NEW FINDS IN FOREIGN GLASS FROM THE 
WILLIAMSBURG NATIONAL

The 1998 NIA Convention Show and Sale held in Williamsburg, VA the weekend of July 31st - August 2nd provided an excellent hunting ground for collectors of foreign glass and porcelain. On opening day of the show there were insulators to be had from 26 different countries throughout the hall - that's a bunch! Let's take a look at four examples that were of special interest.

CD 579 from Poland finds a little brother with a new CD - 578.7

CD 579 has already been published and is shown at the left in the photo above. It was manufactured in Poland and used on power lines in that country. This insulator is 5-1/2" tall and has a base diameter of 3-5/8". 'HUTA ROGOW' is embossed on one side of the crown and 'N.I.T-1-S' appears on the opposite side. HUTA is the Polish word for factory. This is a beautiful insulator in dark blue aqua glass. 

Rick Baldwin, who was set up next to our sales table at the show had brought a Polish glass insulator he wanted me to see. As it turned out, it was the exact same style as CD 579 but shorter and more slender, with a height of 4-5/8" and a base diameter of 2-7/8". The color of this insulator was green aqua with many amber wisps throughout the glass. Embossed on one side of the crown was a trademark that looked like this Ô with the letters 'H.R.N.' on the opposite side. Unfortunately we haven't been able to attribute these letters to either a manufacturer or a user. N.R. Woodward (Woody) has classified this insulator as a CD 578.7, which is shown on the right in the photo. Thanks for bringing it along Rick, your insulator was really a super find and a perfect little brother for CD 579.

CD 155 found with 'E I V' embossing

Dale Huber of Colfax, California was at the National with several interesting insulators he found in Chile. He asked me if I'd like to see them and of course the answer was YES! There were several interesting styles of glass in the lineup, plus an odd looking porcelain Grandma that I'll include in my next Crown Jewels of the Wire article coming up in February of '99. But the most intriguing insulator of all was a CD 155 in dark green aqua with round drip points, an American threaded pin hole, and a French embossing! Kind of like finding a fish with feathers. It looked brand new, like it came right out of the box. The insulator is 4" in height and measures 3-1/2" across the base. On the front skirt are the letters 'E I V' and on the opposite side is an embossed mold number '18' right above 'U 15'. I couldn't wait to show this insulator to Woody! He said that his E I V catalog (more complete than mine) does indeed show a drawing of a CD 155, confirming that at the time of publication this particular style was one of the company's current products. He went on to say that the insulator was probably made in Brazil by a company known as vFo or VIFOSA (Vidreria Industria Eiguerras Oliveiras S.A.) for use in Chile and other South American countries where round drip points and American threaded pin holes are in common usage. This company was eventually bought by EIV who continued to produce the 155 but preferred to identify the insulator as one of its own products by using the French embossing. EIV stands for Europeenne d'Isolateurs en Verre or European Insulators of Glass. E I V is now part of the large corporation known as SEDIVER of France.

'KARHULA PL-95' from Finland 
becomes new CD 608

In an article I wrote for the April '98 issue of Crown Jewels of the Wire I was of the opinion that only one style of glass insulator, CD 453 from Finland, had been found with the KARHULA embossing. Happily that is no longer true, thanks to Eric Johnson of Stuart, Florida, who put on a fine display of Finnish porcelain insulators at the National. Right in the center of his display was this beauty in crystal clear glass with the embossing 'KARHULA PL-95' on the front skirt. Eric allowed me to hand carry the insulator back to Houston so I could make a shadow profile and record all the measurements needed for an accurate scale drawing. It is 3-1/4" in height and 3-1/2"across the base. After a good look at it, Woody classified the insulator as new CD 608. I think he was just as excited as I was to see another style with the KARHULA embossing. 

Eric says that the KARHULA factory is located some 60 km. North of Helsinki. He will try to learn more about this company to see if they are still producing glass insulators. His friend Anne, whom several of you met at the National, says that KARHULA means "Town of the Bears". What bears, Eric? Keep us posted!

New CD 538 is assigned to 'FOLEMBRAY No. 235.'

