January 1975 Porcelain Insulator News

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 answered as space permits.

Supplement C (January 1975) to "Porcelain Insulators Guide Book for Collectors" in now available. Contains new markings, 20 new U- number shapes, pricing info etc. This makes a total of 931 U- numbers for different porcelain unipart pin type shapes, but new ones that are really different enough for drawings have now slowed to a trickle.

Order from dealers or from Jack H. Tod, 3427 N. 47th Place, Phoenix, AZ 85018. Price is $1.00 which includes first class postage. Included free with all orders for the book plus both Supplements A and B.

Some collectors do not yet have Supplements A and B. Supplement C sent free with orders for both supplements, and $.50 with orders for Supplement B only.

Reference the "VARLEY'S PATENT" insulator on page 17, Nov 1974 Crown Jewels. Gerald Brown (Two Buttes, Colo.) advises that this is one of C. F. Varley's 1868 patents.

Image text:

76,35S-CROMWELL FLEETWOOD VARLEY, NEW York, N. Y.-Electric Telegraph.--April 7, 1868.-- insulator has an outer coat of porcelain and an inner coat of gutta-percha. Its outer side beneath the holding groove is glazed, to prevent adherence of water; but above the groove is unglazed so as to enable its test, by dilute sulphuric acid, Without trusting to the glazing, which is liable to become fractured by the elements. Claw lugs above and below the groove serve to secure the wire therein.

Claim.--1. Making Insulators for telegraph wires of two or more insulating caps, exclusive of the cement which unites them, each cap being a complete insulator in itself, so that if one of the caps be defective the other or others shall arrest the electric current, as set forth.

2. The use of a non-conducting pin inside an insulating cap, such pin being constructed of iron or steel covered with hard rubber, or being formed of stoneware or porcelain, substantially as described.

3. Glazing the lower part of porcelain or stoneware or earthenware caps, and leaving, the upper part unglazed, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

4. Making the lower edge of the insulator cap externally sharp, but internally rounded, so that drops of rain, when blown outward, shall fall off, and when blown inward shall not break off, but run, by capillary attraction, up the rounded surface out of the wind, substantially as set forth.

5. Making porcelain or stoneware or earthenware caps with two or more projecting ears, in combination with and arranged above and below the groove for the wire, so that when the insulator is inclined to the wire the latter can be inserted, but when at right angles to it the latter cannot be gotten out, as set forth.

He had six patents during that period, and the most likely one covering this insulator in #76,358 of 4-7-68.

Unfortunately, our library is missing the 1868 Vol. III which has the drawings for 1868 1st half, but the patent text indicates insulator made in "two caps", the outer one of porcelain just as Banfill's specimen. At least we know more now than we previously did.

The unusual N.E.G.M. glass cable insulator reported by Leslie Lidtke on page 99 of the Nov 1974 Crown Jewels is a tremendous glass insulator find, but it should also be news to porcelain fans.

Note the U-406 in our porcelain Universal Style Chart (shown at right). This item was cataloged as a No. 7 Cable on page 34 of the 1908 catalog of The New Lexington High Voltage Porcelain Co.

N. R. Woodward's history relates that N.E.G.M. Co. was in business for a brief period commencing in 1899. Now Lexington HV was founded in 1903 and made porcelains for an estimated 10 years thereafter. It is therefore difficult to tell who copied whom or if the two items were made concurrently.

This glass specimen is of great interest to us because a porcelain specimen hasn't been located yet, and it tends to raise our hopes that someone will eventually find one. New Lexington also cataloged the U-405 and U-408.

I dropped in on the Keene Bottle Show and was fortunate to get a U-272 with "G" marking, and this Is a new one for "G" marking.

Also added recently a very pretty NEW LEXINGTON, 0. This was standing upside down in an antique shop of fellow who looks for insulators for me. It looked like a Fred Locke glaze, and I sure was surprised when I turned it over and saw the marking. It has nice graceful lines (sketched above).
Lew Hohn,
Rochester, N.Y.

I'm enclosing a photo (above left) of some porcelain bushings made by General Porcelain Co. and which were drilled through at the factory to use as lamps. The one on the left is cobalt blue, and the other is a spongeware type of glaze. The pretty vase in the note was made by Thomas and has the marking I've sketched (above right).

Also enclosed is a photo and sketch of an unusual self-tying knob and the markings on it. I would appreciate any information you might have on this patent & marking.
Jerry Turner
Goshen, Ohio

This knob is patent #479,134 of July 19, 1892, Chauncey E. Conover, Cincinnati, Ohio. C. E. Conover also had other patents on special knobs.

The knob has a normal tie-wire groove but also a slot as shown with ears that held the wire down when the knob was rotated counterclockwise and then screwed down.

The marking is undoubtedly for Electric Railway Equipment Co., 2900 Cormany Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio, manufacturer of overhead line material for electric railways and mines, ornamental street lamps, etc. No telling which porcelain company made these for that company.

Dee Willett (Bakersfield, Cal.) recently found the above insulator and which is an addition to the Universal style chart as U-923D. This specimen is an off-white color as seen on other styles made by Fred Locke in the 1901-1902 period, and it has a 4-line/6-date stamp different from the one previously recorded.

Note lower case letters in the months and also the 4-digit years instead of abbreviated years. This is undoubtedly the first style of non-eared crosstop made by Fred Locke and in comparable style to those made for him by Imperial and other companies in the 1895-1899 period. I estimate this specimen was made in early 1902. It is one piece (not a glazeweld) and is Top Rest.

