I have a Hemingray CD 121. This is a puzzler to me. This has very unusually small embossing "Hemingray" on the back. A little larger is "Patent May 2 1893" (note no cross bar in A). Now we all know this is the patent for drips, but this insulator is dripless. Are these rare? Who has one? I have found only one and know of one other.

In reply to Ed Saulsbury: 

Yes, I would think that the CD 121 with smooth skirt and the marking HEMINGRAY and the May 2, 1893 date is rare. I have not seen or heard of this one. It evidently came about during their production as a somewhat off-beat item. As you know, the CD 121 was the standard A. T. & T. Co. toll insulator for quite a number of years. Hemingray made some of these for them that have a smooth skirt and are lettered AM. TEL. & TEL. CO. It is difficult to put into writing, but with a little familiarity these can be readily distinguished from Brookfields of the same style and period. Later, these same molds were re-lettered with the Hemingray name and were used with a base rim that made drip points. It is possible to identify the same mold at times; first with the AM. TEL. & TEL. CO. marking, then with this removed and replaced with the Hemingray name. Both of these are common, as are some of the earlier Hemingrays that have only the Hemingray name (no No. 16) and the May 2, 1893 patent date. Just how this oddball item came into being will possibly not be known. But I would say it is an item of value to those looking for the more minor variations in production.

Question sent in by Jerry Witulski of Denver, Colorado: 

Do you know when Carnival insulators were first made?

In reply to Jerry Witulski: 

We do not have very definite or accurate data on surface treatment of glass insulators. It is possible that it was tried on a limited basis in earlier days, but I have never heard of such an insulator being found. The two companies that have made relatively large numbers of iridized insulators are Corning and Owens-Illinois (Hemingray). Corning was first in the field and did not begin pintype insulator production until the mid-1920's. It was very possible during the years immediately following the depression that iridizing was begun. Around 1930 there was almost no insulator production of any kind; and the Corning insulators made prior to that were not surface treated as far as is know at the present. However, this does not prove the point conclusively.

The first Corning insulators were treated simply for the sake of appearance, for use as marker insulators on power supply wires on railway signal circuits. Thereafter it was learned that the particular material used to coat the surface also gave particularly high insulating quality to the surface. (Such a material would naturally be used, as it would not be tolerable to coat the insulator with something that would lower its resistance to the passage of current. ) At this point, Western Union engineers became interested in this characteristic, and the Hemingray TS-2 was made to their specifications. This was probably the first Hemingray insulator to be iridized, and it was made in 1935. While the TS-2 never became a standard item, other styles of insulators were treated in a similar manner by both Corning and Owens-Illinois for a number of years. It is not known that anyone else has made iridized insulators, and it is not known that they were made under the 1890 Gayner patent that you mentioned.

Now--a remark or two on the January 1970 Crown Jewels: In regard to the lead article--may I make a suggestion? You are entirely correct in your thoughts that the porcelain insulators are becoming more popular and will be collected more and more as time passes. In commercial terms, these have been nearly always referred to as porcelain insulators. While the words "pottery" and "ceramic" are not incorrect in themselves, it would seem that now, while the hobby is just getting a foothold, it would be well for collectors to go along with the technically-accepted word-Porcelain-for all of these pieces. The words "pottery", "ceramic", or even "china", as is sometimes used, may be more glamorous-but technically, they are all Porcelain!


The Dry Spot Insulator (Crown Jewels, January 1970, pages 33-34) A.E.CO. would be Automatic Electric Company, now of Northlake, Illinois. This is a large and diversified manufacturing and supply organization. Quite possible, though, the porcelain pieces were made for them by one of the porcelain insulator makers. This could be taken up directly with them; they could very likely give the story on these.

The Brookfield insulators (Crown Jewels, January 1970, pages 32-33): I haven't seen this particular mold with drip points, but the same error mold was also used in making units with a smooth skirt. These I have seen. By the way, the Brookfield No. 48 with drip points is not extremely common, and should be treated with respect. An absolutely perfect one would be really nice to have.

Reference to Crown Jewels, January 1970, page 30: The complete line of Lynchburgs includes numbers 1, 2, 10, 30 (both CD 121 and CD 122), 31, 32, 36, 38 (also 38-20), 43, 44, 48, 53 (also 530), 90 (CD 106 same as 10), 140 (CD 160 same as 32), 160 (CD 121 same as early 30), 180, 181, and 620 (CD 252 same as 2). This is actual production at
Lynchburg. Some of these, such as 160, 1 have not seen in any but a Gayner; and it is possible that some of the Gayner molds were used at Lynchburg in their first runs without changing the name. This will not be proved one way or the other until we find one with this number and the Lynchburg name.