This French jewel in dark emerald green is a real "hunker". It's exactly two ounces short of four pounds! It is 5-3/4" in height and measures 4-3/8" across the base. That means it's tall, it's heavy, it's fat, and it's one you wouldn't want to carry around too long before stopping to catch your breath. They were definitely designed for use on high voltage power lines and I give Jim Bergman credit for bringing back at least four of these from his trip to France shortly before the '98 National. The name 'FOLEMBRAY' is embossed on the front skirt and 'No 235' appears on the opposite side. The Folembray company that produced these insulators is no longer known by that name. It was purchased in 1952 by another French manufacturer called NORD-VERRE, so the insulator is at least 46 years old - which is four years short of being an authentic antique.

As a serious collector of foreign glass, I am constantly amazed that there are still so many new styles waiting to be discovered. 

Read on. . . .

BERNIE WARREN DISCOVERS THREE MORE
TREASURES IN FRANCE

New CD 699.5 for 'ISOREX 254'

Bernie refers to this insulator as his 'Monster Noser'. What an incredible find! Is he proud of it or what? It is a full 5-1/2" in height and has a base diameter of 3-1/2". 'ISOREX' is embossed low on the front skirt and the number '254' appears on the opposite side. There is an inner skirt, though it is not visible through the dark olive green glass unless the insulator is held up to the light. To date, I believe this is the largest glass 'noser' to be found. Based on that assumption, Woody assigned the last available CD number in the 600 series to this gargantuan piece of glass - CD 699.5.

New CD 686.4 assigned 
to 'FOLEMBRAY No 290'

During one of his recent trips to France, Bernie found this miniature one armed 'robot' and it really captured his heart. It is the only example known at this time and happens to be in perfect mint condition. Though it is similar to CD 686.2 'FOLEMBRAY No 292', which was published in the June '97 issue of Crown Jewels of the Wire, CD 686.4 is enough shorter and narrower to warrant its own CD number. It was a privilege just to borrow it long enough to make a shadow profile and record measurements. The insulator is 4-1/2" in height and measures 2-1/2" across the base. The glass color of this insulator is a pretty yellow green which, with a few exceptions, is typical of most FOLEMBRAY insulators.

CD 640 with the rare 'EST' embossing

CD 640, the French insulator often described as a 'gingerbread boy' due to its unique shape, has been fairly easy to find on sales tables just about any time a show is held. Nearly every collector of foreign glass has at least one on the shelf. During the years, several different companies in France have produced this style, each factory adding its own trademark to the glass. Examples include ISOREX, V.A., FOLEMBRAY, L'ELECTRO VERRE, SAV, CL, YERRERIES DE REIMS, EIY, etc. Obviously, the 640 has been an efficient insulator and was used widely on French lines. 

The particular example shown in the photo on the previous page has the 'ISOREX' embossing on the front skirt with the numbers '35/3' on the opposite side. It is 4" tall and has a base diameter of 2-1/2". Nothing unusual there. But the added letters EST change the picture considerably! Many CD 642 's, the larger gingerbread insulators, have the 'EST' embossing, but until just a short time ago, we had not seen it on a 640. EST is the French word for East, and it indicated that the insulators were to be used on the east branch of the French National Railway Company known as SNCF, or Societe Nationale de Chemin de fer Francais. Apparently, there were more 642's than 640's in service along the railway. 

While in France, Bernie Warren was able to find a small number of 640's in dark olive green with both the 'ISOREX' and 'EST' embossing. Two examples were seen at the Williamsburg National and quickly found homes.

Unembossed Finnish insulator 
is classified as new CD 438

Just a short time ago, Eric Johnson received another glass insulator from his friend in Finland. He thinks it may have come from the KARHULA factory but with no embossing on the piece, it is nearly impossible to find out what company produced it, or even if it is of Finnish origin. The insulator is made of light blue glass and appears to be a fairly new product, probably designed for use on the side of a building. It is 2-1/4" in height and measures 1-7/8" across the base. New CD 438 has been assigned to this little insulator. Hope you find more of these Eric - they're precious!