Dear Research Division Editor 
Crown Jewels 
In a letter in the February 1972 Crown Jewels, a certain Chris Hedges of Kansas City, Missouri mentions having an unembossed sun-colored amethyst CD 121 with tiny crosshatching on the skirt that was similar to that on a sun-colored amethyst AM TEL & TEL CO toll. Chris assumed that they had been made by the same company and asked for ideas from the readership with no apparent response. This letter is a belated attempt to answer Chris's query.

The faint crosshatching is obviously intentional and was engraved upon the molds for one of two possible reasons. To provide a better gripping surface for the lineman placing it onto a pin or to prevent the still soft insulator from turning in the mold as the threading mandrel was being withdrawn during manufacture just as bars, dots or stars were used by other manufacturers for this reason.

Cross hatching on skirt typical of W.G.M. CO. produced AM TEL & TEL CO tolls.

The similarity between the two arise because both the embossed and the unembossed insulators were made in the same molds. A careful examination of the subtle differences in the dome shape will reveal a four mold set originally unembossed but later having Am TEL & TEL CO with its rather singular geometric ampersand engraved. The four molds (see pages 34-35) may be identified as follows:

MOLD I - Narrow, flat dome. Abrupt transition upper wire ridge to dome. Embossing 2-1/2" long. The "&" slopes right.

Progressive deterioration of molds and embossings help date W.G.M.CO. production. The early molds (left) were clean surfaced with crisp, clear embossing and a medium red color.

Crude molds and weak embossing were typical near the end of W.G.M. CO. toll manufacture. The lavender purple shade of that era matches the coloration of the W.G.M.CO. production of the AM TEL & TEL CO. tolls.

	Unembossed examples of MOLDS I, II, III and IV.
	Embossed examples of MOLDS I, II, III and IV.

"Worm" parallel track left side of dome. (Mold II)	"Lehr kiss" above "TEL" (Mold III)

Leaner (Mold IV)	Harelip (Mold IV)

The similarity of color and manufacturing techniques between the CD 121 AM. TEL. & TEL. CO. tolls to known W.G.M. CO. products is significant.

MOLD II - Intermediate dome. Rounded transition upper wire ridge to dome. 3/8" & 7/8" diameter circles on dome. Embossing 2-3/8" long. The "&" is vertical. Low bar in "A". The "v" in "M" is high.

MOLD III - Broad, squarish dome. Abrupt transition upper wire ridge to dome. Embossing 2- 5/16" long. The" &" is vertical.

MOLD IV - Intermediate dome. Abrupt transition upper wire ridge to dome. There is a series of circles on dome from 1" to 1-1/8" in diameter. Embossing is 2-7/16" long. The" &" is large and slopes left.

But who was the maker? Though the evidence is purely circumstantial, I believe that a strong case can be made that these pieces were a product of the Western Glass Manufacturing Co. of Denver, Colorado. They have most often been found in the states of Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

In the spring of 1907, J. P. Morgan gained financial control of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company. Morgan promptly reinstalled Theodore Vail as President of A. T. & T. Now began the great period of standardization of the Bell Associated Companies, which in this intermountain West were the Rocky Mountain Bell Telephone Company (Utah, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming) and the Colorado Telephone Company (Colorado and New Mexico).

A common standard of business organization, construction and operating practices was quickly put in place. Also, now came an enlarged role for Western Electric Company.

In addition to being the manufacturer of switchboards, telephones and cable, Western Electric became the quartermaster of the Bell System. It would now arrange for the bulk purchase of such things as poles, cross arms, wire and insulators. And, of course, set standards which suppliers would have to meet. No longer could the Colorado Telephone Company purchase insulators from the local glass plant. If they or Rocky Mountain Bell needed insulators, they must now order them from Western Electric. THEY HAD TO!

WESTERN UNION SPECIFICATIONS

* Western Electric Specifications courtesy of Clarice Gordon.

W.G.M. CO. was faced with the prospect of losing their best insulator customers. Western Electric is not going to buy the toll W.G.M.CO. had been making -- the shape is not right, the embossing is wrong, the surface is rough and there are too many deformities. W.G.M.CO. would have to invest in some new molds. THEY HAD TO! 

And, it was about time! W.G.M.Co.'s four toll molds over the past six years, had been run to destruction. The molds leaked glass, they had become rusty and scaly, they had been repaired several times and the embossing had eroded to the point it was barely legible.

In addition to new molds, W.G.M.CO. would have to do something about their quality control. Open bubbles, underpours, rough edges, leaners, etc. would not be accepted. (See page 35.) Better training of the boys on the insulators press! Discard those insulators which do not meet spec! THEY HAD TO!

This progression of damage to the W.G.M.Co. molds permits one to roughly date the colors W.G.M. Co. made. The earliest, when the molds were fresh and new is a medium red purple trending with increasing damage to royal purple and finally a very pretty light lavender purple. (See page 33.) It is in this exact shade that the W.G.M. Co. AM. TEL & TEL.COs are usually found. 

They have also occasionally been found in the unsolarized or partially solarized W.G.M. Co. colors of straw, peach and pink. It was a straw AM. TEL. & TEL. Co, dug by a bottle digger friend in the fall of 1998, which got me interested in these and began this study.

While the AM. TEL. & TEL. CO molds were new the manufacturing process was not. They were still made the only way W.G.M. Co. knew -- hand-gathered and hand-pressed. So, even with increased inspection, these can be found with worms on the dome, harelips, leaners and lehr kisses. They fluoresce a wild, fuzzy yellow green when exposed to ultra violet light as do nearly all Denvers.

The late William L. Brookfield, in a Crown Jewels of the Wire article December, 1999, relates some of his father's trials with Western Electric. At some point, the agent suggested that Brookfield make clear glass as a competitor was doing.

"Father took a number of (his) green glass insulators and put them in a line. Then he placed the same number of clear glass ones also in a line. He put live steam on both sets. Most of the clear glass insulators cracked but not a single one of the green glass ones."

The "chubby" style of a Brookfield toll made for 
Western Electric's distribution in purple and in aqua.

Shop number "2" on the top of the purple and 
aqua Brookfield manufactured tolls.

Perhaps Mr. Brookfield relented as there are Brookfield-made purple AM. TEL. & TEL. CO. tolls as well. We might recall that in this period, the second half of the first decade of the 20th century, Brookfields only competition in the domestic manufacture of insulators were Hemingray and W.G.M. Co.

Well, Chris Hedges, if you are still out there in insulatordom, I hope this helps.