At about the same time that summer, Marshall Eiserer of San Antonio, Texas, was traveling in northern France. He spotted a similar insulator attached to a power pole near the city of Nancy. How he was able to acquire it is his secret alone, but at any rate, it is now in my collection. In the photo you'll find it on the right side. It is a bit taller and is made of yellow green glass. The embossing reads Folembray No. 288. 

These insulators appear to be a cross between two typical French designs in that they have the cock's comb with two "through" holes of a fuse insulator, as well as the two extended arms of the "T-Bar" insulator. Both, when they were found, were cemented onto metal pins. According to Marshall, several examples of this same style of insulator were found attached to the sides of buildings, carrying wires of positive and negative current, but at the same time serving as fuse insulators, so that in case of a power surge or some other electrical disturbance, the building would not burn down! Threaded copper bolts went through the holes in the glass to hold the wires in place. The copper bolts are still visible in the smaller insulator. That's why you can't see daylight through the holes! What a thrill it was to see these two unique insulators for the first time, We know of no others in collections out there. If you have one, please write and let me know, so we can catalogue it. Notice the new C.D. numbers assigned to each of these.

Unfortunately, we still have no definite information about Folembray, the French glass company that manufactured these insulators. However, one thing is certain: many styles were offered by Folembray, ranging all the way from their No. 275 (C.D. 558), which is a mere 3" tall, to the imposing No. 416 (C.D. 370.9), which stands 16-1/2" high, and, with its three cemented skirts, tips the scales at 37 pounds! 

Marshall brought back several other insulators from France, and out of that batch, we were able to assign about 27 new C.D. numbers. Thanks, Marshall, for all your efforts, and, Andrew, I appreciate your trusting me with your precious insulator long enough to take pictures and make shadow drawings. Due to my involvement in NIA work (rewarding!) during the past two years, I've had to put aside any work on an update version of Glass Insulators from Outside North America. So much new material, and the file is bulging! Perhaps, by the time you read this article, I will already have begun.