2006 >> April >> Foreign Insulators  

Foreign Insulators
Submitted by Lis and Jim Bergman Anchorage, Alaska

Reprinted from "Crown Jewels of the Wire", April 2006, page 22

Verreries de Folembray Go-withs

Over the past few years we have had the good fortune to obtain several interesting Verreries de Folembray go-withs. Some of these items were made by the Verreries de Folembray while some items were made by companies for the Verreries de Folembray.
                                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                            

The first item is a porcelain sauceboat made by the Verreries des Sarrequemines for the Verreries de Folembray. We were told that it was originally part of a dinner service. Whether M. Ie Comte de Poilly de Brigode de Kemlandt (the owner of the Verreries) used this service is not known. Perhaps it was a gratuitous gift to an employee for long service we will never know but in any case it is a prized possession of ours.

The second item is a glass lid from a "bocaux a conserve" (preserving fruit jar) made by the Verreries de Folembray. This is in a rare pale cornflower blue color until now an unknown color for Folembray. Unfortunately this was sent badly packed and arrived broken but I have been able to put all the parts together again. Why blue? Was there more blue? We have recently learnt that a blue ashtray exists. The square shape with Verreries de Folembray embossing. So far it is privately owned by a friend but we are working on prying it away from him. Now we are on the hunt for a cornflower blue insulator!


The third item is actually two. They are two mechanical stamps. What a find. (a) a round stamp with "Verreries de Folembray" and "Le Directeur" around the edge of the stamp and a changeable date stamp in the middle. (b) a rectangular stamp with "Verreries Folembray" and "Services Isolateurs" and again a changeable date stamp.

Both these stamps are made of bronze and probably had wooden handles at one time. Both have latches that release to allow the stamp to rotate to a stamppad. The dates begin in 1920. The Verreries de Folembray was badly damaged in the First World War and was completely rebuilt between June 1919 and 1922.


The fourth item is a prize possession - the color copy of the cover of the 1928 Verreries de Folembray catalog. I have had a B & W copy for several years but it is only recently I have received it in color. It is a great addition to our growing collection of Verreries de Folembray memorabilia.



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