Preferably direct porcelain news items and questions directly to Jack H. Tod, 3427 N. 47th Place, Phoenix, Ariz. 85018. All mail will be answered if reply stamp is enclosed, and the most newsworthy items and questions of general interest will be published as space permits.

Jim Allen, 850 S. Missouri, Springfield, Mo. 65806 (formerly of Phoenix) recently found a new Illinois dry press style (usual "MACOMB" marking) as illustrated here. This item is very similar to the U-244 except for the round dome. 

A study of the exact contours and also the character and location of the MACOMB embossing leads to the conclusion that this is a completely different die set than the U-244, and not merely the U-244 die set with a different crown portion. We would like to hear from others having this item.

Dear Jack:

A friend of mine went to Spain on a recent trip, and I asked him if he saw any insulators to bring me some. He brought me a number of one kind (shown here, 2-5/8" by 4"), and I'm sending one to you separately.

Not being a porcelain collector, I have no idea if this insulator is a good collector item or not. Can you help as to collector value, etc.? 
John Camp 
Jackson, Miss.

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Dear John:

Many thanks for the specimen and which I'll add to the reference collection.

Whether it be stamps, coins or insulators, it in difficult for collectors to get too enthused about foreign items if they cannot associate them with things such an their manufacture, the country's history, economics, culture, etc. Thus far nobody has traveled the world to research foreign insulators, their history and their use, and I don't see anyone very enthusiastic about that either, considering the magnanimity of the task.

Nevertheless, some people do collect insulators and other items without specific knowledge of their origin or use, and I believe these would create some trading activity for you with a sticker price in the $3 to $4 range.

My personal opinion is that the wire groove and tiewire methods on these foreign styles is really stinko from the reliability standpoint, but they have been that way for all these years, so I guess the foreign countries have learned to live with these lousy desings. Some styles are much worse in this respect than the item you have. 

Jack

The incuse marking at the right has been reported by several collectors on pin type cable styles, and these are reportedly in use on the Ontario Hyrdro lines in Canada.

I believe this is a "customer marking" and that the insulators are Canadian Porcelain Co. Can one of you fellows up that way let us know what this marking is?

Dear Jack:

... Also enclosed is a drawing of a porcelain insulator that I have with no information on. Can you help out on this one? It will be for sale or trade for good glass only later on.

It is marked "U.S. PAT. 2,376,410" on one side and "KENT PRODUCTS CO. Chicago, Ill." on the other. The two grooved disks and end piece slide up and down on the central shaft. It's about 5" long overall.
James (Pete) Dennis
The Dalles, Oregon

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Dear James:

We ran this item in the February 1970 issue of Crown Jewels (page 10), but this is the 5th or 6th query we've had on it since then, so we will print the answer again.

This is Patent 2,376,410, May 22, 1945, and it is a porcelain filter for a drip coffee maker. Since these turn up so often in the junk box at our Good-will Workshop, I presume they must not have worked so well. Let me know how you make out on your trade for good glass later on. 

Jack

LET'S BE REALISTIC
(An editorial)

There is an ever-growing tendency on the part of some collectors to abuse the terms "Rare" and "Scarce" in the description of insulators. This is in evidence on trade lists, in ads and at insulator show bourse tables. The terms will lose their descriptive value altogether if their indiscriminate use is not abated.

A "Rare" collector item is one which is so infinitely desirable and exists in such limited numbers that a specimen rarely is available for sale (at any price).

A "Scarce" collector item is one where the supply is insufficient to meet all potential demand but which can be located for purchase with persistent efforts.

An "Uncommon" collector item is one where the supply is sufficient to meet the demand but which has very limited distribution compared with other similar items.

Some insulators listed as "Rare" are scarce at best, and some are even outright common. It is unfortunate that the words "rare" and "scarce" are so short and easy to write down. It seems collectors really mean to say, "I didn't see one of these at the only two shows I've ever been to, and the retired lineman down the street says he had never seen one." All this is abbreviated and simplified on the trade list to "RARE!!"

Even fairly experienced and knowledgeable collectors mislabel items as "rare" or "scarce" just because they personally haven't seen the item in their travels. Some porcelain styles are completely unknown in all parts of the country except for one or several small areas where nearly all of the insulators are of that style. There have been over 11,000 independent electric utilities in this country, and every one had their own particular habits concerning insulator styles. Just because we don't get into the area where particular styles were used does not give cause to calling them rare.

It is also obvious some collectors try to "romance" certain insulators and justify an unreasonably high price tag by labeling them as "Rare!". This may unethically dupe some neophyte collectors, but it makes the seller look foolish in the eyes of other collectors who know better. After all, an insulator will either sell or it won't at any given price depending on the competition and how badly the buyer wants it. If you have an insulator which everyone else is selling for $3, it still isn't correct to put "RARE" on your list to help justify your incorrect price of $20. Two wrongs don't make a right.

There probably in no single person or even a group of individuals who have been to enough insulator shows, seen enough collections and driven around all the towns and cities in the country to actually determine if a given insulator style is really common, scarce or rare. Would it not be better then to quit confusing the issue by the unfounded rarity descriptions and let the insulator availability speak for itself?

