There are a lot of reports and it is difficult to decide what to discuss. The amazing world of porcelain continues to bring us something new. I'm saving the best reports for one of the next issues once we get the particulars straight - stay tuned. You classic collectors will not be disappointed!

Mike Guthrie (NIA #3297) reported finding a M-2254 at an antique flea market about 30 miles from his home in Fresno. What makes this insulator unique is the LIMA, N.Y. marking on the skirt. The three known marked M-2254's were all marked on the crown and found in southern California along with a few similar unmarked specimens. Another interesting feature of Mike's insulator is a mark inside the bottom skirt similar to a Thomas blue jean seam. On closer examination, it appears that the seam-like mark was made by the threading mandrel when it was extracted from the skirt. The glaze is a pretty mottled light speckled tan. Bill Rohde (NIA #1219) was excited about adding this one to his collection. For those of you not familiar with the Lima marking, it was used by the Lima Insulator Co. in Lima, NY. The company was secretly owned by Fred Locke from 1904 until 1908. Actually Fred's wife, Mercie, was the official owner of the company.

M-2254 (7 - 3.5 X 6.5) made by Lima Insulator Co 1904-1908.

M-2254 with "LIMA, N.Y." marking on the skirt.

We've had some discussion in the past speculating that Fred Locke, on some of his early insulator styles, made the crown separately and applied it to the top skirt. This is especially the thought on multipart styles such as M-2795. We know that Electrical Porcelain & Mfg. Co. made the under-glaze ink marked specimens for Fred Locke and they produced U-927A in this manner. The cross-top was made separately and hand applied to the body of the insulator. The badly broken specimen of U-927A I cut in half clearly shows this feature. It is obvious that the top skirts to the Fred Locke eaves-trough styles (M-2795, M-2796, M-2335, M-2336, M-2336A, M-2785, M-2842) were not turned to cut the tie-wire groove. Some Fred Locke multis even have mold lines over the dome that show they were made in a two-part mold without the trimming operation to cut the tie-wire groove. So, how did he make the crown on the eaves-trough styles without using a two-part mold? Several people have speculated that the crown was made separately and applied to the top skirt while the clay was still wet in much the same fashion as a handle is attached to a teacup. Several clues to this are worth noting.

M-2336 (with #4-1 Fred Locke marking and manufacturing date, "APR 10 1901") is shown in the next photograph. Note the short, light aqua-colored glass bottom skirt with an embossed "B" indicating that it was made by the Brookfield Glass Co. Also note that the crown is missing as if it was cleanly cut off. This insulator was found at the factory in Victor, NY a number of years ago. It is interesting to note that an advertisement for Victor Insulators, Inc. in the October 18, 1941 issue of Electrical World showed this exact insulator. The four "Early Bird" insulators shown in one of the pictures (left to right) in the advertisement are: M-2332, M-2336 (without the crown), gray suspension disk, and damaged top to M-2785. If you look close at the top of M-2336 (where the crown was removed), the surface is relatively smooth with a hint of an inner ring. It is odd that the crown apparently was removed so cleanly. I have heard of people knocking the crown off of a damaged M-2795 top with a sharp blow to the side of the crown. They report that the crown, too, broke off cleanly.

M-2336 with Fred Locke markings. Note the missing crown. This is the 
same insulator pictured in the 1941 advertisement for Victor Insulators Inc.

Advertisement in the October 18, 1941 issue of Electrical World.

The next photograph shows the crown section of a M-2795 cut in half. You can see a large air gap in the glazeweld joint between the top skirt and the collar underneath. Just above the glazeweld joint is a thin air gap where the crown was applied to the top skirt. There appears to be a raised center section and a matching circular depression in the crown section where the two fit together.

Damaged crown of M~2795 cut in half to 
show glazeweld joint and crown joint.

