Me And The 143 (#6)
by Grant Salzman, NIA #1785
Reprinted from "INSULATORS - Crown Jewels of the Wire", November 1980, page 22
One of the mold styles
that collectors are most familiar with is the so-called "raised
block" variety, which is a raised slug plate embossed "Canadian
Pacific Ry". I have numbered this item as mold style #3, although it had
its beginning under another name. If you compare the wire groove height and the
shape of the base with your other 143's, you will discover that the same
two-piece mold was used to make insulators for the Montreal Telegraph Company!
(Drawing is by Clay Salzman)
Founded in the 1840's, Montreal Telegraph became a successful operation which at
one time spanned over 30,000 miles of wire. In 1881 they merged with two other
companies, one of which was the Great North Western Telegraph Company. For some
reason, both Montreal Telegraph and Great North Western stopped using their
names on insulators, although the dates of discontinuance are unknown. (More
about Great North Western in a subsequent article.)
Some time after the merge,
some of the Montreal dies were reworked to become Canadian Pacific Ry. To
accomplish the change-over, the old embossing was routed out, then
"Canadian Pacific Ry" was embossed inside the routed area. In later
years, as new dies were made, it appears that efforts were made to re-create the
raised block, with only halfhearted success.
Montreal Telegraph glass comes in
some of the most beautiful colors I have ever seen. The base comes in two
varieties, one rounded and smooth, and the other grooved. (By the way, is it
possible that the grooved-base Montreal could have been the predecessor of the
grooved-base Dwight Pattern? Perhaps, especially when you consider that one of
the early superintendents at Montreal Telegraph was none other than H. P.
Dwight!!)
Mold Style #3. MLOD. Wire groove is thin and shallow, and is approx.
1-1/2 inches from the base. This mold comes in three sub-styles:
Mold Style #3A
comes in two embossing types and a no-name, and it has a rounded smooth base:
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1.
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F -- MONTREAL TELEGRAPH CO
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Aqua, Light Blue, Blue, Dark Sky Blue, Green,
Green with Amber Swirls, and Olive Green.
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2.
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F -- MONTREAL TELEGRAPH
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B -- CO
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Blue,
Dark Sky Blue, Green and Olive Green.
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3.
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No embossing.
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Blue, Dark Sky Blue, Aqua
with Amber & Milk Swirls.
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In these varieties, the dark sky blue is a very
tough item to find. The greens are also desirable and not very common. The
regular blue is fairly common and for some reason is not listed in the price
guide, which results in many people pricing these way too high.
Mold Style #3B.
This style is the same as style #3A, except that the base is grooved.
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1.
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F -- MONTREAL TELEGRAPH CO
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Aqua.
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2.
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F -- MONTREAL TELEGRAPH
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B -- CO
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Aqua, Dark Aqua,
Blue.
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Mold Style #3C. The same as #3A, except that there is a raised slug plate
on the front skirt, and it is embossed "Canadian Pacific Ry".
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1.
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F -- CANADIAN PACIFIC RY (Note the missing crossbar in the third "A" of
"CANADIAN".)
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Aqua, Blue, Blue with Milk Swirls, Light Green.
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2.
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F -- CANADIAN PACIFIC RY (The "RY" is somewhat larger.)
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Aqua, Dark Aqua,
Green.
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3.
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F -- CANADIAN PACIFIC RY. (Note the period.) ("RY" is smaller,
and slug plate is weak in the center.)
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Aqua, Blue.
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)