975, page 31

Dear Dora,

Enclosed find my belated renewal of C.J. subscription, along with my seasons greetings for you both. In the December issue I noticed a picture of Larry Veneziano's CD #266 Pat June 17, 1890 (number 5 Cable) and thought it would be nice to tell the other collectors what I have learned about them. Among the people who have handled them, there were recovered only about two dozen, and out of them maybe half were of decent quality. There were no mint specimens, and I believe the best went to Dick Augustyn. They came from Milwaukee; and when the linemen were told to take them down, they did it as if they were Hemingray 42's. They pried them off in such a way as to chip and mutilate the bases. Evidently they were on just one line, as they are the only ones found to date.

This brings me to the point where I got mine. A fantastic fellow by the name of Eric Pierce acquired these rarities and gave me the chance to trade for one of them. Eric is not only a good dealer, but honest as well, and I couldn't recommend anyone else fairer than he.

While on the subject of dealers, I should like to say that after 11 years of collecting, I have run into a million dealers. And when you find one or two who seem interested in making the hobby enjoyable for you, you feel obligated to tell others about the good fortune you've had. And even if you've collected only a year, you'll invariably run across a rotten dealer, or a trade through the mail that you just can't get settled. Between Jack Riesselman and myself has gone many a package, sometimes five or six hundred dollar deals, and out of the last three years I can honestly say that I have never had one deal leave me unsatisfied. He seems to share the very excitement with you that you're going to get something you'd really like to own. Thanks to him, the value of my collection has tripled, with much enjoyment.

I firmly believe if the quality of our hobby is to stay afloat above the rip-off artists, we need an outstanding magazine like Crown Jewels to spread the word about insulators and their accomplishments. Hats off to C.J.! Before Crown Jewels we had to guess at a lot of things. Now we have the expertise of knowledgeable people at our mailboxes, people like Mr. Woodward, who has more than three decades of study on insulators, right at our fingertips. I think we're spoiled, but for the better. The hobby has no way to go but up.

Thanks again for the past year of insulator entertainment.

Mike Bliss