If you are not convinced yet, look at the next photograph. Howard Banks (NIA #900) found an old line in Oregon and has recovered numerous broken M-2842's and M-2795's. At the Scottsdale National this year (a SUPER National with lots of fun things to do in addition to the show - Thanks to show hosts Melanie and Steve Marks!!!) Howard had a badly damaged top to a M-2795 in his display. His educational display included many specimens he found along the line. Howard received the Jack Tod Memorial Award for his fantastic porcelain display! As you can see in the next two photographs, the crown broke cleanly and vertically to expose the true details of how the crown was applied. Note the raised center circle and how it fits inside a matching depression in the crown. Starting with the crown and top skirt still in the moist clay form, the matching surfaces of the crown and top skirt were probably wetted by the operator. The crown was then fitted on the positioning circle protruding up from the top skirt. Next the operator probably took a wet sponge and ran it around the joint to smooth the clay and help meld the two parts together. After the clay was dried, it was dipped in glaze, dried again, and fired in the kiln to complete the melding of the two parts. The joint would still be a weak link and would explain why the crown is easily separated from the top skirt with a sharp sideways blow. The crown on Howard's specimen is clearly mated weakly and imperfectly to the top skirt with only the slimmest of fused contact. It appears that only the outer part of the joint has any type of solid contact and most of the strength of the crown attachment may be due to the glaze. It is indeed a wonder that M-2795 performed so well on the northern California lines - so well in fact that many were relocated to southern Oregon and Hawaii.

M-2795 top skirt found by Howard Banks.
Note the exposed crown detail.

It is noteworthy to point out two more things about Howard's M-2795 top skirt. Note the "303" marking in the next photograph. The only known whole specimen of M-2795 with the "303" marking is in the collection of Tim Wood (NIA #1099). The photograph on page 98 in my book, Fred M. Locke: A Biography, clearly shows (in the original photograph) one M-2795 top with the "303" marking in the pile of 18,000 tops. 

Close-up view of the M-2795 crown detail. 
Note how the crown was made separately 
and poorly mated to the top skirt

The photograph was taken in June 1900 so we know the first production of M-2795 was cataloged as No. 303. Later in the year Fred Locke developed the "Victor" series of insulators and recataloged M-2795 as No. 316. All this is explained in the book with the complete listing of the "Victor" insulators shown on page 105. The opposite side of the "303" marking has a new unreported marking: F.M.LOCKE / Victor. Note the "V" in "Victor" is much larger and the other letters are lower case. It is obvious that the markings used on M-2795 were changed when the catalog number was changed from "303" to "316". The first marking used on the No. 316 was Fred Locke marking #1-5. Therefore, we will assign the following new markings:

Fred Locke marking 1-5a: 303/ PAT / DEC.15.96 
Fred Locke marking 1-5b: F.M.LOCKE / Victor (note underlined letters larger than others)

Tim's M-2795 has marking #1-5 on one side and "303 / Victor" on the opposite side. This could be a transition marking between the one Howard found and the ones known with Tim's marking but without the "303". However, it is entirely possible that the placement of the "303" and "F.M.LOCKE" was entirely arbitrary. That means there were four distinct marking tools that had to be struck on every insulator! The complete updated list of Fred Locke markings can be found in my book, Fred M. Locke: A Biography.

Howard Bank's M-2795 top showing "new" 
Fred Locke marking #1-5a.

Howard Bank's M-2795 top showing "new" 
Fred Locke marking #1-5b.

Tim Wood's M-2795 with rare "303" marking. 
Note that the marking was deeply struck.

This month's PIN is a bit longer than usual but we would be remiss if we failed to mention two other Fred Locke specimens that fit in this topic of applied crowns. Ken Willick (NIA #3709) dug a small crown at the Victor dump. The crown broke off cleanly with a smooth surface very much like what is observed on the M-2336. Ken thought it might be from that same insulator. When I got home with the crown, it was obvious that the crown was too small for the M-2336. Note in the photograph that the small crown is an exact match for the rare U-939C with manufacturing date: DEC 22 1900.

Fred Locke U-939C and small crown found at the Victor dump.

Mike Spadafora sent me a broken crown of M-2785 that he found a year or so ago. Note in the photograph that it, too, has an applied crown. The small section underneath is the collar glazewelded under the top skirt. The applied crown extended down to at least the center of the tie-wire groove (the exact joint cannot be determined). So, at least the top half of the tie-wire groove was formed when the crown was applied. The extension of the crown down around the raised section of the top skirt surely provided a more secure mating of the two parts.

Broken crown of M-2785. Note the applied crown
 included the top half of the tie-wire groove.