Research Division

Reprinted from "INSULATORS - Crown Jewels of the Wire", December 1978, page 25

Going thru a collection I bought several months ago, I found the bottom of a CD 190/191 A.T. & T. Co. 7. That was all the lettering, and I thought the 7 was most unusual. I went back thru my Crown Jewels, as I thought I had read something about someone else reporting a similar specimen. However, I failed to come up with any mention of such a find. 

My first thought was that the 7 was a blob of glass caused by turning the hot insulator in the mold, as all of the lettering is slurred to the right. However, upon close examination, the seven is very well defined and apparently was a part of the mold lettering. 

Would appreciate any information or comments on this. 
Sincerely yours, 
Jim Woods 
R.R. #4 - Box 22 
Galesburg, IL 61401

I bought this item recently in an antique store in Key West, Fla. Is it an insulator? Has it any value? 

It is the palest green glass and looks very old. The bottom has an indentation but no threads. 

It has no markings except for those on the top as I've sketched.
Ellen Sammis 
Box 163 
Huntington, NY 11743

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Dear Ellen: 

My rather complete file of insulator patents has nothing matching these dates, but curiosity got the better of me, so I looked up this gadget for you at the University library. 

You have a "Stopper for Bottles and Jars". The 9-2-84 patent is #304,312 of Winslow W. Guptill, Boston, assignor to Lafayette Jar & Stopper Co., Jersey City, N.J. The 8-4-85 patent is #323,636 (Preserve- jar Stopper) of James Conly, Philadelphia, assignor to G. Wells Root, Hartford, Conn. -- a modification of the original 1884 design. 

The complete device involved this glass item plus some gasket material and a retaining yoke. It could be a nice goody item for jar collectors, but you're on your own in chasing down information on that possibility. 

Jack Tod