In reply to Jim Woods: The two Hemingray No. 3 are CD #133 and CD #133.4. They are probably about equally common, although most of the CD #133 Hemingray No. 3 that I have seen have a letter (A, B, C) below the 3.

The W.G.M. Co. insulators occasionally show up with the purple "milk glass". Often they have milky swirls; but one as opaque as yours is quite rare.

From Ed Smith, Seminole, Florida: I have two beautiful amber Hemingray 45. One is so dark you can barely see through it. The other is dark, but light passes through it easily. My question is, "Are there other amber Hemingrays known?" I have shown these insulators to several other collectors here in Florida. Most collectors believe them authentic, but some say they were treated with cobalt to turn them amber. What do you think? Thank you for your opinion.

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In reply to Ed Smith: It is not possible to say positively that no amber Hemingray 45's were made, but I have never known of any other than those artificially created through radiation. It is also true that, in come cases at least, the irradiated amber fades with passing of time. Since those who make these things are not proud of their work and do not identify themselves among collectors generally, little is known of their methods or of which items have been so treated.

To digress a bit from the intent of your inquiry, Hemingray 45 was made for nearly 30 years (1938 to 1967, approximately). Had you given the exact markings and number of dots on your insulators, we could have identified them as to date of manufacture. While this would not give us a positive answer on the amber color, it is always meaningful to identify as closely as possible the age of any insulator when we are discussing it for any reason. Note the next item.

Mike S. Bielinski, Arlington, Texas writes: I am eleven years old and have been collecting since last August. If all collectors were as helpful and nice to young beginners as Mr. Waldrop of Lubbock, Texas, has been to me, there really would be a lot more collectors.

I have a Hemingray 42 which fits CD 154, line 1715, except it does not have the "M R" before Hemingray. I do not find it listed elsewhere. It is clear.

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In reply to Mike Bielinski: Your Hemingray 42 is really quite a common one. Since so few persons take an interest in details of the various mold sets of the common insulators, unfortunately those making price lists often do not distinguish them except for the occasional variation that is impressive enough to attract attention, like the MR. Your 42 was made in the "short" molds which were first used early in World War II. Yours is from Mold 9B and was made in 1947, the last year those molds were used. In 1948 a new mold set was made up which has a slightly different shape. The "MR" insulator is of the larger size, made during the 1920's and 1930's, and would be about 1/4 inch taller than your 9B. The MR is mold 36A, made in 1936. The letters MR are actually above "HEMINGRAY", in much larger letters.

From Milo E. Holland, Washington, D.C.: I have been sitting here looking at my insulators (as usual), and I noticed something about one of my CD 106 Hemingrays: Front, HEMINGRAY/ No 9, (B) PATENT/ MAY 2 1893. The top of it is 2-3/8", as opposed to most of the others (2-1/8"); the wire groove is also 3/16" wider; the inside of the dome is flat, as opposed to dome shaped; and there is a small circle under the dome, the same as all my "stars". Because of the inner dome construction, do you think that there is any connection between Hemingray and the mfg. of the "stars"? I would appreciate greatly hearing your opinion.

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In reply to Milo E. Holland: Your Hemingray No. 9 is not unusual for that period. It's one of the earlier ones, and many of them did have the flat top pinhole. A great many methods were used in the machining of the mandrels; and in those early years probably not much attention was paid to them. It was later decided that it was important that the top of the pinhole not bear directly against the top of the pin while the insulator was in service. This was thought to be the cause of the glass cracking at times. For many years nearly all insulators had the concave area in the pinhole top to prevent this. Yet, some much newer insulators do not; so perhaps it was decided that feature was not so important after all.

From John de Sousa, Bloomfield, Connecticut: Been interested in finding more about this no name insulator (sketch above). This is the third I've ever seen, and now I own it. Two were aqua and one dark amber, very similar to a CD 133 American. Threads start low in the pinhole, with a large glass drip in the pinhole top. The threads look as if they were a two segment thread and filled in. The crown top is embossed with a tiny diamond. Mold lines go from the bottom of the insulator to the top of the wire groove. As far as I can find out, these are probably from the Boston area.

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In reply to John de Sousa: Thank you for a detailed description of a most interesting insulator! Sorry, but I can't offer any facts about this whatever, except to note that various details do look very much like early Boston glass; so your information is probably accurate in regard to its source.