We have been getting a lot of reports about some interesting porcelain insulators. This month we will present a good mixture of unusual shapes in multiparts, rare threadless, and an incredible value at a flea market.

Paul Axman (NIA #4961) always seems to come up with something interesting in Canadian multi-parts, There aren’t many collectors in his area that share his interest, so Paul just about has his pick of what there is available. The first one is new multipart style M-2320A, measuring 7.5 - 6 x 6. (Photo below) It has a very distinctive profile and large crown. The glaze is a beautiful slightly mottled speckled rust with a large incuse mark on the crown that looks like a cent mark or I inside a C. (Below.) This same marking has been reported on some U-610 specimens found in Canada. M-2320A was cataloged by the Canadian Porcelain Co. in the 1920’s, but I do not know what the marking means.

Paul’s next insulator, M-2512, is also a new style cataloged by the Canadian Porcelain Co. in the 1920’s. It has a similar profile, crown, and flared bottom skirt like M-2320A, but the glaze color looks more mahogany. Paul reported finding several M-2615’s with a variety of markings. One specimen has an underglaze ink “C.P.” marking under the top skirt and an underglaze ink “8/27” marking on the outside of the bottom skirt (see photo). It seem obvious that this insulator was made in August 1927. Others of this style do not have these markings but do have either an incuse “A.F.” or incuse “H.H.” under the top skirt. Paul says the periods in the initials are square shaped.

Unmarked M-2512 made by
Canadian Porcelain Co.
8.5 - 7 - 4 x 7

Canadian Porcelain Co. M-2615
9 - 7.5 - 3 x 6

Paul also found a rare U.S. jewel. It is M-2340 with a nice gray glaze and incuse marking THOMAS under the top skirt. One of these showed up at the Allentown National and was quickly snapped up by Jimmy Burns (NIA #4032). These were made circa 1905-1910.

Doug MacGillvary (NIA #259) reported finding two specimens of a new threadless style, U-971. Both specimens are finely made pottery insulators with a shiny gray glaze. They have three short petticoats in the same fashion as Elliott threadless styles U-979 and U-980 which leaves little doubt that these were manufactured by Bennington Potteries circa 1850’s.

U-980 Elliott between two U-971’s.

Ken Willick (NIA #3709) reported what is easily the flea market find of the year. He found an unmarked U-376 with a white glaze. It is a little smaller at 4-7/8 x 4 compared to 5-1/8 x 4-3/8 for the previous one-of-a-kind specimen that has a unique pale blue glaze with darker blue specks. Unfortunately, Ken had to spend all of his coffee money to purchase this super rare jewel — a nice shiny quarter!! Wow, that is being at the right place at the right time! Ken was lucky that he did not have a hole in his pocket or he would have lost that quarter before he could make the purchase (He probably ripped a hole in his pocket reaching for the quarter). U-376 is one of the Etheridge patent (patented June 25, 1901) insulators made to fit on a hollow pin. The insulator was held in place by a flat spring clip inside the pin with bend ends that extended out the top and bottom. The top end of the clip fit inside the groove in the pinhole to secure the insulator on the pin and the bottom clip kept the pin from coming out of the crossarm. This allowed the insulator to rotate freely on the pin. A rolled section near the middle of the pin prevented the pin from falling through the hole in the crossarm. No pins have ever been found. The blue specimen of U-376 has the incuse marking “LIMA, N.Y.” on the crown, so Ken’s white specimen was probably a cousin to it, since he found it near his hometown of Lima, NY. Yes, Ken lives in the heart of Lima and Fred Locke country.

Three rare white porcelain insulators:
U-184 embossed Harloe Patent,
U-376, and unmarked Thomas 3-part “glaze-filled” U-944