Research Division

Reprinted from "INSULATORS - Crown Jewels of the Wire", June 1979, page 41

Dear Dora, 

The following drawing might be of interest to lightning rod insulator collectors. Color is aqua and made crudely within a three piece mold. Embossed in the wire groove and attached to the building with a metal bracket. I understand that this is the third one found and all in the same area. 
Thanks 
John DeSousa 
East Granby, Conn. 

Dear Mrs. Harned, 

Regarding the drawing and question about the "insulator" on page 28 of the April C.J. This is an ash tray or at least an ash container. I have one in cream and blue, very pretty, with my insulator collection, and it does confuse some people. However, as an ash tray I used it for many years in a 1941 Chevrolet. It was given to me and well could date back into the 1920's, as Mr. Tod mentioned. Neither was it limited to use in Buicks!!! 

Also I have an Am. Tel. & Tel. insulator which I believe is not listed in Milholland's book. It closely resembles the C.D. 121.4, except that the crown is flattened like C.D. 121.2. There is a large oval or () on the crown. No MLOD. Base diameter is 1/4" more than C.D. 121 Am. Tel. & Tel., and it is about the same height, as Am. Tel. & Tel. insulators vary some. The wire groove looks identical to C.D. 121.4. And it appears to have been blasted into a thousand pieces and fused together again all in an instant. In other words, it has been "crackled" by lightning.

Who has some information on it, and who has one in mint? 

Best wishes & thanks for a very interesting insulator magazine. 
Sincerely 
Leslie J. Tyler 
R.D. #2, Box 415 
Narrowsburg, NY 12764 

Re: Insulator in question, pg. 15, Feb. 79 edition - I have one in same shape except embossed on end: S.B.T.& T. Co No 5 (Backwards N). I value it very much, as I have had it for several years. 
Alan Rodgers 

Dear Dora, 

I just read the letter from Dan Keys in the December issue, and I realized this was the same question asked of me.

As far as the short Cal. Elect. Works go, these seem to be few and far between. As a collector of C.E.W.'s and Cal. Elect. Works, I have only seen or heard of about ten in collectors' hands. 

The insulator I have came from a collector in Arizona. He told me that it was found in the desert area near him. It is somewhat sand etched and of a bluish color. Another one is owned by a collector in Washington, and he said it was found in his home state. It also is bluish and a real beauty.

I did see one of these short insulators sell at the Reno show last summer. Where it was found is unknown. 

These insulators seem to be of greater value than the normal aqua CD 130. 

I have talked to other collectors, and most seem to agree that these were a short pour and not a special mold. The reasons for this are that there aren't any mold differences, and the embossing is on the very bottom of the skirt and not adjusted to the height of the insulator. 
Bob Jackson 
Woodland, Calif. 

Dear Dora: 

This thing of cleaning insulators has always been a problem to me. I don't like soaking them in solutions of acids or bases. I'm afraid of them -- the solutions. 

I have found that a Scotch Brite scouring pad used dry will take off that stubborn coating that gets on them along the railroad. Of course you can't get down into the embossing, The pad does not seem to dull the finish on the glass. This would be a safe method for our junior collectors to use. 
Yours truly, 
Donald Bowers 
Grand Rapids, Mich.

Dear Dora, 

This Chester N.Y. (see cover drawing) was found by Robert Little in the Panama Canal Zone while on a bottle digging trip. From dimensions supplied by Mr. Little, I'd say his insulator approximates a CD 738. He related his find to me by letter: 

"I started finding small pieces of glass and picked a spot with a lot of small pieces laying around. After digging for about 10 min. I found the open bottom of the insulator. I really thought it was a broken bottle and it took me about 5 min. to dig it out. At that time I really wasn't sure it was an insulator. By this time I was joined by my friends. We decided it was an insulator. I dug the dirt out to see if it was threadless." 

The insulator has the mold line over the dome, showing it to have been cast in a two piece mold. "It is a dark root beer color." The approximate dimensions are 3-3/4" x 4-1/2". 

Thanks to Robert Little for his help and for sharing his find with us. 
Fritz Kettenburg