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 published as space permits.

Dear Jack:

I recently acquired a U-402 which has a nice bold KNOX marking (recess-embossed). It has the typical Knox chocolate brown glaze color.

In April 1973 I acquired a 3" porcelain ceiling rosette with the very fancy, artistic marking shown by the enclosed foil impression. In the keystone is what appears to be H. P. Co. or HUT P Co., and note parts of the artistic letters are twig-like branches. 

This marking might tie in with the H. P. Co. marking found on the cleat of Vance Rightmire (Texas) cited by you in the Nov 1973 CJ, page 26. This marking has been very perplexing to me for some time, and maybe you can help satisfy my curiosity.

About two years ago I acquired from a high voltage trouble shooting lineman in the mountains west of Denver, a U-792 Locke Hi-Top #77 with what I think is a rare marking error for a more recent style of porcelain pin type. Note the reversed USA (drawing above). This insulator has the incuse marking on the skirt.
Fred Hildebrand, 
Lakewood, Colo.

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Dear Fred:

Many thanks for clearing up the U-402 facts. Turns out Knox made these that are like the U-402 (some being No Names), and J-D made the ones like the U-402A.

Your guesses at deciphering the monogram marking were a noble try but didn't hit the mark. Otto Boll (Minneapolis) helped solve this one when he recently gave me a big double-circuit, fused, entrance switch. It has both the monogram marking and an embossed H. T. P. Co. (on reverse side). I've since attributed this to H. T. Paiste Co. Philadelphia, a manufacturer of wiring devices. Their exclusive distributor was Hart & Hegeman Co. (Hartford).

You get five browny points for reporting the dandy Locke handstamp error, but you lose four points for waiting two years to let the other Locke fans in on our secret. I checked with Arizona State Univ. (ASU). and they take no credit for this free publicity up on the pole tops in Colorado. Locke factory records indicate this marking was used from Sep 1945 to Nov 1982.

Jack

Dear Jack:

My father found this white spool near a factory here in Buffalo. It is odd because it was made in two pieces and split right down the middle. On the inside where the pin would go through, it is marked "PART 2995" on both pieces. The pieces were held together with black electrical tape.

I've sketched the outside marking, but I can't figure out what's inside the triangle. Please give me any info you have on it.
Jeff lbach 
7093 Versailles Rd. 
Buffalo, NY 1404T .

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Dear Jeff:

Several companies have a triangle in their trademark, but with the apex upwards like your sketch, I'll say it is Delta-Star Electric Co., Chicago, established 1908 and now a Division of H. K. Porter Co. They sold all forms of poleline hardware. (I've filled in the triangle above to complete the marking for you.)

What you have are the porcelain bushing parts of a clamp insulator (see catalog cut above), and there are many forms of these as sold by different companies over a long period of time (to present). The porcelain parts are generally useable in any of the clamp forms, and they come with wire hole sizes from 5/16" up to 3-1/2", the smaller sizes 1" or less being the most commonly seen (by me).

Someday, anything like this will be a rarity, because it's now nearly impossible to find anything being sold in this country with "MADE IN U.S.A." marked on it - at least not in the stores around here! 

Jack

Dear Jack:

I think I may have found a new marking for you. It's on a small knob (sketch enclosed). I found several of them with wire grooves of different size, and most of them are partly legible, with only one being fully legible.

I have a U-399B with the incuse COOK stamp. It is unusual in that it has a medium blue glaze. Almost every Cook insulator that I have seen has been brown, yellow, or white glaze. Do you know of any other Cook's with this blue glaze?

Phillip Loos, 
Durango, Colo

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Dear Phil:

Your # 5-1/2 (old code) knob with COLORADO is a new one on me. I can understand why Texans (those boys from the sovereign state of cowboy boots and enormous belt buckles) would require the state name on their electric fence knobs, but I didn't think Colorado folk were really all that fussy.

Yes, the gray-blue glaze like you have on the Cook U-399B is unusual for Cook. A dealer had two just like yours at the K.C. Nat'l show in 1972, and they sold real quick for $25 each. Sure were pretty things. I haven't seen any other blue Cooks besides those. 

Jack

Dear Jack:

At a bottle/insulator show recently I picked up a double-groove, house service spool (1-5/8", by 1-1/2"). Nothing out of the ordinary there. The embossing, however, maybe of interest (see sketch here).

It was found with several other single and double-groove phone knobs, a number of which were embossed N.E.T. & T. Co. It shows age, and being found in this area, I strongly suspect it's from the old "So. Mass. Tel. Co.". It was the only one the dealer had and, for one who lives in the heart of So. Mass. Tel. country, a steal at $.25.
Jarl Anderson, 
E. Freetown, Mass.

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Dear Jarl:

Yep, we all get lucky once in awhile.

Jack

Per my suggestion, Jerry Turner (Goshen, Ohio) was kind enough to make the following photos for us of some unusual items in his collection.