When at Washington Court House "flea market", the boys garnered this porcelain SURGE (sketch at right), and it has the recess-embossed marking shown by the enclosed foil impression. I looked at the other porcelain SURGE shown on page 12 of the Nov. 1971 Crown Jewels. and this in a completely different animal. It also has a bottom mounting slot (3/16" x 7/8").

Incidentally, I am still looking for a white U-223 two-piece tramp and a U-197 Macomb tramp, and let me know if you hear of anyone with either of these for swap or sale.
Jerry Turner,
Goshen, Ohio

That porcelain SURGE is a good find, and these two solitary specimens sure pose a question of just what was made for Babson's "Surge" line in porcelain. I haven't seen others in collections, and no one has ever reported these in use or as found in any quantity.

I have seen a U-223 tramp and several U-197 Macomb for sale in ads recently, and I'm sure you'll get them if you persist. They're both TUF but not unobtainable.

Enclosed is a photo and sketch of a white porcelain beehive and which has an incuse "GISBORNE PATTERN" marking just above the wire groove.

Could you please send me information on this one? Who made it, what the marking stands for, its value? Also, what in its U- number?
David Harting
N. Canton, Ohio

This in a foreign style, and thus it isn't in the U- chart. Others have previously asked about the Gisborne Pattern marking, but I know nothing of its meaning. Hopefully some reader can tell us about it, and we'll print the answer. As I understand it, these are found in Canada, and I've seen then on show tables in the $5 to $10 price range.

I am sending to you a cobalt blue Boston Bottle Works porcelain insulator and would like your personal opinion on this insulator & what the value may be. I talked to Brad Cook about it, and he recommended I contact you and that you could tell me more about it than they could, seeing that it's porcelain
A. J. Valek
5140 W. 7th St.
Brooklyn Hts, OH 44131

Everything about this specimen leads me to believe that it is not a legitimate insulator. My personal opinion is that this is a modern creation of some individual. But, of course, I have no way of being 100% positive of this - just 95%.

First, Boston Bottle Works became defunct by 1877. They made glass products, including some insulators, and there would have been no incentive for them to contract a ceramics company to make insulators for them.

Secondly, the insulator style is comparable to styles developed well after 1900, and the cobalt blue glazes on porcelain insulators wasn't used until approximately 1920.

Thirdly, whereas commercial porcelain insulators are fired on prepared unglazed firing surfaces, this item was fired on a tripod stilt such as used by art ceramicists (and hobbiests). The very crude pin hole is undersize and is exactly as if a threaded pin were used to make the threads in the damp clay - and thus, not allowing for the 12% firing shrinkage,

I repeat, I could be wrong about this item being spurious, but if I were called upon by the National Insulator Association to authenticate this specimen for its admissibility on the premises of any NIA-sanctioned show, I would have to rule it as a probable fake.

Needless to say, I would appreciate learning the origin of this thing or where you happened to get it.

Frank Anderson (Charlotte, Vt.) has the hanger insulator sketched above. It hangs from a cast iron bracket, opens up to accept the cable, and a wire through the bottom hole secures it closed around the cable. It is brown, unmarked, about 7" long by 2" overall thickness.

We would like to hear from anyone who has information on these -- manufacturer, vintage, etc.

Porcelain Insulators have been "accumulating" in my basement more or less as a sidelight to my glass insulator collection. Recently, I set about to put these in a displayable order. The task soon became impossible because of the variety of shapes, and no convenient numbering system like the CD numbering system for glass.

I note in Crown Jewels and Cross Arms reference to your books for pin type porcelain which include a style chart. In order to make some sense out of the chaos in my basement I'm enclosing an order for your books.

... and I have an insulator with a BOCH PATENT marking and like I've sketched (a U-928A). To what does the patent relate? If you've a copy of the patent, please advise how I might obtain a copy....
Chuck Dittmar
825 Brookfield Ave.
Youngstown, Ohio 44512

Yes, the Universal Style Chart (U- numbers) in my book is identical to Woodward's Consolidated Design chart (CD- numbers) except that it has all the porcelain shapes. Both charts use 1/4-size machine drawings. Part of your chaos comes from the fact that the CD- chart has only 261 drawings for all the glass styles including the multipart pin types (but excluding threadless), but the U- chart has 931 different porcelain styles (no multiparts) published to date, and new ones still keep cropping up.

You'll find a complete discussion of the Boch Patent in my book and the history behind it. If you just want to see what this and all the more important patents for porcelains look like, get Gerald Brown's 2nd Edition and also his supplement. These books have all these patents reproduced for your reference. (See ads in CJ for ordering.)

If you want an actual copy of any patent itself, you can order it from:
Commissioner of Patents
Washington, D.C. 20231

Send either (1) the patent number, or (2) the full name of the inventor and the approximate date patent was issued. Each patent is 50 cents, and don't hold your breath until you receive it from Washington. (Boch patent is #600,475.)

If you just want to look up a patent indicated on any insulator and which isn't shown in Brown's books, you can do this by consulting the U.S. Patent Gazette and the Patent Office Annual Reports (Indexes). Hundreds of libraries are official depositories and have the complete sets of these - state universities, state archives, many large public libraries, etc.

If the specimen has either the patent number or the patent date, or a combination of the inventor's name and the patent date, you can usually find the patent in the Index and then look it up in the Gazettes.

As an alternative to trying to find it yourself, send the marking data and a sketch of the item to me, and I'll more than likely have it in my own card file of patents if it was between 1890 & 1919 inclusive. I have nearly 1,000 of these recorded, and the file cards have identifying information as shown below.