You might be interested in some research that my wife and I have carried out on Canadian glass making, and in particular some evidence as to the source of at least some Canadian insulators.

In reading an article on The Canada Glass Company's Works at Hudson on the Ottawa River, we noted that the company made, at first, druggists' bottles and telegraph insulators in 1864. ("Statement relating to Trade . . for 1867," cited by Gerald Stevens, Canadian Glass c.1825-1925, p. 41, Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1967.) We have seen reference to this in other books on Canadian glass companies.

With this information in hand, we visited the site of the old factory, only to find a well protected estate, and the original summer home that George Matthews owned in 1850 still occupied. Digging being out of the question, we were allowed to look around at the old foundations and the slag dump, now a flower garden of considerable pride to the owner.

The pieces of insulators that we found were most interesting, and of a size large enough for positive identification. These we treasure, and we hope they will serve to reveal the source of some of the insulators cherished by the readers of Crown Jewels. We have three large pieces of the CD 742.1 M.T. Co., one with the embossing T.M. Co, an error in the arrangement of the Montreal Telegraph letters. Perhaps more interesting is one piece of a CD 726 with a 1/2" tear drop line on the inside of the skirt. We have seen this exact same mark on two aqua CD 726's and on the plum red insulator originally owned by Kerry Lavendoski of Brasher Falls, New York, but since sold at the Hershey show. Tied into this particular insulator are the pieces of the same colour glass that we found at the site. Even more curious are the several pieces of CD 721 small Wades, unembossed, but with the dot and dash lines and tapering to the base. Some of the pieces are smooth sided, with the ridge 1" up from the base.

Although we have searched the area for two summers, and turned up pieces of threadless insulators and bottles, we have not been able to find a complete piece of glass. However, one cannot expect too much from an area that has been well worked over since manufacturing ceased in 1878 to 1880. Our pleasure has been great in just being able to trace one of the sources of the Canadian threadless insulators.