A similar but worse problem comes up when someone makes a statement such an "One of only 5 known" or the like. Known to whom? With the exception of several highly-publicized rare and highly desirable specimens, there isn't anyone in the country qualified to make such rarity determination. The last time such a statement accidentally got printed in Crown Jewels, there was a veritable flood of mail received from other collectors who all had the same insulator.

There are a number of porcelain pin types of which I personally have seen or heard of only one specimen, and it would be truthful to state "Only one specimen known to me" - but, so what? Even in all my travels, I see only a small percentage of the insulator collections and a very minute amount of the area of this country in which insulators are used. The number I alone have seen is meaningless. No company ever tooled up to make just a few of anything, and items I have not seen myself may be common as dirt in some areas of the country.

Would it not be better then to refrain from using the statement "One of only X known" unless you can qualify the statement with reference to some exhaustive survey made to inquire of the other 10,000 collectors to make an accurate inventory of the item? 

Jack H. Tod

Dear Jack:

Noticed your two articles on nail knobs and special knobs in the May and June Crown Jewels. I picked up an odd one I've sketched here (redrawn at right) which is a two-piece type with a round top, no markings, glazed white. What is this?

Edmund Circle 
McCune, Kansas

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Dear Ed:

This is called a "Paragon Knob" and was the creation of Paragon Electric Co., Chicago, Ill. (factory in Manitowoc, Wis.). There use is obvious - for surface wiring of twisted pairs such as phone leadins. These were made for many years by Findlay and possibly other porcelain companies and may have been a popular item judging from their widespread use. 

Jack

Here are some more interesting glass and porcelain look-alikes. The glass insulator is on the left in each photo, and all photos here are not to the same scale. More next mouth, space permitting.

1. Glass CD-251, "LYNCHBURG No. #1, aqua. Porcelain U-410, Pittsburg No. 43 (no name), brown.

2. Glass CD-220, "HEMINGRAY - 670", clear. Porcelain U-791 (Similar), "O-B", Ohio Brass No. 34848, brown.

3. Glass CD-257, "HEMINGRAY - 60", aqua. Porcelain U-395, Pittsburg No. 34 (no name), brown.

4. Glass CD-285, "Edison" type (no name), aqua. Porcelain U-356A, Pinco No. 249 (no name) brown.

5. Glass CD-287, "F. M. LOCKE VICTOR N.Y. / No. 15", aqua. Porcelain U-344, G. P. Co. #131 (no name), brown.

6. Glass CD-152, "B", Brookfield No. 48, black glass. Porcelain U-177, Locke No. 3188 (no name), brown.

The pictures above illustrate the "magic of firing" in the manufacture of porcelain. In each photo, the item on the left is the insulator before it is fired and the one on the right is after firing. The 12% firing shrinkage is quite noticeable.

The insulator in the left photo is the Pinco No. 12064, U-735. Note that the radio treatment glaze here is an iron oxide overglaze application.

The insulator in the right photo is the I-T-E No. 5R, U-657. In this case, the radio treatment glaze is applied first before the regular glaze. This glaze permeates the regular glaze during firing and shows through as an ochre brown color. Note also that this style is fired upright on the petticoat instead of upside down an the Pinco example.

Dear Jack:

I have two porcelain insulators similar to the enclosed sketch. One is a light brown Lapp, and the other is an unmarked dark brown one. I found both near New Haven, Conn. Would like some information on these insulators as to price and if they are rare.
Gary Arthur 
West Haven, Conn.

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Dear Gary: 

We ran very similar items in the October 1972 column, page 26. These are known as "wireholders" usually used for short service spans such as from alley poles to a house. Wireholders always have been and still are a common item of manufacture, but these skirted designs are far less common than the ordinary ones with flat bases. Your unmarked one might fetch $1 or so and the Lapp one up to $3 from any Lapp specialists. 

Jack

HELP!! Some of the most interesting history of early porcelain pin type manufacture remains hidden, and I would like to hear from anyone who has or known the whereabouts of any 1893-1900 catalogs or any other form of paperwork picturing the pin type styles manufactured in that era by: General Electric Co., Schenectady; Peru Electric Mfg. Co., Peru, Ind.; Imperial Porcelain Works, Trenton; Electrical Porcelain & Mfg. Co., Trenton.

We would also like to locate any paperwork showing pin types made by Virginia Pottery Co., Now Lexington, Ohio (circa 1905-1913); Anderson Porcelain Co., E. Liverpool, Ohio (1905-1913); Ceramic Specialties Co., East Liverpool, Ohio (1932-1955); Ohio Porcelain Co., E. Liverpool, Ohio (ca. 1905-1913); Star Porcelain Co., Trenton (1901-1907).

Please check the dark corners of the book cases at any very old utility company offices in your area, and let's try to come up with something. 

Jack

We've had several questions about inverted handstamp markings on porcelain - their scarcity, desirability, etc. Normally the workmen took at least some care to apply the markings upright, and the upside-down markings are quite uncommon. Nevertheless, collectors usually prefer "good" marker impressions, and this means neatly applied ones with the entire design readable and right side up so you don't have to stand on your head to read it. Similarly, precancel stamp collectors shun the inverted handstamp specimens like the plague!

I would like to thank all those who have written to say they have enjoyed the porcelain column, and I want to wish all insulator fans a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I'll let jolly U-982 below send you my greetings, and you may have to work at it a bit to get the Christmas message there. Don't give up though. It's there.