This in Jerry's spectacularly odd Fort Wayne primary fuse cutout (markings darkened for photo). See the patent for this item in the April 1975 porcelain column.

Among the numerous very rare porcelains in Jerry's collection (possibly the best collection existent), these two U-274 with the embossed , "O. P. CO." marking on top of the brow above the wire groove are really something. The discovery specimen is owned by Carl Lencse (E. Liverpool, Ohio), and these two owned by Jerry are the only other specimens I've heard of to date. Having this rare marking at all is a victory in itself, so locating a brown and a white pair of them certainly must win the prize!

Dear Mr. Tod:

This is a question that I have as the result of cleaning my insulators. I found that I have a porcelain knob (sketch enclosed) that has a "G" embossed on the top. It is dark brown with tan splotches where the glaze is uneven. The "G" is very faint but noticeable because of the unevenness of the glaze, making the "G" a lighter shade.

My grandmother found it when she lived in Kansas before the family moved to Indiana in the year 1936. Grandmothers are really nice, aren't they?

Anyway, I remembered the letter from Lew Hohn about the "G" marking and wondered if this could be the same company. Also are you ready to give out the name of the company that made these insulators?
Gene Hawkins, 
Mooresville, Ind.

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Dear Gene:

You knob is Standard Porcelain-#24 size. Needless to say, these knob sizes are very, common, but they are quite rare in anything other than the normal white glaze.

Yes, this "G" is the same company that made the few styles of "G" dry process pin types, and they made all sorts of dry press items such as knobs, tubes, cleats, etc. It is our mystery porcelain manufacturer, not unlike the manufacturer of "Star" glass insulators.

I think the company who used this marking could have been Globe Porcelain Co., Trenton, N.J., but still have nothing to tie this down. This plant (1913 to about 1965) was located at 127 Mulberry St. in Trenton. It is now defunct, and the property was bought by the Renselar Corp. July 19, 1971.(Star Porcelain owned it for several years.)

I visited this site in April 1973 to look for dump remains that would indicate anything, but everything has been leveled off and graveled into a large parking lot. To complicate things, much of the fill used in the grading came from dumpage of Imperial Porcelain Works, located up Mulberry St. a mile or so. If a collector in the area could get permission to do some light "digging" over in the weeded edge of the back lot, maybe something could be turned up. I did locate a couple of "G" items there, but the evidence was very inconclusive.

One thing leaves some doubt - and that is that Globe did use the marking "GLOBE" on some items I found such as nail knobs and #334 cleats. This would lead one to think they would also use GLOBE on some other knobs such as yours. Items with "G" marking were also found in the old dumpage of General Porcelain Co. at 'Parkersburg, and we can't rule out Greenwood Pottery as another possible one.

Really, it would be a shame to reliably attribute this marking. Then we wouldn't have any mystery left!

Jack

Dear Jack:

... Also I've enclosed a scale sketch of a cemented three-part F. M. Locke I got at Clifton Park last November. It is very crude, like it was fashioned with hand tools and carved. The bottom shell in fully 3/4" thick and has a 1- 3/8" pinhole with a zinc thimble which will screw out. Looks like the thimble was cut from a flat piece, then rolled to fit in. This thimble reduces the pinhole to standard 1" size. The insulator has an 8-1/2" top skirt and is 7" tall. Another feature of this goody is that it has the Fred Locke 7-date marking stamp! 
Lew Hohn, 
Rochester, N.Y.

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Dear Lew:

How come I can't find things like that? Oh well, at least we have nice mild winters here in Arizona.

Amazing, those old Lockes. Up north of San Francisco there are transmission lines which still have in use those large, old Fred Locke multis made 75 years ago. Guess some of Fred's claims in his old catalogs weren't too far off base after all. Most of these very old insulators were scrapped out because they had too small wire grooves or because they didn't fit "standards" or have radio quiet, but I'll bet at today's high factory insulator costs, many utilities are kicking themselves in the ass for all those serviceable insulators they hauled to the dump in past years. O-B does sell "radio-treat" paint. 

Jack

Dear Jack:

... Also enclosed is a drawing of an insulator (radio or neon?) that was purchased at an antique shop in northern Vermont. It's about 4" tall and has a very shiny black glaze (but dull black on the bottom firing surface). It is embossed "FLERON / No. 41" on the side skirts. Any info ... ?
Paul Hirschler, 
Cassopolis, Mich.

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Dear Paul:

I have a similar item which was made by Union Porcelain Co. possibly as a neon tube support insulator, but your item was sold by M. M. Fleron & Sons, Trenton, N.J., and they were in the radio items business. Just from the fact that your item is glazed black, I will guess "radio" on it. 

Jack

Dear Jack:

We just finished the Third Annual Glass Capitol Insulator Show. I did some trading, sold a few, and listened to a lot of B.S. I had a swell time though. Met some new people as well as some old friends.

