In the April 1976 issue of Crown Jewels of the Wire, Jack Tod, while writing about the U-982, stated "I guarantee you will enter a state of euphoria if you ever hold this beautiful and unique specimen in your hands." Jack, you nailed it! Imagine holding a U-982 in one hand and a U-983 in the other! The U-982 pictured came from a large Vermont collection of Bennington ware. I was told that the piece was purchased at auction in 1946 and had remained in the same ownership for fifty years. After a death in the family, it was made available.

This is the second time a U-982 has been a cover piece for Crown Jewels of the Wire magazine. In the February 1978 issue, Ray Klingensmith presented an excellent article on Bennington threadless.

It would be well worth while to search out that article and read how the Elliotts and other styles with the Rockingham glaze are tied to the Bennington Pottery Works. It is speculated that the U-983 is a hybrid, having most of the general characteristics of the U-982. The main differences are in a twelve-panel skirt and a dome very similar to the U-979. 

This particular U-983 was the discovery of a Maine bottle digger in the early 1970's. Another U-983 surfaced in 1974. It was dug in eastern Massachusetts. I'm not sure how many of these unique pieces are now in collections, but I would guess not more than three or four. 

The two white porcelain threadless pictured on the cover are both extremely rare. Gerald Brown called the U-985 (as it is now called) a UE 731 and rightly so because it was unembossed and shaped like a CD 731. This beauty was reported in Brown's Collectible Porcelain Insulators Supplement, 1974. 

When Jack Tod wrote about the U-985 in the July 1974 issue of Crown Jewels of the Wire, he remarked, "I don't recall if Gerald told me whether this is a unique item or not, but I haven't heard of any other specimen than his to date." Twenty-two years later and, to the best of my knowledge, it is still the only one. According to Gerald Brown, this piece was found in the area around Pittsburg, Ohio. Very little is known about the U-987. The unique peak top catches your eye, along with the sparkling white glaze. The surface is very crackled and similar to the U-977. Having inspected both the U-977 and U-987, Elton Gish (Porcelain Insulator News editor) feels that both pieces were made by the same company. Carrying that a step further because of what is known about the U-977 (CJ, June 1991), you could argue that both pieces have an Ohio origin. As a matter of fact, the U-987 made its way into the hobby through a Cleveland, Ohio collector several years ago. I hope the pictures of these rare threadless and this accompanying article have piqued your curiosity about early porcelain. I will be displaying my growing collection of porcelain threadless at the national show in Chicago this month. I believe this will be the first attempt at an all porcelain threadless display. See you in Rosemont!