Foreign Insulators
by Marilyn Albers
Reprinted from "Crown Jewels of the Wire", October 2000, page 14
MORE NEW CD NUMBERS FOR FOREIGN GLASS
INSULATOR STYLES - KEEP 'EM COMING!
The insulators included in this article were on view at the recent NIA Show
and Convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota during the weekend of July 27-30, 2000.
Happily, they have all been given new CD numbers.
"New CD 644.5"
This tiny Gingerbread 'Baby' is on loan from Bernie Warren of Alaska. It is 2-5/8" tall and has a base diameter
of 2". Embossed on the skirt is the
name "Folembray", which indicates that the insulator was made by the
Folembray factory in Aisne, Northern France. The glass color of this little one
is a pretty yellow green.
"New CD 644.5 finds a spot between CD 640 on the left
and CD 641 to the
right."
"New CD 500.5 on the left sits
beside New CD 1084 to the right"
The two tiny insulators in the photo shown above have been waiting patiently
for new CD numbers and at last they have been assigned. You may recognize the
little fellow on the left because I included it in an article I wrote back in
October for the 1999 issue of Crown Jewels of the Wire magazine. Until just
recently N.R. Woodward was hesitant to give this one a CD number until he could
be reasonably certain it was a working insulator rather than a salesman's sample
- it's only 1-1/8" tall and that is tiny for an authentic insulator! But
it's now been resolved and is classified as new CD 500.5.
The little glass spool
to the right in the photo is now new CD 1084. It is 1-15/16" in diameter
and 7/8" in height. Embossed around the center hole at the top is the name
"Folembray" and "Depose" follows around the bottom curve on
the same side. The color of glass is yellow green, which is typical of Folembray
insulators.
"New CD 679.9"
To my knowledge, CD 679.9 is absolutely the smallest glass insulator to be
found in this particular style, which is fondly referred to as the "T-bar"!
The color of glass is a pretty yellow green and the "Folembray" name
is embossed on the skirt. This little insulator is only 2-1/4" in height
with an arm span of 2-1/2" and a base diameter of 1-5/8". As you can
see, the cement and metal pin have been been left in place so there will be no
doubt about its authenticity as a working insulator. This one was probably taken
down from the side of a building.
The name "ISOREX" is skirt embossed on this insulator and the
numbers "231" are in the same location on the opposite side. This
little insulator is only 2-3/4" in height with a base diameter of 2-1/8".
The glass color is a very dark olive green. Obviously this insulator is not a
new design because "ISOREX" has produced several different sizes of
this particular profile through all the years they've been in business, but
because this particular example is so small, it has been classified as new CD
548.
"New CD 548"
This insulator was found in Ukraine and to date it is the tallest and
heaviest example of this type I've ever seen. It is 5-3/8" in height with a
base diameter of 3-3/4".
The color of this gorgeous 'hunk' is green aqua but
it's very thick glass and this is why it weighs a full 2-1/2 lbs on the scale.
Russian letters and numbers are embossed on both sides of the skirt but it takes
someone who knows the language to be able to interpret them. In the near future
I will try to find some answers to share with Crown Jewels of the Wire readers.
The CD 579.6 was on Quentin Marty's sales table at the NIA national this past
July where I purchased it for my collection. The CD number was assigned by N.R.
Woodward. All the insulators presented in this article, with the exception of
new CD 579.6 from Ukraine, were found in France and brought back to the States
by Bernie Warren.
"New CD 579.6"
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