The reason I am writing is that today, after the show, I found a new insulator for my collection. It is an egg-shaped strain, quite old by appearance and in good condition. I found it in an antique shop here in Findlay and have no idea where it came from.

It has a very poor (uneven) brown glaze, no names or markings, lots of small cracks around the center and is about 3" by 5-1/4" size (sketch enclosed). Would appreciate any information you could give me.
Gary Taylor, 
Rt 1, Box 151, 
Findlay, OH 45840

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Dear Gary:

These are dry process, open-end guy strain insulators. Some types are more streamlined (as footballs), and others tend to be more squat (as a chunky hen's egg). Generally we term all these "egg insulators".

These were made and cataloged by a number of companies making dry press insulators, most probably starting in the early 1900's, but certainly lasting up into the 1930's, if not later. In just a few catalogs pulled from my shelf, I find these cataloged by Federal Porcelain ( FEDCO) 1919, Thomas 1927, and Illinois 1934.

The sizes (length) in these generally are 2-1/2", 3-1/2", 4- 1/2" and 5-1/2" give or take a bit. The smaller sizes appear to be the ones most commonly seen (by me).

The only advantage in the design I can see (other than being cheap to make) is that the enclosing cables make a more naturally rounded bend at the back side than occurs on the more boxy strain designs.

These are older insulator types not commonly seen, but they do continually come into utility salvage yards and are thus available to collectors who check on the stuff being hauled to the dump. Your old 5" model certainly is an eye catching shelf item for your collection. 

Jack

Dear Jack:

Enclosed are drawings of two very old insulators I found on some abandoned poles, and I had to climb the poles and saw the iron pins off, since the insulators would not screw off.

The one with the narrower side groove is a yellow-brown color, and the one with larger side groove is a very black brown.

What is the U- number for this insulator, and can you tell me if they are rare or not? I will show them to you at the 6th N.I.A. Convention in San Diego, where I live in Pacific Beach area of San Diego. I am now in school in Milwaukee.
John E. Contreras 
St. John's School for the Deaf 
3680 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. 
Milwaukee, Wis. 53207

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Dear John:

These insulators are U-616 in our porcelain style chart and were cataloged by Thomas in 1912 -- your two basically the same insulator but with groove variations. Until your report, I hadn't heard of anyone else having this style.

Most ordinary cable style porcelains have low collector value in regular brown glaze and without markings. However, these are very old items and somewhat unusual in shape. I would class them as a very desirable item for any collection, and you made a lucky find. 

Jack

Dear Jack:

The spool on the left in photo has a VIADUCT MFG CO. / BALTO underglaze marking. Is this a new marking for insulators or is it just another juicer, toilet part, etc.?

The ashtray is rim embossed AMERICAN INSULATOR CORPORATION, NEW FREEDOM, PA. and also has their trademark on the bottom side.

Jerry Turner, 
Goshen, Ohio

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Dear Jerry:

Your Baltimore spool looks like another "toilet part" to me, because I know of no electrical knobs that size with such a small mounting hole, if that's what the hole in it is for. I'm just guessing that the underglaze marking you sketched is in green ink, and I'll guess further that it was made by Specialty Porcelain Works (E. Liverpool, Ohio) for that "toilet part" company.

Jerry, you're throwing a hooker at me with that Amer. Insulator Corp. ashtray advertiser, but my files are too much for you now, and you can't trip me up on this gadget! You didn't say so, but I'll bet you a sausage pizza and beer that it's made of composition and not porcelain.

This company was listed in old directories as a manufacturer of "molded insulation, insulators, etc.". The trademark, as you sketched, was registered #159,796 for "insulating composition materials" on Oct. 10, 1922 (first use claimed Dec. 1916, application filed Sep. 24, 1920). A nice collection addition, Jerry.

Jack

Dear Jack:

... I am also sending this drawing of a cast iron pin with cord threads. I thought you may know something about it. There's no name or patent number on it. I would appreciate any info or if you have ever seen or heard of one like this. Carl Adams, 
Findlay, Ohio

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Dear Carl:

Sorry, but I haven't ever seen a pin bracket like this and have no info on it. (Sketch reduced. Pin is 10" overall.)

It looks like an interesting one, and I'm guessing there is probably a patent on it. I possibly have the most extensive file on "insulator" patents of any collector in the country, but I don't keep cards on a number of classes of related items where there are hundreds of patents each -- such as pins, pin brackets, wire holders, suspensions, third-rail types, trolley hangers, etc.

There are jillions of different pins and brackets and many patents on them by Hubbard (Peirce), Joslyn, Fletcher, Line Material and other poleline hardware companies. I'm sure there are some people who have very good collections of these. Some I have seen are quite old relics and of unusual design, and yours with the wound cord for threads looks like a goody for anyone collecting these. 

Jack